1"Don't judge the book by its cover"
First let me start this review with a mini rantThe only concern I see people having with this drama is that they said it normalize pedophilia. My defense on that matter is you would only consider a person a pedophile if he/she is occasionally attracted to children which in this case she's not because she was not attracted to him because he's a child. I know most will not agree with that argument but let's say you are correct and she's a pedophile. Does this drama normalize that psychiatric disorder? BIG NO. She's attracted to him but didn't take advantage in fact she was despised the whole time, the school, students and the society. The drama won't make you feel they are romanticizing that idea. As for the matter that it might affect the thinking of underage viewers. Do those kids have parents to guide them? Then what about stories like Robin Hood, mistress protagonist, serial killer etc. are those stories being normalize just because they were made? If you are inclined to call it a trash just by reading the synopsis then I am sorry but with that kind of logic I just couldn't help but think you are DUMB.
Chugakusei Nikki portrays the forbidden love between Hijiri, a middle school teacher and Akira, one of her students. The drama follows their story for the course of several years. There will be time skip in the middle of the drama, 3 years to be exact, when Akira is 18 years of age. The characters are well written, Hijiri was portrayed really well as an inexperienced teacher, adult yet not matured, and also Akira as rebellious and confused teenager. Side characters are interesting too especially Haraguchi and Shotaro, it's also interesting to see their love story develops. Their love is somewhat similar yet different. The plot is sensitive but the drama handled it tastefully, it is nowhere near as creepy as you might think. This show is also grounded to reality in that every emotion these characters portray is very relatable. What I also like is the pacing it's very balanced which makes every episode engaging. The drama also knows how to play with our emotions. The director is just so good on how to build tension and also how to end every episode. Expect roller coaster of emotions, it's highs is wonderfully high and it's lows is absolutely devastating, there's even couple of scenes where I was on the edge of my seat and to think this drama is not a thriller.
~ A good rain chooses the right time to fall and so it falls ~
~ When it comes to spring, the rain is certainly falling ~
~ It follows the wind and secretly enters the night ~
~ While the wind is blowing, the rain continues to fall until night ~
~ And moistens everything softly, without any sound ~
~ Silently, almost making no sounds at all, it makes everything wet ~
This poem in episode 1 summarizes the whole drama. It is a metaphor to the kind of love between Hijiri and Akira, a pure love similar to dramas such as Sekachu, Endless love series, Koizora, Be with you, Heavenly Forest etc. Pure love genre if you would know is what popularizes Asian drama. It basically portrays a couple that faced many obstacles. Pure love in sense that even after so many years they still long for each other. We haven't seen this genre for quite some time and I already see upcoming dramas with similar genre. This drama will trigger another pure love era.
Cinematography is just captivating. I love how they capture the green landscape on camera, the shot during sunset, falling rain drops, fireworks and that weird fish eye effect they always use. Those are not just gorgeous shots but also serve as a symbol to what these characters feel. That's beauty about Japanese drama, it is full of symbolism and just like what I always said, great cinematography is similar to great painting, it is not just beautiful but also captivates you, will make you move closer and examine the painting and not just say "oh this painting is beautiful". Music in this drama is just perfect, it underlines the mood and helps showing the emotions of each characters. It is a really great piece of background music. With great drama comes great ending song and "Prologue" by Uru is just like that. It's not just a great melody because if you read the lyrics it will make sense why they choose it as the ending song.
The acting is just brilliant but other than the acting, the casting needs more praise. They just casted right people for the roles, Arimura Kasumi for example, she has this cute, inexperienced image and if you watch the drama having that image made her portrayal of hijiri so effective. They also cast a rookie for the role of Akira, it a nice decision by them as it requires a certain rawness to the character. It doesn't mean Okada Kenshi is not a great actor though. He is indeed fantastic as he provides the intensity and angst to the role. They won't call him a super rookie is he is not. The side characters are also well casted, if you follow Japanese drama long enough you would be familiar with Yoshida you and Natsukawa Yui, they were both underrated actresses. Their characters played an important role to the story and they played them really well. Aside from Akira, it's the portrayal of those characters made this drama so much better.
Final episode will be tomorrow but I decided to make this review because what ever happen this drama will go down as one of the best Japanese drama I've ever seen and definitely my best Japanese drama this year. End game won't decide the rating this drama should get in my opinion because just like they said the journey is more important the than destination. More than just a drama but also an experience.
Edit
I've just watched the last episode and I don't want to spoil anything but it is indeed one of the best Jdrama ever!!!
