Acting/Cast- The leads had really great chemistry. The female villian was very unlikable and almost scary. The actress did a great job portraying her though. The supporting cast is wonderful!
Music- great, goes well with the scenes.
Overall- If you like HYD and Hana Kimi you will love this. One of the best J dramas Ive ever seen!
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The story isn't really anything new or earth shattering, and it hardly seems like real life, but it is such an enjoyable ride! I loved every second of it, even the villains were awesome to watch, and it really kept you guessing as to who was actually causing all the trouble with their own hands. You know the main villains pretty much right away, but the secondary, or hench men, were unknown until the end and it honestly shocked me! I loved watching Mei-chan win everyone over with her honestly good heart and even her petty-ness was fun to watch. She complained, and cried, and wasn't always the strong one, but it was all part of her character growth, and it was awesome to watch her come into her own and gain confidence. Not to mention the semi-subtle romance between her and a drop dead gorgeous butler! I really loved watching Rihito's devotion and his struggle to accept his feelings as being ok, and just how much he would put on the line for Mei. It was endearing and swoon worthy watching him. Not to mention Mizushima Hiro is just drop dead sexy in a full on tux. @.@ While the story is not anything close to a melodrama, I found myself crying for the characters, laughing with them, and smiling like a little kid. The villains were also written really well, and acted equally as well. I found that even at the end, I couldn't hate them, and actually felt honest sympathy and remorse for their choices and situations. Jdramas are really good at making villains seem okay at the end, and while that's not always a good thing, this time it was done well. This drama actually touched on some really serious issues, but it did do with such a lighthearted over all feel that it was easy to bounce back from scene to scene and not wallow in the angst.
The music was good, and fit the scenes just right, and while I don't remember any particular song, they blended in perfectly and only enhanced the emotions.
As I've already said, I've re-watched this drama six times, and I'll probably watch it again, but I'm a re-watcher by nature. :P Overall, this drama is lighthearted, sweet, heartwarming, tear inducing, and romantic all in one. If you want a fun watch with good characters, a decent story, and a heck of a lot of eye candy, this is the drama!!
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When I started watching this drama I never really expected too much of it. I started watching it and thought the beginning was kinda interesting but the main actress was already starting to get annoying.. Ah, Im not hating on the actress but really, her character pissed me off so much that I dropped around half way of the drama, although I picked it up again, just after a few episodes I dropped once again.. But then since there were only just a few episodes left I decided to pick it up again for the last time. The reason that kept me watching really was because of Mukai Osamu and Mitzushima Hiro (two of my favorite actors). But then the ending was so bad though, it was all so rushed..
So really, there's an annoying main lead, most acting was average, although its comedy I hardly laughed at all, the music wasn't anything special, the drama really bored me, like it just could've been alot better! I mean, here you have a group of good actors, an unique story, why couldn't it have been better? Honestly I find this drama a bit overrated.. >__
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The music in this drama was not memorable I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either.
Overall, Mei-chan no Shitsuji is a very crappy drama that I would not recommend to anyone. If you're a fan of Mizushima Hiro and want to see him in a similar role, then I suggest you watch Kuroshitsuji a.k.a. Black Butler, he plays Sebastian, a Butler who is way more bad ass than the Butler he portrays in this drama. If this drama is your first encounter with Mizushima Hiro and think he's a bad actor then I suggest you watch Hana Kimi though he is not the lead in Hana Kimi, he is one of the main characters and he puts on a much better acting performance in Hana Kimi. For fans of Sato Takeru and people who saw him for the first time in this drama I recommend you watch the movie, Rurouni Kenshin he delivers a pitch perfect performance in that movie as the main character. As for Eikura Nana, I have not seen her in anything else so I cannot make a recommendation and I'm not sure I want to see her in anything else after her horrible performance in this drama.
If you want something similar to this drama, then I recommend Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge a drama also filled with hot guys but with better acting and storyline. Also Oomasa Aya who portrayed one of Mei's classmates in this drama portrays the lead character in Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge.
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At first, I wasn't quite sure whether or not I was going to watch this. It took me a couple of episodes, but then I was sucked into it and had to watch it all! The plot in the drama wasn't quite like the one in the manga and the romance was not as present as it was in the manga. It'd be great if there was a special or even a second season to expand on that though because the two leads had good chemistry.
Really, the main thing that bothered me was Kento's hair. It was pretty silly looking. The show has a lot of comedic moments that keep it from getting too dark and the number of episodes kept it from becoming too long, like in some kdramas. Although I wouldn't have minded more episodes, fufu ^^
All in all, I'd recommend this drama.
