After watching the devastatingly sad and heartbreaking first episode of the new Matsuyuki Yasuko drama MOTHER, I really needed something that was light and happy to watch next, and going through my folder of dramas that I’ve stockpiled over the years, came across the fun and zany drama HARUKA 17! 
A cute story of a 22 year old mousey girl named Haruka who moonlights as a beautiful 17 year old model, I downloaded this one awhile ago when I was in the mood for a comedy, (but ultimately decided on Ryoko Yonekura drama SEIKEI BIJIN instead) and this was REALLY the tonic I need to lift my spirits and just LAUGH again!
The drama is based on the manga HARUKA 17 by Yamazaki Sayaka, and the characters are as fun, exaggerated and colorful as if they stepped right out of the comic, and even MORE exaggerated and colorful are the gorgeous girls in the show! When you’ve got a drama based around models, idols and talent agencies, you naturally expect to see some beautiful girls in bikinis and sexy dresses, and this one SURE doesn’t disappoint!
he Actress Du Jour this time is pretty model Hirayama Aya as the titular heroine Haruka Miyamae, a girl who though I’m seeing for the very first time, completely won me over with this show! Playing the dual roles of both Haruka’s “dorky” side as well as her “outgoing” self, I wasn’t sure how well she was going to pull it off, but within minutes of the show, I fully bought into both characters and set back for a fun, laugh-out-loud time!
Haruka is a girl who has just graduated from college but can’t seem to find a job. Dejected, she is thrilled to find she’s been hired by the Doumu Agency as talent manager. What she DOESN’T realize is they’ve ACTUALLY hired her as a model and it is only by convincing/tricking her that they manage to get her into a bikini and onto a photo shoot.
Though confused as to exactly WHY she’s in a bikini, the shoot goes well, and the struggling agency realizes they have stumbled upon a gem that they can pin their hopes on. Although angry at the trickery, Haruka is pleased to find that she is needed and appreciated by everyone at the agency, and agrees to model for them until they can get on their feet. Going through the motions each day, Haruka slowly begins to enjoy what she’s doing, and with the love and support of her family and protective nurturing form her Agency, we see her grow not only as an idol, but as a person as well! 
The show always begins with the geeky bespectacled Haruka studying up on the latest assignment to tackle, hilariously interacting with the rest of the wacky agency members: her Boss (played by Furuta Arata in his best role ever) her manager (Kaneko Takatoshi) and her flamboyant make-up artist (hilariously played by Fukuzawa Atsushi) as they work out her schedule for the day. Then of course it builds up to the actual shoot/assignment, where Haruka’s “gorgeous” persona is revealed, always looking preciously sweet and innocent! 
As her idol/model persona, Haruka is always stunning, of course, but strangely enough, it’s her “mousey” persona that really steals the show! With her stammering speech, slouching posture and hunched-over shuffling stride, she really brings the character to loveable life, and at times she even seemed to remind me of Shida Mirai (and from ME, that’s a HELLA good point!)
Kudos to Aya for breathing to life such a lovable character in Haruka! With every step that Haruka takes on the path to stardom, Aya truly makes you believe Haruka, and you feel in your heart that you really want her to succeed!
Because of this new interest in Aya Hirayama, I’m not only digging up Gokusen 3 and Hataraki Man, but also attempting to acquire her 2006 movie BACKDANCERS and am thinking it’s high time I got that notorious WATERBOYS movie that launched so many careers!
PS: Besides featuring other pretty young actresses like Seto Saki (more later) as Haruka’s rival and Aizawa Sayo as Nanako, the agency’s established star, HARUKA 17 also has a few older actresses I’ve always loved, like still-gorgeous Takahashi Hitomi appearing as Haruka’s mother and Suzuki Sawa (whom I’ve loved since AGRI) as a corporation Agent Takamura who believes in Haruka’s potential. Nice to see these gals again!
