Hachimitsu to Clover (Drama Version)

It's been more than 6 months since my last update and here I am, posting something on a drama which I've watched a few months back. I probably need lots of time to catch up on what I intended to post.

I wouldn't go into details on the storyline of this drama adaptation but would rather focus on my opinion on this version and how different it feels from the manga, anime and movie versions.

In terms of preference, I would rank the various versions in this order: anime, manga, drama and movie.

The biggest problem I find with the drama would be the over-ambitious intention to squeeze the entire storyline within 1 season. Even the anime needed 2 instalments of 36 episodes to cover the manga's storyline extensively. Why in the world would FujiTV want to do a summary of the storyline when they've already had experience with how the anime was presented? If they were unsure about whether the drama would do well enough to warrant a sequel, I thought that it would be OK to end at the juncture of Takemoto returning from his trip. Due to this reason, the story lost its focus and was a major turnoff especially for fans who know the storyline very well. Personally, I think for most fans, they would want to see a complete adaptation rather than addition and deletions of important scenes here and there.

Besides the summarised storyline, I really hate redundant scenes like those with Romaiya-senpai. Too much of everything is no good. Initially, it was funny to see him around but it became a big issue for me later. Sometimes, I just feel that he should get out of the way.

And why did they make it seem like Mayama and Rika-san have a platonic relationship? The fact that Rika-san is in anguish about making use of Mayama, be it emotionally and sexually should be emphasized. They didn't have to go overboard with the intimate scenes but at least show that fact to people who don't know the storyline.

As for the casting, the drama and movie had major problems in their own ways. Here's my verdict of who fared better:

Sakurai Sho vs. Ikuta Toma (Takemoto Yuuta)
I prefer Ikuta because his image is closer to Takemoto. For people who know Sakurai's background, it's hard to associate him with Takemoto i.e. a smart elite who went to a good school and relatively smooth career in showbiz vs. someone who's unsure of what to do and can hardly make his own decisions without thinking too much. It's hard to separate Sakurai the elite from his screen character at times and this works against him when his acting skills are not strong enough to cover this gap. On the other hand for Ikuta, the good thing is that his cheerful image matches Takemoto's personality and that he is a better actor than his screen counterpart.

Aoi Yu vs. Narumi Riko (Hanamoto Hagumi)
Image-wise, Aoi matches Hagu more although Narumi is younger. The same issue arises here. Narumi is known for her strong personality and slightly cool image so to see her as Hagu feels kinda out of place. Acting-skills wise, she's matchable to Aoi to a certain extent but I guess image plays the deciding factor here.

Iseya Yuusuke vs. Narimiya Hiroki (Morita Shinobu)
Both were disappointments. Morita is a difficult role to play and coupled with the lacklustre scripts, Morita's multi-dimension character wasn't shown to the fullest. Iseya's potrayal went overboard on the artistic trait and gave the feeling that Morita is unkept and rowdy all the time. Narimiya had a similar problem too but at least he looked tidy. I was expecting the most out of the actor who plays Morita since he's my favourite character but I was disappointed twice over.

Seki Megumi vs. Harada Natsuki (Yamada Ayumi)
They were both OK in terms of image but...Ayu's internal struggles with her feelings about Mayama weren't conveyed convincingly. Maybe it's the script but sometimes, a good actor can do wonders with a lousy script. I guess both of them are just not at that level yet. Personally, Harada feels slightly closer to Ayu's image (at least to me) because Seki has always gave me the impression of being strong and independent which is a tad different from Ayu.

Kase Ryo vs. Mukai Satoshi (Mayama Takumi)
Kase is obviously the older of the two and looks more mature. He is a good actor too BUT given the shorter timeframe in the movie, I don't think he was given a fair chance to show his version of Mayama. Mukai is luckier in this sense since the drama is longer and he does look a bit closer to Mayama's image. In addition, his combination with Seto Asaka looks good on screen.

Well, besides the Morita issue, another mis-casting decision I feel is the choice of Murakami Atsushi as Hanamoto-sensei. He looks so scruffy and unkept, much worse than how Iseya looked in the movie. Thus, I count my blessings that we have been spared the agony of watching the last part of the storyline where Hanamoto confessed his feelings for Hagu. I scringe when I imagine this happening.

After all these complaints, one good point was the choice of Kashiwabara Takashi as Nomiya because he and Mukai looked uncanny close so it brought out the point of Nomiya and Mayama being similar in terms of character and appearance.

In conclusion, I feel that the drama version has fumbled because of its distorted storyline and weird casting decisions. It just goes to show that anime / drama adaptations work best usually when they stick to the successful formula in place. Just look at what Nodame Cantabile has achieved and you will see my point.