I am always a big
fan of Japanese school dramas such as Gokusen (starring Nakama Yukie, Matsumoto
Jun, Oguri Shun and a whole lot of Japanese Actors who are well-known in Japan
as of this day), Nobuta wo Produce (starring Yamashita Tomohisa, Kamenashi Kazuya,
Horikita Maki and Toda Erika), Sprout (starring Chinen Yuri, Aoi Morikawa,
Jesse Lewis and Fujiko Kojima), Bakaleya Shiritsu Koukou (starring a lot
of young idols from Johnny's Jr. and AKB48) and Scrap Teacher. Since then, I am
always on the lookout for Japanese dramas that focuses on school life, whether
it is about friendship, romance, being a detective, or to some extent brutal
killings (Battle Royale and Assassination Classroom, anyone?). Only Japan can
have this kind of plot in a school drama, but before I get to that angle of
Japanese entertainment, I want to talk about the 2015 drama Gakkou no
Kaidan [学校のカイダン ] (School's
Staircase, literal title)
Cast:
Kamiki
Ryunosuke: So, I have to admit that Kamiki Ryunosuke is
one of the Japanese actors that I think are one of the best in subtle
expressions. Among other Japanese actors/actresses of his generation,
he is the most experienced and probably, in my own opinion, best in acting.
You might remember him on the live action of Rurouni Kenshin which starred
Takeru Sato, they are both from Amuse (talent agency) by the way so they have
work for several dramas/movies together. On Rurouni Kenshin, he played my
favorite character on the Series, Seta Soujiro.
Aside
from his impressive list of works, he has won several awards inside and outside
Japan such as Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Kazoku Game"
from two award-giving bodies.
Kamiki
Ryunosuke's Recognitions:
77th Television
Drama Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor - Kazoku Game
17th Nikkan
Sports Drama Grand Prix (Apr-Jun 2013): Best Supporting Actor for Kazoku Game
2006 Japan
Academy Awards: Best Newcomer for Yokai Daisensou
51st Monte-Carlo
TV Festival 2011: (Nominated) Outstanding Actor in TV Films for Threads of Our
Hearts (Kokoro no Ito)
2011 Seoul
International Drama Awards: Yahoo! People's Choice - The Best Actor of Japan /
Netizen Popularity Award
4th Tama Eiga
Awards: Best Newcomer Actor for Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutte yo and SPEC TEN
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Kamiki as Seta Soujiro in "Rurouni Kenshin"
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In
Gakkou no Kaidan, he played the mysterious, perverted and genius speech writer.
Though, his performance can be considered over-acting by some, I think he acted
the part of being mysterious at the same time manipulative character well. His
expressions on funny scenes were hilarious .I have the outmost respect for this
actor and we have the same age, how cool is that!
Hirose
Suzu: Aside from the fact that Hirose Suzu is 5 years younger than Kamiki,
she is relatively new in acting department. She started on year 2013. But don't
get me wrong, this girl showed a huge amount of potential in this series as she
carried out her scenes well. She is one of the actresses that I would love to
look out for.
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Hirose Suzu
Photo credit: http://asianwiki.com/File:Suzu_Hirose-p1.jpg |
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Her chemistry
with Kamiki was also commendable. I hope they will act together as a couple in
a romantic-comedy series or a movie. 5 years is not that big of a gap and
Kamiki still looks like a 17-year old high school student in this drama.
Plot:
The story revolves around Haruna
Tsubame (Hirose) who finds herself elected as the school president due to the
support by the Platinum 8, a group of the richest students in
the school and the hidden leaders of the school. They are rich, influential and
manipulative. As soon as she discovered the main reason for being elected
as president, her peaceful days in the school ended and she became a victim of
a harsh system on the school. From here, comes in Shizukui Kei (Kamiki), a
mysterious young man who appears in front of Haruna while she was in a
desperate situation. The two decided to change the school full of injustice,
irrationality, and corruption step by step with the power of words written by
Kei.
My thoughts:
I love how the series involve
leadership and corruption here in the movie. I think it represents the society
nowadays where there are a lot of injustices happening caused by the leaders
and powerful ones victimizing the lower class in the society. It also shows the
problem of having a puppet president who appears to be a leader yet powerless
in front of the people. The series also shows how people’s minds and emotions
can be swayed by words.
The chemistry between the two actors
was shown on the few cheesy moments of the drama such as the indirect kiss
scenes, hugging and consoling scenes. There’s a bonus at the last episode for
you romantic people out there. I don’t want to elaborate since I want to spoil
your moods in watching the series.
Other positive points of the drama are
music and settings of the drama. The insert song is “Just One Girl” by Fujiwara
Sakura and the main theme song is “Uchouten “ by B’z.
My only problem is that the
episodes were rather repetitive due to the ending of every episode and the
Platinum 8. I would like them to show more arrogance and power in the series
but whatever, the series has ended. Just watch this series.
Rating:
8.99/10 – Highly Recommended!
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| Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/DramaKaidan |
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Gakko no Kaidan (NTV)
Starring:
Kamiki Ryunosuke
Hirose Suzu
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