Sakuragi Kenji is a destitute lawyer and one-time member of a motorcyle gang trying to guide failing high school students with an average score of 36 into Japan's most prestigious educational institution, Tokyo University (Toudai). "If you want to change your life, get into Toudai!" For no other reason than Sakuragi's personal ambition, he has advertised his intention to produce 5 successful Toudai applicants from the students of a nearly bankrupt failure of a school. "If you want to change your life, get into Toudai!" He will get them from this lowest of all schools into Japan's number one!! Our protagonist, Sakuragi Kenji, played by Abe Hiroshi in his first role as a high school teacher, is a must see in this summer's new show. This third rate lawyer soon becomes the homeroom teacher for the special advanced class aiming for Toudai University entrance. Hasegawa Kyouko costars as english teacher and Sakuragi's opponent, and Yamashita Tomohisa from NEWS and Nagasawa Masami also appear in the role of students. This awaited original work and fascinating world view is brought to you from the popular serialized comic in Shuukan Morning (Kodansha) and has even been updated! In addition to revealing essential test taking techniques for everyone who wants to know how to get into Toudai, Dragon Zakura will also teach the essentials of living one's life. --Dramawiki

Related Content

• 
  Yamashita Tomohisa (Yajima Yusuke)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Nagasawa Masami (Mizuno Naomi)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Abe Hiroshi (Sakuragi Kenji)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Koike Teppei (Ogata Hideki)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Aragaki Yui (Kosaka Yoshino)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Nogiwa Yoko (Tatsuno Yuriko (School Director))

  Supporting Role

  Edit

• 

  School Dramas: Part 1 - The Classics

  Whatteverr's introduction to some favorite school-genre dramas.

  • Mar 10, 2013
• 

  Talented and Handsome Men!!

  Aya97's List of Asia's Most Handsome Men Over 30

  • Dec 3, 2012

• Jun 23, 2011 11 of 11 episodes seen

  shoujo85
  6 of 6 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  9
  • Story  9
  • Acting/Cast  7
  • Music  6
  • Rewatch Value  6

  Loved: Abe Hiroshi is excellent in this role (it was the first I saw him in and probably still my favourite) - he maintains the balance of strictness, understanding and self-interest well and the students develop a real rapport with him. While the students were all quite young when Dragon Zakura was filmed most of them are now big names (Yamashita Tomohisa, Koike Teppei, Nagasawa Masami, Aragaki Yui) and it's interesting to see where they started out (although the acting of some has definitely improved with time!).
  
  
  
  Didn't Love: The student's homeroom teacher (played by Hasegawa Kyoko) can be annoying at times but she always has the student's best interests at heart. Like most high school doramas there is a whole bunch of anti-change teachers to irritate the viewer and an incompetent but well-meaning principal with a penchant for hats tops it off.
  
  
  
  Dragon Zakura isn't just another high school dorama - it's unique, funny and focuses on encouraging the students to want to improve themselves and their lives, rather than just mass-producing exam bots who can't think for themselves. A feel good show with some wacky characters and teaching methods thrown in for good measure.
  
  
  
  << See more of my reviews at doramasan.wordpress.com >> read more

  report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
• Aug 4, 2011 11 of 11 episodes seen

  XiaoMei
  4 of 5 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  8
  • Story  9
  • Acting/Cast  9
  • Music  9
  • Rewatch Value  0

  It's incredibly motivating drama! The special class has good way to exams... Though.. The end was very surprising... !
  
  Aww.. Fiction. Why did great techears die out? This story shoud be a video tutorial for schools.
  
  I like the main characters so much, everybody are young, pretty and ambitous.. Only Miss Ino was annoying. The woman definately talk to much...

  report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful

• 
  Dream High

  Both dramas have this 'special class'. In Dream High it's a class who's planning to debut someday while in Dragon Zakura it's a class who wants to go to Tokyo University / Toudai.

  reportRecommended by HAVA-RAVA
• 
  God of Study

  It has the same main idea : to teach troublesome students.

  reportRecommended by claudya87