Sometimes, I outnerd myself

Sometimes, I also don't care and today is one of those lovely days.

Part of me--the same part that is both terrified for the Death Note movie and yet incredibly excited-- was extremely hesitant about the live action series of "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge" (AKA "Perfect Girl Evolution" AKA "The Wallflower" AKA "My Fair Lady"). However, since I had a day off for the first time in over a week, I decided to suck it up and try it out for size.

Now, I am so happy. Somehow, TV managed to successfully capture most of the essence of the only romantic comedy I have ever loved. The actors were brilliantly cast (except for Noi Kasahara), especially actor Shuntaro Miyao (yes, pronounced "meow"), who plays smooth ladies' man Mori Ranmaru. He hasn't had enough screentime IMO, because he's been great, especially in comical scenes with the Landlady. It makes me very excited for the adding of Tamao Kikunoi, his arranged fiancee. The writers added a main character, which usually sends me into a fury, but Takeru, the Landlady's son, is so insanely adorable I can't hate his addition (episode 5, screaming at the ghost -- epic cute) and they wrote him seamlessly into the cannon. And there are just two words to describe Kyohei's actor: Kazuya Kamenashi. Win. Aya Omasa plays Sunako beautifully, retaining even the hilarity of the animated Sunako's superchibi form just by small motions that make you forget she's not two and a half feet tall and ridiculous. All the actors play their roles flawlessly and the screenwriters did an excellent job of holding true to the boys' personalities, though they're struggling a little with Sunako.

In addition, they follow the original stories extremely well, pulling all of their inspiration from the author's work. They do mix and match the stories so their one hour long episodes will be full, but since PGE has no official timeline, the stories CAN be meshed. I was even happy to see Yuki's girlfriend Machiko make a comeback after her obvious absence in the anime (due to her character and image being based off one of the author's assistants, also named Machiko).

I actually have only a few superfan complaints about it, and that's rare for me. One is a big one, they are rushing Kyohei and Sunako WAAAAY too much. They were at the point in episode two where it took them 98 chapters to get in the manga. Part of what made me love the story so much WAS the realistic, slow character growth. They HAVE to go through a vicious mutual hatred period before they're friends or it just isn't cannon. Two, Sunako is portrayed a bit weak. Instead of taking charge like she's supposed to, it takes being repeatedly called "ugly" by Kyohei at least once in every episode for her to act. I wonder if we'll see that fixed... Three, they kept the best parts, but still cut out a lot of the comedy. I miss it desperately. Although Sunako screaming "Br... Bright!" and knocking Kyohei out with a headbutt constantly is better than her cannon nosebleed at times. And a scene based on one of my favorite chapters when Kyohei kisses Sunako to try and scare her out of a hallucination caused by a mushroom and she roundhouse kicks him across the room made me laugh more than I should have.

The moral of this story is, if you can stand to watch a television show with subtitles, I suggest you check out yamato nadeshiko shichi henge. It's good for people who think they're too good for the original manga (and nothing beats the fresh-off-the-author-originals) or the anime. It's better for those who were scared by the weirdness of both the manga and anime.

Official manga summary:

It's a gorgeous, spacious mansion, and four handsome, fifteen-year-old friends are allowed to live in it for free! There's only one condition-that within three years the guys must transform the owner's wallflower niece into a lady befitting the palace in which they all live! How hard can it be?
Enter Sunako Nakahara, the agoraphobic, horror-movie-loving, pockmark-faced, frizzy-haired, fashion-illiterate recluse who tends to break into explosive nosebleeds whenever she sees anyone attractive. This project is going to take more than our four heroes ever expected: it needs a miracle!