A Yuu Watase manga to be a live action jdrama? Will miracles never cease?

[dangermousie]

This is from the awesome (how does she find these things out?) calledinvain because I know a number of people on my flist will be interested.



You know the Yuu Watase manga Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi), about an unlucky-in-love gal who sorta-accidentally orders a 'perfect lover' android she names Night? Think a shoujo take on Silver Metal Lover. Six volumes, gorgeous art, love triangle of actual coolness, OTP I adore (robot/human FTW), and the ending that, as usual with Watase, makes me spit nails? That one.



Riko, the bubbly, sweet, unlucky in love heroine:







Night. Hmmm, seeing the striking resemblance to both Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi) and Toya (Ayashi No Ceres), I guess Watase knows what she likes in a guy :)








Oh Night. That scene made me LOL so hard. problem with ordering android when you are clueless normal girl not decadent sugar mama? He has no idea how to act normal and you have no idea how to make him.



Souji, arguably best manga other guy ever:





Yup, so very shoujo:





LOL:





Cuteness:









I would have never ever thought it, but they are turning it into a drama, starting to broadcast in April. Now, I love Watase and I love Absolute Boyfriend, but it's a pretty odd story for a drama (even if they did move it to a work world as opposed to school) and Japanese manga adaptation track record is pretty spotty. I mean, yes, Hanadan was fabulous and Gokusen delightful and Sapuri pure perfection, but from Hana Kimi to Jotei, the rest is...not.

Well, we'll see. I don't know anyone in the cast, but they are (once again, according to calledinvain) Hayami Mocomichi (who definitely looks cute enough to be Night), Aibu Saki (she looks adorable), and Mizushima Hiro (who also looks cute but hopefully has different hair than in that pic).

Comments

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. I've always figured Absolute Boyfriend perfect for adaptation. Hayami might be a bit too tall though.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love AB even if the ending makes me VERY unhappy and rageful.

Hayami might be a bit too tall though.

To fit in a box to be shipped? :)

How tall is he?

ETA: Looked it up. Wow, that IS tall. Especially for a jdrama guy. That's an over 20 cm difference between him and leading lady. One of my favorite things.

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Every time I see Hayami in a Jdrama he towers over everyone else. He's also quite skinny. Oh, the Shin flashbacks...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Shin?

He's also quite skinny.

Are there any well-fed jdrama stars? Seriously.

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Prince Shin. I swear Goong ate my brain. ;)

Are there any well-fed jdrama stars?

Yamapi (Pi-fat)? Hmmm, Pi meat...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Pi meat...

ROFL.

And mmmmmm, Goong. Shin really was about eleven feet taller than anyone else. (Side note: why is JJH not doing another drama after Mawang, whyyyyyyyyy?)

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Because he did a movie adaptation of Antique, to be released this year.

The Jdrama version starred my beloved Takki. *heart*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh. YAY.

Hello

[miri_67]

Tamahome Thin or fat

[kirusai.livejournal.com]

WOW. Zettai Kareshi. That's going to turn into a drama? Oh man, I'm not sure how believable they'll make the drama. Trying hard not to judge, but this is just weirdness. I haven't revisited the series in a while, though I do remember the cheesy factor is up there, as it is with most of Yuu Watase's works. I adore Hayami Mokomichi, so I'll probably be watching just for him alone <3 & @-{----

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love Watase and all but not only is she very very shoujo (which would work well as a Taiwanese drama but IMO less well with the vibes jdramas have), her plots aren't very...dramaish, you know? They always have a fantasy element. And this would be so odd for a jdrama. I can count any 'non real' jdramas on fingers of one hand.

I could see AB as a twdrama very easily. And I could see something like Ceres a kdrama (or even Fushigi Yuugi, after seeing some awesome period fantasy kdramas) but I never get a jdrama vibe. Anime? Yes. Jdrama, I am not so sure.

Mmmmm, maybe they should make a kdrama adaptation of AB. They should have Joo Ji Hoon (from Goong) as Night. MM. Yes.

[thinking-lotus.livejournal.com]

oh how funny. Mizushima Hiro was good in HanaKimi, even though he looks waaaay too much like my college boyfriend.

Mocomichi was in Jotei, btw. He's TALL.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I looked it up, he was in ep 8 of Jotei. I didn't get that far, gave up on ep 3 :)

Who was Hiro in HK? That drama had so many half-starved bishie types, they all sort of blended together.

[filmi-girl.livejournal.com]

His role is so excellent in "Jotei." He plays the Emporer of the Ginza night scene and challenges Our Heroine to a drink a tower of champagne.




Here he is in a commercial appearing to be about 10 ft. taller than everyone else.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, Jotei is like this scary black hole, dragging in everyone.

I am pleased to see he has practice as a host, as that is the job Night ends up taking, rightly figuring he is most qualified for it, to help Riiko with the bills (and we get some hilarious scenes as however inept he is at everything else, he is PERFECT for being a host. Heh. Thankfully he does not run across Jotei's heroine and her carpet wardrobe).

[filmi-girl.livejournal.com]

I am now looking forward to this despite not having read the manga. :D

[thinking-lotus.livejournal.com]

he's a host in Brother Beat too.

hmmmm.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Clearly I sense a trend.

Btw, love the icon.