Best Student-Teacher Romance Drama List
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Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
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Story/Emotions: Such a controversial topic was handled delicately and realistically and still represented the positive possibilities which one person should pursue when caught in the harshness of life. It is not just a love story, but a pure and beautiful life changing one at that. You quickly forget the age difference between the main couple when you look at their characters and their process of falling in love with them. At first one might question their beginning of love, but what this drama does make you realize is that you never quite know what exactly makes you fall in love with one particular person and why that one person is the only one who holds that special spot in your life. Other people even though having the same specs or even better ones still don't make the cut in your life. Their love story from start to end remains realistic at best. It is the love that empowers them to discover themselves . Their is a perpetual question of whether you give in to the love or realize your personal dreams; especially when faced with such a difficult love. But this drama beautifully shows how love gives them the motive of achieving other things in life as well. The opposition is all expected , yet you ride this roller coaster begging some understanding and happiness for the couple. Their journey is a long one and this drama will tug at your heart. It is an extremely incredible feat that the director and writer managed to make a love story even more interesting than a thriller. And this is a story you are not bound to forget for a long time.
Characters: Not one character is such that you wouldn't empathize, Even the most difficult of characters are still the one who you will warranty your understanding. Both Akira and Hijiri's characters undergo a growth that is otherwise only superficially shown in other dramas. Full marks to all the characters , even the minor ones. No character in this drama is dull or stupid. The highlight being Akira's character who grows from a boy to a fantastic and extremely capable young man who doesn't give up even in the toughest of times. His is an astoundingly clear-headed character. The depth of the awareness of his own emotions is displayed right from the beginning. Even his childishness which is often the part of your first heady days of love (couple it with his adolescence) is hardly blamable. But the transition that he undergoes post the first half of the story is a real piece of cake. Akira's mother also has a very strong character and is also one of the strongholds of the story. Yoshida Yo's character is a brilliant one and one that will have a lot of impact on the viewer throughout the story. Her depth of character reading of the people around her is a personal goal.
Acting: This a department that elevates the drama to the all time lists in my opinion. This story commanded exceptional acting due to the complexity of each of the characters and the story line anyway. Even the minor characters are made memorable by the respective actors. Akira's mother, the renowned middle aged actress does the mother's part exceptionally well. You would hate her persistent opposition throughout the drama and yet understand her protective heart for Akira. She is fiercely portrayed and has some of the toughest scenes in the series. Yoshida Yo gives another brilliant performance as Haraguchi. You are bound to like her character the best in the series and it is all thanks to this great actress. This also gives you a rare example of a fierce and extremely outspoken Japanese woman that is hard to come by in japanese society. Arimura Kazumi is a little shadowed due to other stellar performances but by no means is her acting lacking. She plays the naive and kind hearted teacher to the best and you empathize with her hardships and even with her initial confusion over Akira and her fiance. It was a pretty tight spot to pull without making her character hateful but she still manages to display the precise emotions. Machida Keita is also decent although his is the only character that you would find less attractive in spite of having the perfect high specs.
The real gem of this Drama is and will always be Okada Kenshi. I can pretty much write another full article on his acting. Enough has been said about no one believing this to be his debut role and having a huge potential and everything is 100% true yet I somewhere think it still doesn't do him enough justice. To begin with he clearly steals the show every single time he is onscreen. You will not get over his smile, the slightest twitch of his lips, the slightest change in his expressions and light in his eyes and the body language which is all so powerful that before even Hijiri falls in love with him , you will find yourself spiraling down that lane unknowingly. It is crazy how many emotions he can make you feel through his character. It seems that the role was written just for him and there is not one scene where I can pinpoint that he needed improvement. His looks already make you wonder if he is the handsomest man out there and to top that those acting chops are sure shot lottery to stardom.
Music: The background music has never been so apt and fitting. It played with my feelings big time. Some of the scenes while already memorably written and acted out , became absolutely ten fold phenomenal because of the background score. This background score will always remain on my playlist and still makes me go through a 100 emotions , all that I cherished while watching the drama. The Prologue by Uru will also remain etched in your memory.
Rewatch: Anytime! And every time it will make me feel sadness and happiness on a new level. For a love story it has amazing rewatch value for you will have new found appreciation for all the symbolism, dialogues, acting and cinematography. You are bound to discover something new every single time.
