J-drama of the week (3)

Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no kimitachi e)

Genre: Comedy, school, romance
Episodes: 12+ 2 hour special
Network: Fuji TV
Year: 2007
Plot: Ashiya Mizuki is a teenage Japanese girl living in California, one day Sano Izumi the high-jump athlete visits the country on a sports event and she's mesmerized by him. When Sano quits high-jump after getting hurt saving Ashiya from thugs, she feels guilty and vows to help him get back to the sport he's good at. Ashiya moves back to Japan and disguises herself as a boy to enter the same high school as Sano.

My verdict: The plot here has loads of potentials, it just screams comedy! This was my first comedy J-drama and boy did it make me laugh! So let me walk you through why you'll endure the idiocy and enjoy this drama.
1- The drama itself confesses that it's idiotic (يعني هو عبيط و عارف انه عبيط على رأي عادل امام ) so that just means that the school is so stupid not to discover Ashiya's gender! Except for the school's doctor which happened through a coincidence.

2- Nakatsu!!! He's Sano's best friend who falls for Ashiya although he thinks she's a boy. And this is where it's funny, he struggles with his identity in a comedic way. He's a lovable character and a great friend. He was my favorite character.

3- You can only respect Ashiya's bravery. How bold is it to conceal your true ID and go into a school full of boys only out of guilt or possibly a crush.

4- The spirit! When I finished the drama all I could think of is how awesome boarding schools could be. Watching the three houses/dorms of the school fight together and those little rivalries was so funny. And at the end of the day they were just one school and when necessary they will put away their differences for the good of the clan.

5- The dorm leaders! All three were awesome. Tennoji Megumi the first dormitory leader (Martial arts) is a muscle head with a sweet heart, Himejima Masao the third dormitory leader (performing arts) is a self centered hilarious weirdo and the most important Nanba Minami the second dormitory leader (sports)  who is the cool sempai that they all look up to. The constant competition between the three is hilarious and fun to watch :D

6- St. Blossoms academy girls that pop in everywhere acting as the only girls worthy of the Osaka high school boys. Well actually they're only four girls following their leader Hibari. But they're fun to keep around.

7- Nakao, Kayashima and Sekime Ashiya's friends from the second dorm are nice fun people who are helpful at times.

8-Of course there has to be a blossoming romance between Ashiya and Sano, but it's just a cute one no big dramas or stuff. I was rooting for Nakatsu but I knew from the beginning it had to be Sano and I can live with that, he's not a bad character.

9- I can't stress the comedy and idiocy more, you'll enjoy a good laugh.

10- The special was useless. It wasn't as entertaining as the drama and not very funny. It was set in a middle point of the drama's timeline and just didn't fit. I don't know I found it boring and unworthy as a closure for the drama.

 The opening song was good and they even sang it in one of the episodes. A great episode by the way, the funniest :D It was the one about the school festival and that mean teacher.

I remember that day in our college, Yosra and I were watching parts of it while eating (can't quite remember what we were eating, maybe something from Horus?) and we were laughing so hard at that idiotic Masao XD Good times!
Bonus: A remake was made in 2011, but I don't know much about it. And of course there was a korean drama based on the same idea called Tou Tou Ai Shang Ni (secretly loving you). I've tried not to give away too much so you can enjoy it ;)