Keiko Kitagawa stars in Themis no Kyoshitsu: Legal Seishun Hakusho as Shizuku Hiiragi, a judge who is taken off the bench for reasons unclear, to become a Law Teacher at Seinan University. Seems she has been called back to her old school by a former teacher Morimiya (Mitsuhiro Oikawa) who hopes her earnest and thoughtful outlook can become a benefit for the school, which had become a cold institution focused only on churning out students for the Bar Exam but little for human interaction.
Meeting up with her old Teacher Morimiya
With an optimistic step, Hiiragi gamely takes on the challenge of her new task as teacher, but she is met almost immediately with defiance by her standoffish students who are against her carefree and personable takes on the law lessons, and instead want to be taught ONLY what they need to pass the bar and NOTHING else.
...already that ATTITUDE from the students!
The main students: Terui (Sara Minami), Kiriya (Oshiro Maeda) , Manaka (Fumiya Takahashi) Mizusawa (Kentaro Maeda) and Amano (Hana Kawamura)...Hiiragi would like them to know that there is much more than what’s on the paper and in the books, but they feel they don’t have time to be dealing with these "human interest” diversions when there are tests to be passed.
One big reason for the attitude of the students is the teacher Jin Aoi (Yuki Yamada), a cold and robotilike teacher who feels that getting students to pass as the only thing that matters to the students (as well as the university itself), and refuses to clutter his lessons with the parts of the cases that include compassion and understanding, a fact that befuddles Hiiragi to no end (as she sneaks in on one of his lessons)! Aoi is seen as a revolutionary sensei by the students since his methods get results, but at what cost?
From the beginning Hiiragi and Aoi butt heads, with Shizuku saying that a lawyer who doesn’t have a grasp on human emotions and interactions will not be very good, and Aoi pointing out that if the students can’t pass the tests in the first place, then what good are her lessons?
Morimiya simply eats up this clashing of morals- it’s JUST the kind of interaction he was hoping for by bringing Hiiragi in, and his ultimate hope is that the two can combine the BEST of each of their principles to become the best Law teachers the school can offer!
But they've GOT to learn to get ALONG first, and it seems like THAT task might be well IMPOSSIBLE! We'll watch as they wear each other down in the coming weeks!
WELL, I think I’ve mentioned before about how much I really dislike school/student dramas, and sure enough, we’ve already got a hot handful of arrogant, and rude kids to make up the class, and I’m sure in the coming episodes we’ll have to deal with each of them and their personal problems. Heck, there’s already the “Student who Has to Work A Night Job” cliche, so you know even more is coming! 
But of course I HAD to check this out if not for ANY other reason than it’s the latest Keiko Kitagawa vehicle, and I must say that in THAT regard, it is very good, full of that dazzling Keitan glory I LOVE so much! I only wish she was more Big-Mouthy and Outspoken than this sweet and easily-pushed-around kind of person. But I guess as time goes on and the students learn to (hopefully) like her we can expect less Pushback from them!
We’ll see where this one goes…..