In gist, this was an extremely impacting and emotional drama that will grow on you with every passing moment until it becomes an obsession for you. It is bound to play with your feelings big time and yet inspire you throughout the journey that you live along with the characters. To each this will be a personal journey. The drama satiated all my drama expectations and made me reevaluate all the other dramas I had watched till date and mentally I deducted at least one star from all of them. In a world where kdramas rule the roast, this will make you hungry for Japanese dramas and leave very big shoes to fill in it's wake.
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How a controversial show made people miss out on a masterpiece
Chugakusei Nikki...… those words will be imprinted in my mind for the rest of my life. I still can't stop thinking about it, it is the only show I have watched that had my jaw drop to the floor and feel so empty inside after completing it. It honestly felt like saying bye to your best friend you knew your whole life and they one day disappear, or the ending of a long-term relationship. One of the most famous sayings is "Don't judge a book by its cover." and that definitely applies here. BE OPEN-MINDED! this show does NOT normalize pedophilia at all, so please, I implore anyone who is curious or on the fence about watching this show because of the synopsis to PLEASE WATCH IT. I too thought it was revolting at first, but after reading the comments I decided to give it a shot, and the emotional experience was worth it from beginning to end. This show has one of the greatest OST's (Original Soundtrack) I've heard from a show. The main song called Prologue is overwhelmingly satisfying from the beginning melody, to the singers soft, yet powerful voice. Once the music starts playing in emotional scenes, I DARE YOU to try and hold back tears. Arimura Kasumi and Okada Kenshi… these two, are perfect in their roles and I'm definitely looking forward to more of their work. The emotion they show is so raw and genuine, It's that good and their chemistry is fantastic. I hope people give this drama a chance. It’s not like those teacherXstudent stories that derived from an existing, perverted fantasy. Instead, it tells a story of a student’s pure and innocent first love. As for the teacher, She’s aware of the societal boundaries and repercussions of these kinds of relationships and properly refutes his confessions and feelings throughout the drama (sort of) even though she loves him. As I was watching the drama, I found the teacher to be a real and relatable character. She is honestly the one you will sympathize and empathize the most with. Yes, pretty much every character in this show is someone you sympathize and feel empathy for but she really goes through the worst of it. So how do I describe the story? It’s such a complex and deep story that explores these two’s view of love. I understand that the student’s age is problematic but if you watch this drama with an open mind, you’ll find that this story is not perverted in any way. This isn't a story about lust, or the teacher manipulating the student or someone's work of perverted fantasy - NO, The writers were able to portray these two consenting individuals as humans who happened to find love in an unexpected place and time, and that's what the show is about: Two people genuinely falling in love. You will laugh, you will be in awe, and you will most certainly cry. This show.....this beautiful , captivating work of art is something that will be on my mind for a lifetime and yours too if you are willing to give it a chance. Please, give this show a chance, or you'll be missing out on one of the greatest emotional experiences ever put together. Chugakusei Nikki gets a 10/10 (Masterpiece).Was this review helpful to you?
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From the first episode itself, the show sets itself apart from others. The love of Hijiri and Akira is honest and pure. In no way have the makers glamorized this forbidden relationship. The struggles of our two leads to stay apart while falling deeper and deeper into a love that no one will accept is one that you can’t help but root for.
The chemistry between the two leads is fantastic. While Arimura Kasumi did a fine job, Okada Kenshi was outstanding. It’s hard to believe this was his first time acting. The other actor worth noting is Yoshida You (Haraguchi san) who was my favorite character in the drama. The rest of the cast was good too.
Prologue by Uru was the highlight of the soundtrack. It blended so well with the tone of the show. I have been listening to it over and over again and still enjoy it.
Rewatch is a must. Although I watched the series as it was airing, I first rewatched all the episodes befor ep 5 aired and then again 1-10 before the final episode and it was great. I noticed so many little things the second /third time around.
For me this is the best J-drama I have seen and probably in the top 5 of all dramas. The last 2.5 months, I have been obsessed with the show. Waiting for each episode to come out, then coming to MDL to discuss with fellow viewers. I have enjoyed every bit of the experience. This is an incredibly well made drama that deserves to be seen. It would be a travesty if you pass it up based on preconceived notions.
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Forbidden Love and it's realistic lessons!
The drama tackles the taboo issue where a student falls for his teacher. It was very delicately handled and was surprisingly well executed (almost).It doesn't shy away from showing that actions have consequences which actually helped me sail through this and added depth to the narrative.
