Yamada Taro Monogatari

Frankly, i am never a fan of Japanese Boy bands so normally i stay away from movies or any shows which are starring members of boy bands. I am not against them but just normally does not pique my interest.

So when i came upon the above title - i was not so interested as it starred 2 members of the band ARASHI, however turning to the back of the DVD it was the story line that caught my interest. I love shows of complete opposite. Poor kid in rich school.. Hehehe .. now that is what i call complete contrast- that goes to show why i find shows like Ouran High School Host interesting.

Yamada Taro(nimomiya kazunari) is a story of a poor boy who goes to an extremely fancy and snotty school. He gives the impression he is actually rich but unknown to his classmates he is as poor as a church mouse. ( How come church mouses are poor?? ). He's family even lives in a room house - where his 6 other siblings and his mom stays in happily despite the poorness. His unreliable father appears once in a while to add on to Taro's money woes. Despite being poor ( or bimbo in japanese) Taro's life is still very happy go lucky and nothing seems to disrupt his positive attitude in life. That also explains why his classmate mimura takuya(sakurai sho) is very intrigued by him

At the same time- he is the object of most of the girl's in his school especially Ikegami Takako. Her ambition is to get a Tama-No-Koshi which means to marry rich. I can't remember the literal translation but tama means jewel. She comes from a middle class family as well, so she is hoping to live a more pampered life. Now through out the course of the show - she discover the real Taro and also the true meaning of being in love with a person despite their background. I found her truly annoying in the beginning but after that, i got to see her in a different light.

What's good about this:

• It's funny! Hilarious at times and over the top at times. Check out the portion where Taro dresses as a girl, here is a teaser picture *cackle*. There are also times where Taro flashes his megawatt smile and all the girls in the room faint.
• In fact when Takako realizes the simplest things in life such as eating hot cakes with your family is a joy- i thought that was quite a good point in the show.
  

What's not good about this:
Sometimes, the over the top-ness is a bit kwa-cheong. Like the race for the Croquet or the beef race in the supermarket... :P Furthermore- i am just wonder how people can be so poor like the Yamada... sharing 1 bowl of dish every night. THAT is a bit kwa cheong.

Well, i wouldn't pass up this show. I find it interesting and have not stopped watching it. That is how i qualify if the show is good :)

Some interesting facts:

• Nimomiya is one of the first members in Arashi to star in a Hollywood movie. He had a part in the show Letters of Iwo Jima
• Taiwan has a similar series starring Vic Chou ( of F4) and the title is Poor Prince Taro.
  
• Sakurai Sho- is one of the few members of Arashi- who has gone to KEIO University