[thinking-lotus.livejournal.com]

peach girl! and chochajin makes amazing icons.

[thinking-lotus.livejournal.com]

he was the leader of one of the houses, the one that wasn't german and didn't do martial arts. It was the house that all the main characters were in. House 3?

They were both also in Brother Beat (I only watched one ep of that though).

hiro!

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

Hiro was Nanba-sempai, the RA for the house that Mizuki, Nakatsu and Sano are in. :)

[boycottbananas.livejournal.com]

I've heard of this manga, but I haven't read it yet. XD;; I really like the cast though, and I absolutely love the thought of the main guy totally loving the main girl and not being a huge jerk to her. ^^

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's quite a very fun manga (and rather short, six volumes). And yes, the main guy is adorable to the girl (he is programmed to be :P) and the secondary one is lovely to her too. Watase always has her bishounen extremely devoted to the heroine :)

[catdecember.livejournal.com]

Is Absolute Boyfriend only 6 volumes? I get manga-fright when I think I have to buy like 10 to 20 volumes!

And wow, live action drama! I wonder if they'll pull it off! Although I've always thought that Mocomichi is pretty cute.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, six volumes only. That's like...nothing...by Watase standards.

I have no idea if it will make a good drama though.

[catdecember.livejournal.com]

I use to get Shonen Beat to just get the gist of the manga storylines for AB and NANA, but hey 6 volumes! I must go to a bookstore now! :)

Hmmm I'll just wait and see if they'd pull it off. :) I mean especially when they'd get to the part when Night turns into a miniature thingy. Lol.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

mean especially when they'd get to the part when Night turns into a miniature thingy. Lol.


LOL. Maybe they'll skip it? :)

Also, isn't the manga a bit too risque to satisfy the 'even our kisses suck' purity standards of jdramas?

[(Anonymous)]

And don't the sleep together in the end? I wonder how they'd pull it off... Hmmm...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

They do, definitely. I wonder how a jdrama would address this.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I couldn't get into this manga, but I do love Hayami Mocomichi...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love the manga, but the thought of them pulling this off as a live action. And a jdrama one at that, without the crackiness of either twdrama or the emo OTT melodrama vibe of kdrama? Mind boggles.

[saturnhime.livejournal.com]

Hiro in HK was Nanba (the dorm leader..) I've never seen anything Aibu Saki has been in.. but out of all the Watase mangas to be a live action they picked Absolute Boyfriend? o_o wow Don't get me wrong, I love Yuu Watase's work.. I'm just wondering how it'll be done.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have no idea how they will pull this off.

[gingifere.livejournal.com]

I know all three of those actors and I like all of them. Hayami Mokomichi was in Gokusen 2 (also really good friends with Kame!) and I remember Aibu Saki was in Gambatte Ikimasshoi. Also Mizushima Hiro was in the Japanese version of HK and he was pretty awesome!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love the icon!

I have plans to watch Rondo soon and it seems HM is in it. We'll see how I like him. I must have seen AS because I watched Kareinaru ichizoku. If she is who I think she was (Kimura's younger sis) then she is very cute. Oh, and I remember Nanba. I wanted him to get a sandwich so badly! :)

[booknerd14.livejournal.com]

Well, we'll see. I don't know anyone in the cast, but they are (once again, according to calledinvain) Hayami Mocomichi (who definitely looks cute enough to be Night), Aibu Saki (she looks adorable), and Mizushima Hiro (who also looks cute but hopefully has different hair than in that pic).

ahh seriously? this was honestly that last manga i thought they would be making into a drama. it wasn't a particular favourite of mine, but i'll probably check it out anyway. and if Mizushima Hiro really does end up in it, i'll prolly see it for him.

oh ya, you've seen hana kimi jpversion right? well, at least the beginnings of it. Mizushima Hiro actually plays Nanba-senpai.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

oh ya, you've seen hana kimi jpversion right? well, at least the beginnings of it. Mizushima Hiro actually plays Nanba-senpai.

Yup. Oh, he so needed a meal. And a haircut. But he was funny.

[thinking-lotus.livejournal.com]

yeah, pretty much exactly like my college boyfriend! Minus the guitar and the fluency in 4 languages ...

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Mocomichi will be Night? THAT I have to see :) He was Tsuchi in Gokusen2.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen G2, but he does look cute.

[beardoggx.livejournal.com]

I've read AB in Shojo Beat. It's a great story with some funny parts. IIRC, this month's issue of SB is the last chapter.

I just wish they would have kept NANA in Shojo Beat itself.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What did they do with Nana?

[beardoggx.livejournal.com]

They decided to just release the manga volumes instead.

[lenabean.livejournal.com]

Absolutely Boyfriend is such an awesome idea as a story. I mean, robotic guy/girl unlucky in love is so my kind of OTP. I've never read it, though, since Yuu Watase's shoujo style doesn't appeal to me very much anymore (I used to be quite rabid over Fushigi Yugi).

However, the thought of a drama for AB delights me to no end. It has such *potential*. Although Hayami Mocomichi as the hero does make me wary. I remember his face from Gokusen 2, and he never really stood out as a character in it. I really, really hope I was just seeing the tip of the iceberg then. Please, dear God, let him act well since the premise of this story is so terrific.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I hope it will be good, it's such a cute little manga. Hope the people can act or at least look the parts.