Omotesando Koukou Gasshoubu (2015)

I remember dropping this drama awhile back for some mysterious reason that I don't remember, but I am soooo glad I picked it up again (emphasis on "soooo"). I admit, I was curious about this drama initially because of Shirota Yu, but I grew to love every single character in this drama.

OVERALL: 10/10
It's a light drama perfect for times when you want something feel-good to watch!

STORY: 10/10
The skeleton of the story seems like a typical sports/club centered drama, but there was something really refreshing about a drama revolving around a choir club, mostly because I've never seen one about that. And I love the overall theme of the drama: Music brings people together, no matter who they are, no matter where they came from.

As the plot progressed, I felt so happy as Kagawa helped her choir peers and her teacher fall in love with choir again, and helped new people realize the magic (and maybe healing powers) of singing with others. In a choir, everyone is important and must work together in order for success, and togetherness is one of the umbrella themes of this drama.

As for romance and things, you're probably going to be disappointed if you want a full-course meal of high school romance. Romance is like a side-dish in this drama, and I kinda wanted to see more romance on Kagawa's end, but there was enough cutesy romance for me to be satisfied and not flown into a frustrated outrage.

(Also, even though it was very brief, I loved that they addressed the LGBT community. I was pleasantly surprised!)

ACTING/CAST: 8.5/10
Okay, one of the more fundamental parts of a good drama is a likable main character, and Yoshine Kyoko did just that.. by creating a Kagawa Makoto who is innocently so earnest, trusting, and determined to bring out the best in people. I loved that Yoshine Kyoko didn't overdo her character. (whew.) Honorable mention to Yoshimoto Miyu-- she actually scared me a little in the beginning, lmao.

As for the rest of the cast, ability-wise, they were okay-- not the best, but I didn't cringe or anything. Aside from that, they were all very charming (especially Shison Jun. It's probably just me but I'm seeing him almost everywhere for some reason). Considering their ages, I cut them some slack, lol.

MUSIC: 10/10
THE MUSIC WAS GREAT. The music made me want to join a high school choir even though I can't anymore lmao. I'm mesmerized by harmonies, and this drama was harmonies galore (it made me cry sometimes). On a side note, one of my favorite choral songs in this drama was the first one that the choir sang. For some reason that song stuck with me.

REWATCH VALUE: 8/10
This was a good drama, and there's a good chance I'll re-watch it in the future for the feel-good, fluffy feelings again.

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I basically started watching this because a) I wanted to see a heartwarming drama, b) I saw Shirota Yu was actually in a role in which he could sing, outside of theater and c) Little Glee Monster was doing soundtrack. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised with this one.

As a high school drama with a team in it, it has a lot of the cliches of the genre: not enough members, conflicted coach, problems with the school, authority figure who somehow finds it personally offensive that these kids want to be happy, bullying, individual small arcs for each character. Yeah, you've probably seen all that before, especially if you're into sports dramas. But where this one goes really right is with the characters and performances.

These kids are, mostly, pretty darn good. Yoshine Kyoko carries the story along very well and, when she needs to convey emotion, she goes for it. All in all, the characters have interesting individual plots, some more than others (this is the third 2015/2016 drama in a row where I see an openly gay character and probably the one which handled it the best out of all three I've seen) and it all results in a very emotional and heartwarming story filled with songs, some of which you may recognize. There is good character development, limited by the amount of episodes, but there's a clear path from start to finish and the drama isn't shy to show hardships and emotion.

All in all, if you're into high school team dramas and want a heartwarming one with some tears in between, give this one a chance. It might make you smile in the end.

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