Majisuka Gakuen (2010)

Who doesnt love a group of bad a** girls taking over? Majisuka is all about a famed yankee (Maeda) resisting the urge to fight because of her feelings for one of her friends who died in a fight. When Maeda goes to her new school (chuck full of yankees) she is forced to proved that she is "serious" and time again. I loved all the girls from AKB 48 and how they interacted with each other. The acting was poor and the story line was weak and predictable but it was fun. A group of girls known for being pretty, beating eath other sensless for ridiculous reasons is priceless. I didnt take this drama serious, because if you do you wont have fun with it.

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Majisuka is about a former yankee who decided to no longer fight but ends up doing it anyways. The main character, Atsuko, is similar to Yankumi from Gokusen and Hana from Yankee-kun to Megane-chan in that they all wear glasses when they decided to "change" the person that they were. Atsuko, unlike Yankumi and Hana, is a silent character. Because of something that happened in the past, she pushes the people close to her away. This part of Atsuko's character annoys me. The actors did a pretty good job acting out their characters but some of the minor characters had poor acting. My favorite character is Daruma; Daruma is hilarious and very sweet (although she acts tough). Unfortunately, most of the characters in this drama are pretty bland (even Daruma didn't have much depth). It matches the story though, since it was pretty predictable (Atsuko is super strong and pretty much beats everyone). The music is catchy but it does not match the drama (pop songs for a yankee drama, really?). Contrary to its name, Majisuka is not a serious drama and I recommend to someone who wants to watch something light.

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Majisuka Gakuen is an interesting series, which was something of a surprise for me given that it's basically a vehicle for AKB48. Yes, it's violent and bloody, and follows a very linear and predictable path, but I found the dark humor that pervades the series to be very engaging.

The acting, for the most part, isn't going to win awards, but that's actually fine given the type of show, where over-acting is often a good thing. This isn't supposed to be realistic, it's supposed to be fun, in much the way a shonen manga can be fun. You have the usual concepts you find in shonen manga--loyalty, the reluctant hero, all kinds of odd characters who each have their own unique style--but I think it's the fact that the series doesn't really get too serious that makes it likable. You have delinquents who grill meat in class everyday, delinquents who dress in goth-loli fashion, and even a few who seem to have supernatural powers; how can that not be entertaining?

I honestly enjoyed watching this series, even if it was something other than I expected. The writing and production values were very good, even considering the campyness of the material.

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