Nobuta Wo Produce

I just finished watching Nobuta Wo Produce, this Japanese drama my brother recommended to me a few years ago. I never got around to watching it before this mainly because i couldn't find it in the stores. Took me a while to realise that they marketed it here using it's English title. Like there's no inkling at all that it's called Nobuta on the dvd cover which is why the store workers couldn't help me. Anyway, this has got to be by far one of the best dramas i watch especially when it comes to dramas dealing with high-school students.

It revolves around 3 main character, 2 guys and a girl. There's Shuji, the most popular guy in school who thinks life is a game, and whose actions portray him as a totally different person than he actually is, which is someone who is afraid of loneliness and the thought of people not liking him. There's Akira, a weird eccentric guy who hangs around Shuji, even if Shuji finds him annoying. The guy who acts as Akira totally makes the show with his weird mannerisms and hand gestures. Then there's Nobuta, a girl scarred from childhood when she is rejected by her stepfather and goes through life being bullied which makes her into this person who doesn't find the it worth living. They make her character have this kind of eerie presence, she's really pale, she talks so little and it's only at the end of the show when she actually smiles...that also in a somewhat weird way.

Basically this story is about Shuji and Akira deciding to bridge forces to make Nobuta into the most popular girl in school. For Shuji, it's just another form of a game for him and weird Akira finds itto be an equally amusing activity. Of course, it's no easy feat and they create all this funny ways of trying to make her popular. At the same time the friendship between the three become stronger and you start seeing that it's not just Nobuta who's going through a makeover but the other two chracters also start unveiling to become who they actually are.

The main theme in this show is friendship, which is why it is so attractive to me. And the way the characters act and how the story moves on is realistic enough that you can see how it could happen in real life. The theme of love (in the sense of between male and female) takes a minor role here. I loved that. Most dramas take the route of creating a love triangle and making that it the main story which i find so overdone and irritating. Most of the times they make it very emotional and the friendship goes through all these unnecessary strains.

In this drama, there is a love triangle but it hardly becomes a main story.Akira falls for Nobuta and realises he loves her. While at first he makes a point to win her heart, he gives up because he realises that he wouldn't be able to make her happy. That part in the drama was particularly touching for me. When Akira tells Shuji his reason, Shuji says that the only important thing should be love and that that would be enough. Akira then replies saying that love was important but to be happy there were other things you also needed. I loved that response, it's exactly what i think. Most dramas just use love as the pretense of getting together and the character go around thinking and exclaiming that just by truly loving that person they were meant to be together.

Nobuta also shows slight feelings for Shuji but never acts on it probably because she values his friendship more and realises that the three of the remaining as friends is the best way to go. Their friendship goes through many adversities through out the show and i like how when they're faced with problems regarding each other they dont jump to conclusions and instead decide to actually listen to explanations and believe in each other. When a vindictive girl gives Akira a picture of Nobuta hugging Shuji while she was comforting him, instead of going all psycho and feeling betrayed he chooses to ignore the picture(which was totally the right to do as the hugging scene wasn't like how it looked) . So the issue of the picture was eliminated and it's only at the end of the show that Shuji finds out that Akira had the picture and realises even more of how he really is a great friends.

The ending is bittersweet,very satisfying. I didnt fast forward once watching this drama. It was too dramatic, so there wasn't any sad too depressingg moments, the cast is great,funny.The chemistry is fabulous. The soundtrack is nice to hear. It has just 10 episodes so it doesnt drag on. All in all, a great show.