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Although the two main actors had chemistry I always felt as if something were missing. The acting was just above average overall and it seemed I enjoyed the music the most of everything.
I also felt like the show ended abruptly without any real conclusion to the couples continuation. It was disappointing that it ended as it did, I feel another 2-6 episodes would of made it much better.
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That's what I thought at first, because the first episode felt like an anime came to life, but after watching it I felt really satisfied! (Even though it features some stereotypes...)
The story is good. It could've been better to be honest, but what do you expect from this kind of genre?
I did rewatch it (two times!) and I have to tell you how happy I am with Mizushima Hiro and Eikura Nana in this one. They are great together and the role of butler fits Hiro so well.
Also Nana is a great actor and one of the few female actors that doesn't annoy me after a while! She is just not the typical "high-school-girl-without-back-bone" and really stands up for herself, which made it enjoyable to watch. There were some fun twists in the story and the characters were different than I expected, in a good way.
Some (humorous) parts reminded me of Boys Before Flowers, so if you liked that one, you'll probably like this one as well!
The soundtracks are great! I put them on my mp3 player right away.
If you're into girly drama but with a different twist, you should watch this one. It's a really cute and feel good drama, but keep some tissues at hand!
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And it is... in some ways. First, the school is completely ridiculous. No teachers that we can see of, and the students do what they want. Also, some actors that were in HanaKimi are also in Meichan, like Nanba-sempai, Oscar and Hibari-san.
And there is where the similarities end.
It is true that, like it happened to me while watching HanaKimi, I kept thinking "this is so ridiculous". But with HanaKimi I was thinking this while I was laughing. Instead, with Meichan, every time I had this thought was with a straight face and rolling my eyes.
Let's start with our heroine, Mei-chan.
While Horikita Maki can't act, and while she was kind of annoying as Mizuki, Eikura Nana was dull as Mei-chan. Maki is a bad actress, but she has charisma. Eikura Nana is a better actress but she was so dull. And her character was exactly like those girls in shoujo manga I hate so much: so nice, so naive. She cries for nothing. She gives up when there is a problem. She constantly runs away. Two nice guys love her, no idea why. The villain of the story tried to ruin her life several times, yet she "forgives" her and wants to be her friend. The sidekick of the villain shot an arrow to her love, yet she "forgives" her. All people that are mean to her, she forgives them. Arggg!
Another thing that bothered me about her, which is not completely related to her, is the lenght of her skirt. Yes, Eikura Nana is tall and has nice legs, but she is supposed to be a nerdy, innocent, kind of silly girl! Instead, she wears the shortest skirt in school.
Her childhood friend, played by Sato Takeru, confesses his love for her. Yet every time he says something like "I will always be by your side", what is her reply? "Mameshiba...." (his nickname). I swear, this happens almost every episode:
- Kento: I will fight for you, I will not give up.
- Mei: Mameshiba....
- Kento: I will always love you. Maybe sometime you will love me too.
- Mei: Mameshiba....
- Kento: I will go to England to become a better butler to be with you forever.
- Mei: Mameshiba....
And when he decides to leave to England, she gets mad. Doesn't say goodbye. But oh wait, she regrets her decision at the last minute, and of course everyone, including her awesome butler, have to do the impossible so she can get to the airport to have the above kind of conversation again.
All I have to say about Sato Takeru is... dude, that orange hair! Seriously, it was awful. Looked like a mushroom or something. And he looks like a 90-year-old man in a boy body. The bags under his eyes! Please, eat more! He was pouting and stomping all the time like a little boy. He did not have a chance against his cool brother, who at least behave like a man.
The headmistress was a joke, and not the good kind. All she did was read manga (really???). Well, the whole school was a joke, actually. What with those four mean girls who were always crossing arms? Who were they to have so much power? And they acted so bad. Like, BAAAAD. Lucia-sama was another cartoonish evil character: supposedly fragile and beautiful, but disguising her mean motives. Yawn, at the end she "redeems" herself. How? Only by trying to commit suicide, but wait! Sweet Mei comes to save her and tell her she wants them to be friends **eyerolls**. The other girls were all 2-dimensional: the tsundere, the fatty, the rich brat, the weirdo, etc. None of them very likeable.
Not one moment I believed the bond between Mei and her classmates. Why would they? Because Mei "helped" them to keep their butlers? There was ZERO chemistry between the girls. And there were some good actresses. But yikes, no friendship at all there. I did not feel like they enjoyed shooting the scenes. The "best" of them (and at "best" I am referring to the most tolerable) was the little girl. The others were mediocre.
