Monday, April 28, 2008

My Boss My Hero


It is the story of Sakaki Makio (played by Tomoya Nagase) a 27 year-old would be gangster leader. In order to inherit the "family business", he must graduate from high school. Makio's inability to add resulted in a botched business deal which led his father to decide the former is going to school. Worse, he must disguise himself as a 17 year-old teenager and keep his real identity secret. How is the young master going to survive the toughest arena of them all - high school?
Based on the Korean hit movie of the same name, the Japanese made it simple and made it very funny. Most of the issues dealt in the Japanese version are related to growing up and being a teenager but don't get me wrong - the series is not all about fun.
The series is funny save for some melodramatic scenes on the last episode. In fact, self-righteous preaching present in American dramas is almost non-existent here. The characters in J-dramas usually sort their problems out by themselves, realize their fault by themselves, and sometimes they don't change at all - and this dorama is no different. Besides, My Boss My Hero doesn't over glorify gangster life to my surprise! It is a very different treatment of a gangster story.
Two months ago, out of curiousity I took a sneak peek at the dorama with no expectations whatsover. Few seconds into the show, I knew then I have to finish this one. Tomoya Nagase carries the series with his comic antics and exaggerated facial expressions - it is never a dull moment when this guy's on the screen. The humor is so Filipino, we can relate to it. Thanks to this series, I got to know Japanese superstar Yui Aragaki (playing Umemura Hikari - Makio's love interest). I love her character - cute, pretty, smart and gutsy.
It is a great family series.

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