My Fave Matsujun's Drama

In relation to Matsujun month (Hope it's not that belated by the time this gets posted), I don't think I've written anything for Matsujun yet so here it is. First of all, I'm not really a fan of Hana Yori Dango franchise, although thanks to Hanadan, I just realized that Matsujun is one of Arashi (silly me, been listening to Happiness w/o knowing it's Arashi) then later stretch on to the wonderful fandom of Arashi. But still, it doesn't make me fall head over heel on the drama itself because, well, I know the story already thanks to the Taiwan version which doesn't do any justice. I must say though, to me, out of the 3 version of Hanadan, Matsujun is the best DoS for Domyoji character. With that being said, we come to 2 Matsujun dramas that I adore so much, Kimi wa Petto and Natsu Niji. Yeah, from these dramas you know that I like Jun at being cute, not DoS LOL LOL LOL, well these 2 are drama that everybody has watched countless times so, I'd just go with my 2 cents :)


Kimi Wo Petto




Yeah, it's an old drama, everybody watched it, loved it, and rewatched it again and again, and this one will be forever in my list because it's just... different. The first time I watched this, I have no idea who's Matsujun, watched it because of Nagano is in there and the OST is V6's Darling, but this drama has been in my list since then. What pull me the most is actually the story. The theme is simple, a human pet, a different gender at that, can it be kept a pet forever? Well, obviously not, especially if the pet is as cute as Momo. The plot starts with owner finding the pet, then keeping him as a pet, then with the living arrangement, they come to know each other's antics. But complication soon starts as the owner starts dating her senpai. The pet who's used to be showered with attention now starts to act up (is it jealousy?). But the pet also has his own problem, he's human after all. So with all the complication, how the owner-pet relationship survives? I like how they play with the plot and even Sumire's love life is complicated enough due to her personality (the boyfriend and the ex-boyfriend are actually normal, she's the one that actually makes things complicated from the way I see it) then you add Momo into equation. At first, Sumire loves Momo just like how she loves Momo, her dog which passed away long time ago. However, the current Momo is human being, and reacts and even retaliate to some of Sumire's action, and even put out the protest act with Noh's mask. But I do think that it's not really love (like a romantic kind of love) that bonds Sumire and Momo in the end. They just trully need each other to be complete, period. Sumire without Momi is a mess (literally), and Momo without Sumire is somewhat like a lost chick.

Next, it's all about the chemistry. I like how natural Koyuki and Matsujun portray Sumire and Momo in here. That's why the cuteness is just flow effortlessly. When Momo pout or literally act like a pet dog craving for attention (but unlike the real pet, this pet can pull lots of pranks eg. throw Sumire's cigarettes to water basin, scribble on Sumire's treasured pic with her senpai, etc), how not to love him? And how Sumire just be able to be herself when she's with Momo, but she becomes stiff and awkward in front of the rest of the world (this change though towards the end of the drama). So, in the end, the cuteness won me over and this drama will be treasured for the years to come.

Natsu No Koi wa Niji Iro Ni Kagayaku



The title is just... too long. It'll be always be remembered by Drama with very long title with Matsujun in it. This drama is what makes me back into J-dramaland after 1-2 years of wondering in K-dramaland. It's another drama that everybody watched, rewatched, again, to the point of wonder why I'm writing review for this drama, anyway, well, good drama must be appreciated right? What I like about NatsuNiji is that is has all the points of what makes us love drama in the first place. Romance, humor, angst, tears, cuteness overload and happy end (very important for me)! The story is actually so so, to me, it's just a meeting of 2 totally different people from totally different world. They meet, they interact and they fall for each other, but in denial until they finally come to terms with their feeling and how they go from there. But what pull me in is the cuteness and it's summer. Taiga and Shiori coupling is cute enough already but no, they need to go further to add on the kiddie version of Umi and Sora major cuteness. And I just love the way they dress Shiori hahaha, chick simple casual but elegant at the same time or maybe it's because it's Takeuchi Yuuko.

I love the characters for this drama as well. We have Taiga, the male lead, is nowhere near perfect of a guy. He's penniless (sure, his dad was rich, but after daddy passed away, he has to scrap his way through), struggling with his status as 2nd generation actor, and he has pride. But, meeting Shiori changed him and make him even more hardworking to be a better actor and reaching out for his dream. He even takes part time job as ice cream man with the cute sailor costume (only Matsujun can pull of this look haha). And we'll cheer for Taiga everytime he achieves something. Shiori is also changed after meeting Taiga. Cheerful on the outside, Shiori actually bears the burden of losing her husband and being a single mom to their daughter, Umi. Meeting Taiga makes Shiori contemplates that maybe there's a second chance in love for her. And after that, awwww, cuteness overload. See Ep 9 how his eyes gleamed with happiness after Shiori's love confession or how he became hyper when Shiori told him that he's going to get a bentou from her. Who could not love those? Before all the happy scenes, we also have the sad crying scene. When Shiori saw Taiga sobbing in front of his dad's grave (this one is oh so sad that I also teared up watching it first time), and then we have Taiga watching Shiori cried her heart out on the beach (this one is heart breaking as well).

Lastly, we have the most fitting OST, Love Rainbow by Arashi. So cheerful that I can see rainbow every time I listen to the song (well, extreme exaggeration is not exactly prohibited :p). And this song is a citizen (as my friend put it) in my MP3 player as it can perks me up during any stressful day in office.

So, yeah, happy birthday to Matsujun and may we blessed with more dramas from you :) :) :)