Crush of The Day: Sakura Fujiwara

WELL, IT WAS ABOUT TIME!!! Seems like insanely pretty actress Sakura Fujiwara has been on my radar for YEARS,  but the truth of the matter is, in that time since I first saw her in  2016 (in the Masaharu Fukuyama drama "Love Song), Sakura REALLY hasn't done much in the way of movies and dramas! 

Sakura in Love Song 

In fact, I distinctly remember that when she was announced to appear in the new drama "Fight Song" in 2022, I was like Ben Kenobi, thinking "Now THAT is a name I haven't heard in YEARS!" and checking her dramawiki stats, seems she'd only done a total of THREE dramas in the 7 year span!

Sakura in Fight Song

I guess being a full-time musician and singer kept her too busy to really spend time in the world of acting, but with the announcement of  Tsuka no Ma no Ichika at the end of 2022, I crossed fingers that she'd be here to stay!

Well, the drama has long since come and gone now, with barely a blip registering in j-drama buzz and forums, and there has been no word of any upcoming projects for the elusive Ms. Fujiwara. But just this past week, a subtitling team finished translating and subbing the entire drama, and at episode 5 already, am HAPPY to say that this is one really SWEET show!

Below: With Suzu Yamanouchi and Ren Komai

In the realm of J-dramas and, heck, romance stories in general,  Tsuka no Ma no Ichika's story is probably a mundane, cliched and overused chestnut of a plot, with Sakura starring as Ichika, a girl who is secretly dying of an unnamed disease, one which is expected to take her in  a few years. Attempting to make the most out of the life she has, she attends college where she falls for a teacher named Akifumi (Taiga Kyomoto) who later is revealed to have a terminal illness as well.

Yeah, it's the Josh Green /Nicholas Sparks boilerplate "Manic Pixie Dreamgirl" scenario (Manic Pixie Dreamgirl: Character with terminal illness who saves morose young man with her zest for life) that we've seen a thousand times, but you know, Sakura Fujiwara is just SO SINCERE and believable as the gentle and positive Ichika that I find myself completely invested and INVOLVED with the story!

I'm telling you: Sakura is simply RADIANT in this drama, exuding this sweet, sunny and OH! so GIRLY aura, that of course it took NO TIME before my head was SWIMMING with hearts over her!

This is actually a first for me seeing her as this waifish, vulnerable girl, as she's always played these really TUFF tomboy types in the dramas I've seen her in, with her strong , raspy voice she always sounded more like someone who could kick your butt before stealing your heart, but here we are!

Oh MAN, I find that when I'm watching  Tsuka no Ma no Ichika, I can NOT stop screencapping scenes of Sakura- she looks so captivating each shot looks perfect for postcards! 

Look upon my works, ye mighty, and DESPAIR! For I am only halfway through this drama and it looks like there will be a LOT more screen-grabbing before I'm through!!!

Fight/Love Song

 BTW, It just occurred to me how similar "Fight Song" is to Sakura Fujiwara's earlier drama "Love Song"...besides both featuring Sakura, both dramas deal with a girl who grew up in an orphanage who meets up with a once-famous musician who is going through a songwriting crisis, and, through their relationship, helps reignite their passion for their music!

Though I thought Sakura was really great in Love Song, I remember at the time Saburo watching it and saying "I don't believe her character at ALL." LOLOL, maybe he'd find her character of Rin in Fight Song more easy to digest! AHAHA

Yeah, i'm basically rambling here...Sorry, I just can't get enough of Fight Song!

Unrequited Love Everywhere: More "Fight Song" Musing

 In the immortal words of the J. Geils Band song “Love Stinks”, the lyrics go
“You love her but she loves him and he loves somebody else, you just can’t win”, and this is a tried and true trope of the everyday Japanese Rom-Com Love triangle!
 Ex-Karate enthusiast Hanae and struggling songwriter Haruki are trying to make a go of a love relationship though neither has any experience. 

As usual for a J-drama romcom, each has a certain someone who secretly holds a torch for them, in this case manager Yumiko Date pining for Haruki...

and childhood friend Shingo in love with Hanae...

But that triangle is squared when you add in Rin, a fellow orphanage friend, who is in love with Shingo, and has to sit by idly while the man she loves moons over Hanae.

Unlike Shingo, Rin’s affections seem to be pretty clear but Shingo has no interest in her and is constantly ignoring/shrugging off/oblivious to her advances...

I think it’s one thing when you see Shingo struggling with his unrequited love for Hanae, seeing as how Hanae’s such a sweetie, but when you see his disinterest in the beautiful, spunky and always reliable Rin, you wonder how thick he can be! Well a girl can only take so much and after three episodes of his indifference, Rin gives Shingo a taste of what he deserves!

LOLOL, All delivered with a dazzling smile on her face, no less!

Yeah, yeah, these two are probably gonna end up together by the drama's end but will we really believe in our hearts that Shingo has truly realized how great Rin is? Or will it be another "John Hughes Consolation Prize" send off?

PS: This is my second post in the "Girl Kicks a Johnny's Boy in the Butt" Series which began with Mirei Kiritani and Jun Matsumoto back in 2010....HAHAHA

A Quick Note On "Fight Song"

 Holy CRAP was the latest episode of “Fight Song” Good! I’m tellin’ ya, Kaya Kiyohara is a treasure and her role of Hanae might be her BEST YET!!! 

Same goofy Kaya we've come to know and love but with an added sense of ...brashness?

I just love the spazzy way she prattles on and on saying whatever's on her mind and even when she's just hanging around the house it's entertaining, like the time when she's frustrated and karate punches her stuffed bear, only to gently pick it up and apologize to it, AHAHAHAHAHA

Such great scenes, great dialog and of course some wonderful acting!  So far, Fight Song is a becoming a BIG FAVE! 

PS: Oh, and Man, is that Sakura Fujiwara a babe!!!