The pacing was slow but it didn't bother me much. The chemistry between the leads was present (Where it counted). The acting was good especially by the ML as a 15-year-old troublemaker who effectively made my blood boil with his decisions. The ML's mother's character maintained the balance throughout. Though I found her lies to her son questionable but her actions towards the relationship were justified!
While few scenes did take me out like the beach scene. They balanced it in the next episode with moments of regret and facing up to the facts! It added that realistic tone as it should.
One thing I found surprising was ML Akira not looking like a teenager, which oddly enough worked in my favour. It increased the viewing experience without the constant visual distractions of a typical teenager!
The ending was a happy one but I expected a bit more. It was too lackluster!
I would only recommend this drama to those who can approach it with an open mind. I do understand the concerns some may have with the overall theme, but it never glorified the issue and respected boundaries.
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The controversy in question is- the 14 year old kid has a crush on his mid 20s teacher.
The synopsis states that this story is spanned over several years starting from when Akira is 14 year old, a senior in Junior High School.
There have been infamous talks about the show and the ratings of episode 1 have been pretty low. Ratings for episode 2 however have increased. A low rating of a show isn't reason enough to not give a show like this a try.
Omg isn't this pedophilia?!?!
A big NO.
As we can make out from the first two episodes, it's quite clear that Hijiri is aware of how wrong even considering the feelings towards a kid are. The show begins with her talking about how she fell in love with her student in 2015. The medley of small clips in the beginning indicates that she left that school(or he left maybe?). The point is that the story that follows is merely a flashback as to what went down in 2015. I think the story will continue from 2018 when the guy is an adult.
Hijiri is a responsible teacher and the first time the student even confesses, she doesn’t even consider the possibility that it’s a love confession but takes it as words of respect meant for her.
I am also pretty sure from the clips shown at the beginning of ep 1 that Hijiri knew that her feelings were wrong, morally. She decided not to act upon it, resisted and made a decision to leave (from what I gather from the few seconds shown in the clip). This show is not pedophilia!
There are times when I find Akira to be brash and difficult, impatient yet thoughtful. This is precisely how a 14-year-old kid behaves. I can't explain how much intrigued I am by this show.
I understand that this show might not be everyone's cup of tea but however, I urge everyone to give it a watch without having any bias or preconceived notions about the show. Don’t reduce this show to anything based on what you have read or heard, at least watch the first two episodes to arrive at a final judgment.
Why do you need to watch this?
- If you are into romance, you simply need to check it out
- The show is wonderfully directed; it's almost like a film. With the main leads appearing in black and white, all alone on the screen talking about their internal feelings for a second or two. Pretty artistic and goes well with the theme. It delivers their emotions so properly, I can’t explain it- you have to watch it
- The chemistry of the 2 main lead actors is quite frankly electric
- The lead actor Okada Kenshi is super cute! Especially when he smiles!
I pondered over what to rate the rewatch rating since there are only 2 episodes yet but I have watched the episodes twice already, therefore the high rating.
I will edit this review as I watch the show accordingly and make changes if needed to the ratings and content.
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My reflections on the reception for this dorama's age-gap story.
Once I completed this dorama I looked at the comments on MDL and I was disappointed to see how people freak out about the relationship between the two characters, reacting at as something nasty that has nothing to do with the present story's intent and message.Although romances with age gaps, especially if an underage person is involved, must undoubtedly not be treated unconsciously, Chugakusei Nikki is very delicate about how the characters' feelings for each other come to take place, and fully presents the difficulties that the teacher, as the oldest of the two, faces from both herself and others.
Criticism of their rather innocent and contained romance as "gross" thus seems unjustified to me because the series makes an effort to show how their love is entirely based on their wish to support each other, without any moral ill-intent whatsoever. If Kuroiwa were still within childhood that'd be different, but he's aware enough for that not to be the case.
It's particularly beautiful that their attraction emerges from them looking at each other as who they are beyond social positions or obligations, and how despite this the story is received from such a negative perspective makes all the sentiment of rejection which appears in the series very strong and real.
This opinion aside, the dorama wasn't as satisfying to watch as I could've expected because the two main characters' individual feelings aren't explored as closely after the first episodes. On one hand the series wants to arrive to the most mature decisions possible, which is praiseworthy, but on the other it gets stuck on all the obstacles that the characters face. Which is why from the middle onwards Chugakusei Nikki turns into a series of problems one after the other, and is much less engaging to watch.
