Eleve-se!! (2003)

So STAND UP! is one of my favorite jdramas ever. So please pardon my gushy feelings in this review.

One, I loved the message that the drama brings to the table, which I elaborate on further below.
And Two, it was fun to see some leading jdrama actors (Oguri Shun, Narimiya Hiroki, Yamapi, and Ninomiya) before they hit their peaks of popularity.

STORY-
The drama is about a group of 4 high school friends and all the crazy things that they get into in the process of losing their virginity.
They also reunite with their childhood friend Chie (Suzuki Anne), who seems to have her own reasons for coming back into their neighborhood.
The story is written well, with a perfect balance of comedy and touching moments between friends and family. The plot twists are interesting and I was quite invested in the characters. I usually hate love triangles with a passion, but this drama managed to do a believable and sweet love triangle that I actually connected with emotionally.
At its heart, STAND UP! is a coming of age drama with a focus on sex and friendship.

ACTING/CAST-
Great acting all across the board. Tons of character development and fun minor characters.
Ninomiya really impressed me with his portrayal of Sho: he played insecure, naive, and adorkable very well
Also, Suzuki Anne took the Chie's character and made her into a sweet and endearing female lead.

MUSIC-
Pretty decent soundtrack featuring Arashi.


LAST THOUGHTS-
Though this is a teen sex comedy, there is a good amount of character development, so it's worthwhile to watch. There are also positive messages throughout the drama which reinforce that love is more better than sex. And not to fall into peer pressures. And that sex has consequences. And friends are awesome!

One of my favorite j dramas for its laughs and for its heart.

Leia Mais

The aptest adjective to describe this drama, in my opinion, is "surprising".



The plot is a surprise because it never goes in the direction one expected it to. Don't be fooled by an apparently superficial beginning: nothing in Stand Up!! is what it seems.



The cast is a surprise, because despite the very young age of the main leads, the acting is brilliant and gives the viewer a glimpse to the type of actors those young people would become.



The script is a surprise, as it deals with ordinary occurrences, teens fixations and the relationship between teens and adults in a sweet, mostly hilarious way.



You'll find yourself laughing out loud, giggling and, at times, remembering with a smile.

Leia Mais

Quite an interesting drama that decided to tackle a taboo theme. I chose to watch this because of Ninomiya Kazunari. The theme of the story is all about typical teenagers and how they deal with life especially their curiosity with sex and other typical teenage issues like friendship, school, family. Yeah, I do agree it's close to American Pie and it's like a Japanese version but I do want to commend the acting of the actors. I love the flow and twist of the story especially at the latter part. I also like the love triangles. It's close to reality making you feel for the characters and relate to it. I do recommend it for those who are in for teenage themes. I can re-watch it and it's best to watch with friends/peers your age.

Leia Mais

For unfathomable reason this drama is considered the Japanese "American pie". It's definitely not something that superficial. This is one of my favourite dramas because it speaks the truth or a funny interpretation of the adolescent experience. It speaks for the frustration of sexual maturation of a teenager. All that frustration to not be left behind to fall in love and have sex and how you chicken out at the last moment. Well it's excellent and quite liberated for a Japanese tv production. The casting and the acting is excellent. it contains all my favourite Japanese actors and some that i came to acknowledge after this drama like Nanomiya Kazunari. I deeply believe that everyone should see this drama. If you like comedies and romance and a little in.your.indo comments watch it without a second thought!!!

p.s. As I'm Greek at some point an actor starts speaking in my native language and I was so taken aback that it took me a while to understand why I understood a Japanese drama without reading the subs....

Leia Mais

Nostalgic

I watched this in 2010 during my Arashi drama binge watching year. This was one of my favorites.

The cast is superb, they all have great chemistry and work well together.

The plot is pretty cliché but its still entertaining.

The whole drama is typical ridiculous jdrama that i love and hold dear to my heart.

There are sensitive topics in the drama that are addressed as well, and i think they do them justice.

A lot of people compared it to American Pie but this has more heart to it and i connected with the characters more in this.

Overall I would recommend it, it will continue to be a favorite of mine.

Leia Mais

I'm no Jdrama expert but I've been getting into it in depth lately and I've found that most Japanese dramas seem like something else when one reads the synopsis, but is so much more than that when one actually watches it, and there lies its charm.
Won't deny I went into the drama reading the synopsis and it just sounded pure fun! Four guys find out that they're the only virgins left in their entire school, bound to be pure comedy right? But while it has a lot of funny moments, it does have it's fair share of teaching moments, sad moments, some frustrating moments and moments which give you joy.

The acting was pretty good in this. I knew three out of the four main actors in this production, having seen oguri shun in 'hana yori dango', yamapi in sensei(where he's much older than he was in this drama!") And knew Nino as the member of Arashi who was in the amazing movie "letters from Iwo Jima". I hadn't seen narimiya hiroki before but he's gorgeous (especially his smile) and I think he did a great job being the goofy guy. The actress, Suzuki Anne is adorable, and I heard some people say that her acting was boring and such, but I think she fit the role pretty well. The rest of the cast, specially the 'elders' did a great job and had me laughing always. Kenken's mom for president!!!! ????????????

The story is realllyyyy good. It's simple and yet gets the work done, in the sense that, it succeeds at telling a meaningful story. Never a dull moment, even if there were, the cast made up for it. I don't think I'll rewatch it immediately ,but for sure, I'll rewatch it some years later and it will be as good as ever! To think that this drama was out almost 15 years ago!!! It's great to see how far the cast members have come and developed as actors and entertainers.

Anyways I loved the drama and thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to anyone looking for a great funny, yet meaningful drama.

Leia Mais

Не, я конечно все понимаю, но поверить, что Ямашита Томохиса, Огури Шун , Наримия Хироки и Ниномия Кадзунари последние девственники школы... Дооооо.....
А в принципе, "Американский пирог" мы все видели и даже любим Правда, правда, здесь есть пикантных ситуаций и много намеков на и около секса, куда ж без них, когда лето и так хочется вкусить запретного фрукта. Тем более взрослые, как бы они не мешали иногда сами подают невольный пример во взаимоотношении полов. А уж вечная "жажда" старшеклассников к своим молодым учительницам не минула и японскую школу.
еще очень хорошо показаны семьи, семейные взаимоотношения. А то очень часто в дорамах либо школьники, либо семья
Первая любовь, первое разочарование, первый секс в конце концов. (я просто рухнула, когда мама одного парня, его как раз ЯмаПи играл, прямо так спросила сына - сколько минут ты продержался в первый раз ) Жизнь, в общем.
Снято немного дерганно, и краски тусклые - аккурат в манере 2003 года.
Знающий друг учит как целоваться

Leia Mais