“Switch Girl!!” is a manga series by Aida Natsumi that currently runs in Shueisha’s magazine Margaret and has sold close to 5 million copies total. The story revolves around a high school student named Nika (Nishiuchi) who appears to be a stylish and fashionable girl at school, but that’s really a fake persona that she uses when she’s in public. At home, she “switches off” the facade and her returns to her true slovenly nature. Kiriyama Renn (26) plays the good-looking transfer student Arata, who is Nika’s love interest in the story. -- Tokyograph

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  Kiriyama Renn (Kamiyama Arata)

  Main Role

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  Nishiuchi Mariya (Tamiya Nika)

  Main Role

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  Sakata Rikako (Ninohara)

  Supporting Role

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  . Haru (Reika)

  Supporting Role

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  Shinohara Tsugumi (Kizaki Akira)

  Supporting Role

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  Jinnai Sho (Masamune Hirota)

  Supporting Role

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• Apr 16, 2012 8 of 8 episodes seen

  bakakokoro
  23 of 24 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  8
  • Story  7
  • Acting/Cast  8
  • Music  7
  • Rewatch Value  6

  This drama is like cotton candy! You know it's not really good for you, has no nutritional value, will probably give you cavities, and is something you would probably never admit to eating, but you love it anyway while you're eating it.
  
  The story is cute. There are no DUN... DUN...DUN... moments at all. It's mostly generic, will I be exposed in this most random way ever kind of moments.
  
  I think the main couple did a great job. The female lead, Nishiuchi Mariya is quite well suited for the comedic genre. While pretty much everything she does is over-exaggerated, that's what made it funny. It's fun to watch the her oscillate between her two personas. I also like her well "mostly" internal dialogue. Her facial expressions are hilarious, and I do enjoy the "acme" cartoon effects.
  The main male lead, is also adorable. His character is played in a much more subbed way, to offset the female leads over the top presence.
  
  The music was fine. There are no "WOW I will always associate that music with this drama" songs. The music didn't really add anything to the viewing experience, but it didn't detract from the viewing either. Just complimented it nicely as background music.
  
  Overall this is a fun romp when you need a little sugar in your diet. But like all sweets, don't eat too much or you will most likely end up bouncing off the walls from a sugar high, or curled up in a corner weeping because your belly hurts - then again maybe that's just me =-p read more

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• Jul 11, 2012 8 of 8 episodes seen

  Rourou
  18 of 20 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  8
  • Story  8
  • Acting/Cast  8
  • Music  7
  • Rewatch Value  9

  1) The reason I watched this:
  
  I just chose it without any thoughts. At the time, I was in "japanese dramas mood" so I watched many japanese dramas without being picky or impatient.
  
  2) Storyline/Plot:
  
  To start with, I am not familiar with the story since I haven't read the manga or even heard about it so this was my first time getting to know the storyline.
  
  Positive points:
  
  *This drama's story made me interested ever since the first 10 minutes and that's really rare to happen since I never care about first episodes because they don't make much difference yet this drama's story made me really invested in its events so waiting for the next episode was a real torture.
  
  *Main Genres:
  
  --->Humor: Yes, this drama was funny because it was hilarious all over, sometimes it felt like anime scenes that was funny and entertaining most of the time.
  The comedy concept was present too, we get to see funny characters with funny scenes. I have to point that Nika's inside conversations were really awesome which can bring good laughter.
  
  --->Romance: it wasn't that deep nor that light. The romance in this drama was equilibred in a way that would make you invested in the romantic development and the whole concept. The teenage love story was cool to watch since it was light enough.
  
  --->School: The usual concept that you find in school dramas; friends, enemies, teachers, popularity, nerds and so on. I've seen many school dramas before so this wasn't something special yet Switch Girl was more enjoyable.
  
  Negative points:
  
  *I can't think of any, except that this drama was too damn short! They should've made it longer, it felt rushed sometimes but that didn't ruin the whole concept.
  
  Story: 8.5/10
  
  3) Acting/Cast:
  
  *Nishiuchi Mariya:
  
  I am not familiar with her as an actress, she was introduced to me through this drama and what a great introduction! I liked her acting skills and enjoyed her role in a good way. From now on, I will anticipate her new dramas.
  The character was great: Nika made us sad sometimes, excited some other times and entertained most of the time.
  The ON and OFF modes were really awesome, I couldn't choose since both of them were enjoyable and funny; everyone of us have that hidden side within himself yet here it was exagerated to make it look captivating and hilarious.
  
  *Kiriyama Renn:
  
  I only saw him in "Hana Kimi Remake" but here he was different so I didn't know what to expect yet I surprised myself by accepting his general acting and role.
  The character wasn't enjoyable like Nika's but I liked it anyway. Arata's appearance was nice and great sometimes; he may sound stiff at some points but all of that was decided by the storyline so I haven't focused much on that fact.
  Another point that I should mention: Arata with or without glasses didn't sound contradictory to me; it was the same character with a different look.
  
  *Other Cast: The supporting roles were cool and well chosen even the school nerds; no complains.
  
  *Relationships:
  
  --->Romance : The chemistry wasn't that great because romance wasn't deep enough.
  
  --->Nika's family: Her mother and sister were always good to look at plus their adventures as a family was always hilarious.
  
  --->Nika's school: Friends were good and the Monkey Boss made events entertaining sometimes.
  
  *In each episode there were new cast and that's exactly what I love about J-dramas because with different cast comes different events, there's no spinning around the same point.
  
  Cast: 8/10
  Acting: 9/10
  
  4) The ending:
  
  I appreciated the ending, I was glad because they haven't took it to the usual concept of hiding something yet it wasn't that special, only acceptable and cool to watch: Nice ending overall.
  
  The ending: 8/10
  
  5) My impression (How did it affect me):
  
  *I realy enjoyed this drama, even the waiting for upcoming episodes was fun.
  *I haven't skipped any parts and that's really rare since I am an impatient person, believe me if I don't skip parts that means there weren't any chance of getting bored (well, that could be explaned by the fact that the episode's length was only 27 minutes).
  
  *Is this drama memorable: Yes definitely, I enjoyed it so much. Even though, I finished it weeks ago, I still remember each and every event.
  
  My impression: 9/10
  
  6) Overall:
  
  *If you like funny romantic school dramas then you would like this.
  *If you like girls dramas you will enjoy this.
  *If you're looking for a great female lead you may actually like this.
  
  Overall: 8.5/10. read more

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