Beginners! (2012)

What do you get when you mix Police Academy and Fujigaya Taisuke? The fun that is Beginners!, that's for certain.

Although this drama was on my watch list long before it premiered, I wasn't expecting much. I thought it would be okay and possibly pretty funny. It was both of those things, yet it was much more.

Beginners!, for me, dove deeper than your typical do-your-best, slice-of-life type drama. It included each and every characters quirks and fears; in other words, it gives us the motivations and objectives of each character in full view (even if that reveal is step by step, episode by episode).

Storywise, it was fairly general, but the acting made up for that in my opinion. My favorites in the drama (not that I'm biased) were Taipi and Hiromitsu. They were both strong and had the most convincing characters in the show.

I also felt that Gouriki Ayame's performance as Hiro, though stilted at times, was much more likeable than say her performance in Asuko March! She did have very good chemistry with Fujigaya, at any rate.

I can't complain about the music. Wannabe by Kis-My-Ft2 is a great song for this drama, and it is always stuck in my head.

Overall, Beginners! comes out with a lot of plucky, heart-warming moments (and even a little romance). It's also just a lot of fun.

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This drama's story was about the substitute police officers trying hard to be considered as normal police officers. they all want to achieve their goal and become close through the influence of one man. Like always, I think this is the classic turn of events. One main man who is always a bit of a pervy and all happy go lucky with some special skill, in this case running, unites a group of different people and makes them appreciate him and like him. This kind of thing is very common in anime and manga. This time it was also no different plus we also have the classic and mild love triangle forming which was predictable from the moment the drama started.

The unpredicted part of this drama was the fact that there would be good acting by some and bad by others. The main two guys did pretty well in their roles and they were able to communicate their feelings. The style was rather weak, with fujigaya's being the strongest out of the two. The other boys did pretty well, even the guy with the glasses, he also had his own style. The females were good too. However ayame gouriki once again lacked that "something". It is like i see her playing the same character again and again. The acting style is also the same the facial expression of the gaping mouth was prominent, way of speech for her resembled so much her other roles. I tried though to ignore her acting and not judge it so that i could enjoy the rest of the drama with it's funny and serious moments.

Music wise , the drama had a motivational and inspirational air to it. It was certainly there and you could tell but it did not bother, it was rather assisting.

Rewatching it would be okay i suppose. things would still be funny though you would know the various small details about it, it will still be funny i believe.

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You know when you watch a drama because you like one or two actors and you're not expecting much, but then you get something amazing? That's what happened with this one for me. This is one of those dramas in which you have a team of untrained rookies trying to do something together while learning to get along, which is a plot that often happens in sports drama. Here, though, being a police drama, it not only opens up the possibilities to mix that with a few cases to solve and some training, but it also covers the deep and emotional reasons that lead each one of these characters to pursue this as a career and to keep going despite them being in so much pressure. It goes through very emotional aspects, it got me crying at one point, but it's also funny and easygoing most times. It's really well-balanced. I do find a problem in the plot, which is that there's one element in the protagonist's story-line (very well performed by Fujigaya Taisuke) that doesn't get as resolved as I would have liked (something that has to do with his father), but I really liked that they took time to make viewers understand and feel connected to each character as well as move the plot along. I watched it basically for Kitayama Hiromitsu, who gave a pretty great performance, especially in the episode centered on his character, but an unexpected surprise for me was Gouriki Ayame, whose character and performance I really enjoyed in this one. I especially loved how they contrast the police as a tainted idea with what they become, which is protectors of the people. If you want a drama mainly about friendship, a hardworking team of underdogs that comes together, a little bit of romance and a few mysteries to solve and tasks to accomplish, then this one is a good one to choose.

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