Gotta Go Back, Back, Back To School Again! Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho

Not since Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School" has the sight of an old geezer catchin' up on his schoolin' been so much FUN! Didn't even know about this drama until Hamanosilence mentioned it, and once I found it subbed, I wasted NO TIME grabbing it up and have been enjoying it immensely!!!

The story of an overprotective Father who ends up enrolling in classes to watch over his college-bound daughter sounds like it would have the feeling of “Kahogo No Kahoko” or "Hanayome to Papa”, but after watching about halfway through, I think the drama is more like Super Salary-Man Saenae-shi or Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou No Shiro with its eccentric and manic-paced wackiness! Indeed, they’ve even employed alums from those dramas, with Muro Tsuyoshi and Jiro Sato playing overprotective fathers, brah, as soon as I saw these guys I was prepared for maximum silliness!

Prepped I was, and silliness I got! VERY fun situations and interactions as you might expect form a show about a dad who enrolls in all his daughters classes, activities and even after class get togethers, but the HEART of this show is with his sheltered daughter Sakura (a sweet and sincere portrayal by actress Mei Nagano) and her vibrant and life-lovin’ schoolmates, each one with his or her own distinct quirk!

Sakura (Mei Nagano)

Hiroko (Mio Imada)

Misaki (Karin Ono)

Hatakeyama (Taishi Nakagawa)

Negoro (Junki Tozuka)

The dynamic of the three girls works perfectly- the conservative Sakura, the brash Misaki, and the cool Hiroko make every scene interesting, with spirited, sassy dialog!

Something about Mei Nagano, She reminds me of a cross between Nao Matsushita and HARU. So, so cute, and a very sweet persona!

And that Mio Imada- WHOA!!!!  From the very first time I saw her in SUITS as Yuto Nakajima’s hometown friend Sari, I knew she was something special, and though I've been seeing her in the recent Hanzawa Naoki series, MAN, this is the first time we’re getting to see her flex her chops, and with Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho, we get to see how FINE ’n’ SASSY she can be!!!

PS: In a sweet cameo of sorts, It’s been nice seeing Yui Aragaki as Sakura’s Mother in the flashback scenes. Very small role but so heartwarming- every time she’s on screen, she just lights up the place!

Oh, and if the Saenai-shi connection isn't clear enough, they even shot the ending credits with the same kind of circular driveway ramp thingy in the background- 
 Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho:

And compare with the ending in Super Salaryman Saenai-Shi:

Similar, no?

EDIT:  Okay, I looked up the Director for Obayaka Seishun Hakusho, and SURE ENOUGH, Yuichi Fukuda ALSO directed Super Salaryman Saenai-Shi AND Yuusha Yoshihiko To Maou No Shiro!!! I KNEW this eccentric, wacky style was TOO familiar!!! Have to say, it adds up to a FUN little show!!!

EDIT: Just wrapped up the series and HOLY COW, was this an AWESOME drama!!!! Such WONDERFUL characters, I never wanted to leave!!!! Such a SHAME that it had a mere 7 episodes...would have LOVED to see more!!! An A+ drama!!!!

Posted by zdorama @zdoramaagain.blogspot.com