Sapuri (2006)

I don't know why this drama hasn't got more fans. Personally, I thought it was very well acted, modern, with a lovely photography and enough romance to satisfy the romantics among us.

The plot is neither shallow nor particularly predictable. Until the end, the viewer does not know if the romance between the leads will have a future or not, because apart from the age difference - which isn't that big anyway - there are other, more important obstacles: opposite stances towards work and life in general, different social status, dissimilar goals. The good aspect of this love story based upon differences is that both learn one from the other. It's not the dramatic change of one of them overnight, in the name of love or another equally unrealistic reason.
The best part of the plot lies in the dialogues, though. They are clever, at times hilarious, at others quite deep. I loved learning of the process behind the creation of an advertisement, and why those people are often referred to as "the creatives".

The acting was very good, although I must admit at not having been swept away by Itoh Misaki's performance. There were times when she felt wooden and unconvincing. This lowers my acting mark to an 8, which would have been otherwise flawless, since everybody else did a great job, including Kame.

The music isn't my favourite, but it was chosen with great sense and is very fitting with the story told and the setting.

The photography deserves a mention too: there are some beautiful screen shots throughout this show. I can still see them with my mind's eyes today, more than 4 years after I've watched the drama. They are meant to create a visual pattern, parallel images which create a nice contrast between the incompatibility of the two main leads in the world of words, and the harmony between them on a more emotional level.

I will rewatch it. It gave me an energy shot at the time, therefore I keep it for future need of the same.

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This drama literally kept me up all night! It took me a few episodes to get into it but once the story got moving I found it really enjoyable. The whole younger man, older woman is something new to me with Asian dramas so it was refreshing. I really liked the whole story. I loved all of the characters in this drama. Especially Ishida (and not bc he's played by Kamenashi Kazuya). His character is so fun loving and positive. Willing to work hard even when he's put down by others. You just can't help but love him. And Kame did an excellent job! This is the 4th drama I've seen of his and his acting is simply outstanding. When Ishida is playful and cheerful, you find yourself smiling. When he's hurt or embarrassed you feel empathy for him. When he's trying his best to succeed, you're rooting for him the whole way. He's just a big ball of positive energy so you can't help but fall in love with his character. Fujii is a really great character too. She's very career driven and when everyone else doesn't take the time to get to know the little guy, she goes out of her way to be encouraging and his number one supporter (even if he messes up and she's left to clean up the mess). They both had great chemistry with each other. The rest of the cast was really fun to watch and I never got bored with any part of the story. Overall, I thought this drama was very well done and I plan on watching it again in the near future.

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