This tiresome side was partly compensated by side characters that are interestingly well-defined and peculiar. I was especially drawn to Haraguchi for being such a resolute and extremely insightful woman, though I noticed she's not seen in a positive light by all watchers either. To me she was a really a unique character and with her onscreen, unexpected things could happen (and she always sped up everyone's pace and re-steered development, which I appreciated!).
All in all, it was still rewarding to see how the plot endeavoured to give some things to learn from, and especially how it succeeded in making of the events the basis that allowed the characters to grow to become better people.
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This review may contain spoilers
An all time masterpiece Jdrama
Almost everything great that can be said about this drama has been said by other reviewers so I'm not sure what else I can say.This is just a masterpiece. From the story, acting and even the soundtrack. Man..Prologue by Uru has gotta' be one of the most fitting songs ever for a JDrama.
The ending..the very last scene of the final episode. I've probably watched it more than 20 times alone. That cinematography....it's just astounding. Even if you are just going to watch it for that very last scene, please do.
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The innocence of Akira (played by the talented Okada Kenshi) who is experiencing the turbulence of being a teenager and who is in love with his teacher. For him, there is no consequences in loving his teacher because for someone his age - love is love. Whilst Hijiri understands that Akira's feelings for him are forbidden and can have severe consequences on her life. This isn't a spoiler, but if people are disturbed by the fact that she may act on her feelings, then don't be. Because she behaves the way one expects of a teacher who knows her student has a very real crush on her. She tries to distance herself and it doesn't work out. Akira's persistency and her own feelings break that fragile border between right and wrong.
This is a story of love, however more than that it is a slice of life. We as viewers are allowed special insight into the lives of each of these characters. We watch them grow, make choices and most of all live their life to the fullest, doing what they think is right. Thank you everyone on mydramalist for making my watching experience such a joy, and also aoihachi for the subs!
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Now, if you've scanned my numerical ratings, you'll know where my review is heading. When I was watching it, I had a really hard time getting through the series and dropped the series in the middle before re-picking it up in the end to see if it got better (in my opinion, it didn't). I'll just jump straight into my problems with it:
1) Pacing is really, really slow. Some people may appreciate this (probably most, if the high reviews here are any indication), but this drama could have easily been condensed into a 90-minute movie and was instead stretched over 11 episodes. I'm guessing they wanted the slow burn to show the teacher slowly develop feelings for the student and show how genuine it was, but that leads to my next problem:
2) Chemistry is lacking. In most dramas I've heard of, even if the actual drama itself is lacking, the main couple is usually praised as having good chemistry, so this was the first drama I've felt like in which the two really didn't have chemistry (and keep in mind I don't care about the taboo stigma surrounding it). The way they paced the attraction made little sense to me: the male lead figures out his feelings almost immediately out of nowhere while the female lead spends so much time with the male lead and gives no visual indication she has feelings for the male lead, and it's only after the male lead advances on her that she's "convinced" she has feelings for the male lead. Which leads into my third point:
3) The male lead character is unlikeable and a stalker, and more importantly didn't fit the story they were going for. It feels uncharacteristic with how quickly and confidently he chases after the female lead, because he is shown with a reserved persona yet has no qualms trying to fiercely pursue this would-be-taboo relationship. My main problem with why this doesn't work is because he acts like a tsundere, and usually in a taboo drama you'd want to see the taboo couple as the underdogs, as they are going against society's rules, but his tsunderish personality makes him hard to be viewed as such as an underdog. And even excluding the taboo part of the relationship, what he does in the drama to get the female lead is stalker-y and basically assault, and people only don't count it as assault because she miraculously turned out to like him after all.
4) The female lead exerts little agency in the story, again diminishing the characterizations of the relationship. She only makes decisions when it is forced upon her and otherwise is completely subject to the wills of other people surrounding her. Her lack of agency combined with lack of chemistry made me feel like she was borderline seduced by the male lead into the relationship, and that on her own she wouldn't have wanted it. The actress is also very painful to watch and doesn't seem like she knows how to act, which is rare for me to feel like since usually I can't spot "bad acting", but man the actress really sealed the deal for me in terms of not liking this drama.
5) Every other character in the drama (including the secondary couple) is flat and uninteresting, only serving as plot devices to provide conflict for the main characters. The secondary couple is just a boring "Will they won't they" storyline, except nothing of importance happens at all during their storyline and I have no idea why it was included in the show.
I'm sure there's more stuff I didn't like about the drama, but I wanted to focus on the essentials that took away the intrigue of the drama for me. I appreciate the show's cinematography and its foray into controversial subject matter, but the execution left a lot to be desired for me.
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