I found the idea of a girl and her butler very creepy, not romantic nor funny at all. These girls lived among girls only, except for their butlers. Of course some of them would develop romantic feelings for their butlers (which was prohibited). And how could these young, capable, handsome man be happy serving a spoiled rich girl? Some of them have medical abilities. Yet they were enslaved by these girls. Yes, ENSLAVED. They had to risk their lives for their mistress, they had to give up their own lives to serve their mistress. It was a very weird concept... The butlers did not own their lives; their mistresses did. There is a scene where Mei and Lucia-sama have a duel and the one who wins will keep Rihito-sama, like he is some kind of dog or something. In fact, Lucia-sama claims that she will have him forever and never, that she will own him.... Ehhhhh?
As for Hiro playing Rihito-sama, the perfect butler... While he looked very good as a butler, and he is very handsome with a model-like pose, I wasn't convinced with his acting. He squints his eyes very much (like he did in Kuroshitsuji).
In fact, the only one I think was very good was Osamu Mukai, as the evil butler. He looked good instead of ridiculous in his outfit. Other people, like the evil guy from "Liar Game", can look like he is cosplaying, but not Osamu Mukai. He nailed it in that white suit and white wig.
In summary, this dorama failed big as a comedy. Not a comedy, more like a parody but again, failed as one. It is more dramatic, but the silly kind of drama. The villains were cartoonish, the jokes were lame, there was zero chemistry between the actors, the acting was very bad. The dorama was saved by Osaku Mukai and the presentation of the show + the song. Oh, and for fans of the movie "BECK" almost all the gang is here, except the drummer and the rapper XD
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A cheesy MESS- But worthy of love!
I must presume that only people who will agree with my review of "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" will be those of you who, much like me, grew up on Japanese dramas. If that`s so, then this little cringy gem was surely a part of your childhood. "Hana Yori Dango", "Hana Kimi" and this drama could very well be referred to as the Holy Trinity of early 2000s Japanese drama world. And if you`ve followed me this far, then you must realize why my rating is so high. And you would be right on the money. Pure, unadulterated NOSTALGIA.Is "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" a collection of over-the-top scenes that amount to slapstick jokes and overdramatic revelations most of the time?Well yeah, it`s based on a shoujo manga by an artist whose scope of world building and character development is very, very flawed. Most of the characters, excluding the main ones, are positively one dimensional. And stereotypical at that. A womanizer, a rich heiress, a rich girl who won`t stop eating, macabre couple of misfits...check,check,check! And despite all that, there IS this sense of overall earnestness that made this drama so popular in dark, private Japanese drama circles(just kidding). And the majority of that likeability falls on our lead pair and most importantly, on the character of Mei. Her story is completely clichéd, `fish out of the water` type that became worn out even back in 2009. However, much like "Hana Yori Dango"`s Makino(a less developed version for sure), Mei is a character who was extremely amplified by the actress playing her, to the point of where she`s miles ahead of her manga counterpart. The actress Hana Eikura decided to be on her A game while shooting this drama, and brought us a character that`s sarcastic, everyman and for the most part, relatable(except for the whole falling in love with an S rank butler of a prestigious academy part). Her love interest Rihito, played by the ever so charming Hiro Mizushima, is also one most Jdrama watchers remember due to his charisma and dare I say, appropriate chemistry. Don`t be fooled by my review, it`s nothing like the chemistry level of Makino and Tsukasa(Mao Inoue and Jun Matsumoto) but it is there. Now, if I were to dive deep into the many, many flaws of "Mei-chan no Shitsuji) this review would take a nosedive into those dreadful 4s, so I`m not going to do that.
Yes, the plot is exasperatedly overdone and obvious. Yes, the situations are cringy and villains cartoonish and...Well, hm.
About that "cartoonish villains" part. Unlike vast majority of dramas dealing with this subject matter, the actual villains in the form of Shinobu, Shiori, Tami and Kanda are better than what you would expect. I remember the 12 year old me being shocked that Tami and Kanda were that blood thirsty and ready to execute their plan of getting rid of Mei when they were with her at the bottom of the ladder for such a long time. That reveal alone, albeit a bit predictable, made me appreciate the show that much more.
Be it for uncontrollable amount of love and unwarranted protection I`ve got for this blast from the past, be it for something having possession over me, I have to give this show an 8 because I still genuinely rewatch it from time to time and still have the fun of my life doing so. I`m not saying you`ll like it(in fact I`m sure you won`t) but maybe give it a try for when you just want to watch something outlandish but still fun as hell.
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