Otomen

The best thing about this piece are the hidden (and somewhat blatant) allusions to films, characters, personalities – we have Crows Zero, Hairspray, Casablanca, F4 shows up, and you hear the music from Harry Potter when you’re expecting someone with a scar on their forehead, a sad past, and round glasses. Another "strong" experience for me was Kimura Ryo, since I remember him as Nakao in Hana-Kimi, and here he was suddenly the tough Tonomine (but when his secret was revealed, I almost slid under the table...). Otomenism in general is a pretty funny thing – some types are fine, you won't laugh at them, but with Asuka and Tonomine you can't help but laugh. And that brings us to my favorite character of the whole series, Juta. I just adored this manga-creating creature, for me he's the cutie of the month. I immediately had to see what else Sano Kazuma has done so I could get more of him (preferably in a lead role) and I found out that he was in a movie with Kaho (the one who plays Miyakozuka), so if you don't mind those two, check out the 2008 movie Tokyo Girl. But back to Otomen. The whole series has a light, comedic spirit, and then suddenly boom, near the end the atmosphere seemed to get terribly serious (you can call it that); of course, it's clear how it's going to end, but it felt like an unpleasant rapture. The other thing that bothers me is that I still don't know how the Kendo championship turned out – and that sucks. :-D One of the better doramas. A better 4 stars, and I can definitely recommend it. (17.11.2010)