JDrama Review: Itazura Na Kiss Love In Tokyo

The Japanese drama Itazura Na Kiss: Love In Tokyo ended its run this Friday and I have already watched the English subbed video last night. I'm so thankful to Drama Fever for the fast subbing and for Good Drama for uploading it.

I'm not sure if you know this but I really love the story of Itazura Na Kiss. Although I haven't read the manga yet because I'm not fond of the drawing style, I did watch the anime and have loved it. I have also watched the different live action versions: the Taiwanese, It Started with a Kiss/They Kiss Again, and the Korean, Playful Kiss. Japan have made the first live action version in 1996 but I didn't watch it so this remake is my first Japanese version. I will definitely make a comparison review next week to compare all 3 versions to the anime so watch out for that :)

TITLE: Itazura Na Kiss
EPISODES: 16
GENRE: Romantic Comedy
BROADCAST NETWORK: Fuji TV

AIRING PERIOD: March 29 - July 19, 2013

AIRING TIME: every Friday
PLOT:
During the high school entrance ceremony, Aihara Kotoko from Class F had experienced love at first sight with the handsome boy from Class A named Irie Naoki. Kotoko loved him from a far for some time but when she got enough courage to express her feelings to Naoki, he rejected her.publicly.
One day after that event, Kotoko's house got destroyed because a meteorite hit it. This event resulted to them living with her father's best friend's house which in turn is where Naoki lives.

CAST:
Honoka Miki as Aihara Kototko
Yuki Furukawa as Irie Naoki
Yuki Yamada as Ikezawa Kinnuske


MY REVIEW:

This is definitely one of the best version that I've watched because it really followed the original storyline. I really liked how they showed the innocence of first love that the story is asking for. I also commend the director of Love In Tokyo for the scenes he chose to include in the drama. This story have a lot of highlights and events and for the director to be able to include only a few but still be able to make the story feel complete is really an achievement. 
 
I liked the way Aihara Kotoko is portrayed in this version the best because they did not exaggerate her stupidity like with the others. She is still stupid but it's just the right amount of stupidity that is actually believable and is not irritating to see. Although the acting of Honoka Miki is just okay for me, nothing extraordinary to make her memorable.

Going to the lead male, Yuki Furukawa, now that's a definite hit for me. He was able to portray the cold hearted Irie Naoki very well without sounding monotonous. I really liked his way of acting and it fits perfectly with the anime Naoki very well. I especially love how he can show his emotions for Kotoko with just his expression.

Another good casting is Yuki Yamada because his version of Kinnuske is perfect. No exaggerated actions and words needed because his expression can say it all. His portrayal is my favorite among the 3 versions I've watched.

I love how concise the story is and they were able to fit everything into 16 episodes. They just chose to include scenes that have a direct impact on the story itself and removed "fillers" like the scenes about other people liking the main characters and making them jealous. I think the way they ended this drama is perfect because it is just right if they ever will create a season 2 which I hope they would do. I personally think that the married life of Naoki and Kotoko is much more exciting than their student days just because we can actually see the change in Naoki and their relationship.


OVER-ALL RATING: 5/5

I really love this version! It still made me fall for them even though I already know the whole premise of the story. My favorite part is the finale. I just love the rain-kiss and the confirmation of feelings scene the best. If you are a fan of Itazura Na Kiss, I really urge you to watch this version because you will definitely appreciate the purity of the story. 


Watch out for my comparison review for all 3 versions plus the anime too.

To watch the ENGLISH SUBBED VIDEOS, just click the link :)


Thank you for dropping by!