Drama Review- Nobuta wo produce

Nobuko Kotani is a shy, reclusive girl who doesn't fit into her school. Her fringe is forever covering her eyes and she has no social skills. To make matters worse, she is picked on by other students. Shuji is a teenager who is searching for the meaning of youth and teenage life. He is pretty popular but thinks of it as shallow. He wants to make the most out of his teenage life. Akira, is Shuji's sidekick who gets along with everyone except Shuji. Shuji finds his optimism irritating and his habit of poking his nose into everything quite annoying. When the boys set their eyes on Nobuko Kotani referred to as Nobuta (pig), they decide to reform her and make her the most popular girl in school. The decide to produce her (like a music producer) to make an image for her and make her popular. Nobuko has no problem and she decides to ride along. Shuji however, doesn't want to be seen with Nobuta fearing that he might lose his popularity. Shuji and Akira give her lessons on the terrace.

The drama is basically a friendship and youth drama. Kamenashi Kazuya didn't act too well and there wasn't much acting to do in Maki's role. Yamashita Tomoshisa was the only one who acted well because his character was significantly different from the other two. While producing Nobuta, Shuji and Akira become close friends. Nobuta becomes more sociable and starts cutting her fringe. There are some common teenage problems like popularity, bullying, jealousy etc. depicted in the drama.

In the end, Shuji leaves school because his father is moving to Tokyo. Akira and Nobuta are left behind. Nobuta tells Akira to follow him to Tokyo because Shuji and Akira are best friends and need to be together. She becomes popular in school and says she can manage on her own. Akira obeys her and Shuji and Akira end up in the same school in the end. Nobuta remains in the same school but makes friends and remembers Shuji and Akira occassionally.

The drama was mediocre at best in my opinion. It is not much different from all the youth dramas out there. My boss, my hero is a much better version of Nobuta wo produce. It had an all star cast therefore, received good viewership ratings. Most actors despite being famous didn't act well.

The theme song, Seishun Amigo sung by Kamenashi Kazuya and Yamashita Tomoshisa sold over a million. The B sides Kizuna and Colourful were insert songs of Gokusen 2 and Dragon Zakura respectively in which the actors had main roles. Due to over promotion, the single sold well. The theme song is not very prominent in the drama.

Story-3.5/5
Characters-3.6/5
Acting-3.5/5
Script-4/5
Music-3.4/5
Overall-3.5/5

Pros

Yamashita Tomoshisa
Theme
All star cast

Cons

Acting
Stereotypical
Boring at some points because of bad acting and dull characters
Ending