Back when I finished watching They Kiss Again (the sequel to It Stated With a Kiss, the Taiwanese adaptation of the Itazura na Kiss manga) I pleaded (in my head :D) with drama producers everywhere to pleasepleaseplease make a Korean version and a new Japanese version because it was my most favorite series EVER.

Low and behold a Korean adaptation came to be a while back and I thought I was lucky then....but here we are with my second wish coming true: a brand spanking new Japanese version of Itazura na Kiss.

I was still surprised that I actually really enjoyed this series though because--when I found out about the casting--I was determined to hate it.

But alas, it went above my expectations and managed to show this already well-adapted series in a (somewhat) new light.

I still don't like it as much as I like the Taiwanese series (although I like some characters more) but I do like it MUCH more than the original Japanese drama, which was just horrible.

I would say I feel about it about the same way I feel about the Korean version (Playful Kiss): They are prettier to look at and they do a lot of things right the Taiwanese drama did wrong BUT because it's already been done before and because the amount of time given to each of the dramas was less than that of It Started With a Kiss and its sequel, both the Japanese and the Korean versions feel rushed and unoriginal in certain areas.

It can't really be helped. That's just the way it is--the Taiwanese version was first (well except for the original Japanese version that I just like to pretend doesn't exist) so for many viewers who watched that drama before watching Playful Kiss or this show will probably feel the same.

Having said that, this version is still worth a watch! Especially for younger viewers since the cast looks so young (some of them really ARE kiddos still lol). I have to say I liked Kotoko less than Oh Ha Ni but about the same as Xiang Qin so that was kinda a bummer. She wasn't terribly annoying in this version but I just enjoyed Ha Ni so much more in Playful Kiss that I wish her character could be that good in all the versions.

Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo does have my favorite portrayal of Kin-chan, though. Yey! I do wish he could have got a hair cut at some point though...

And Mrs. Irie is, unfortunately, my least favorite of the three versions. She wasn't horrible though, and she did grow on me, which is good.

All of the other characters are basically the same to me, including Naoki. I did enjoy some of his expressions that I think the other versions didn't have: the soft way he looks at Kotoko now and then, his (gasp) smile here and there...I DID like that about him but I pretty much like ALL of the different portrayals of Naoki so there wasn't anything different enough here to make me like him more, or less.

So whether you are a fan of the older versions or just looking for a cute Japanese romcom I would highly recommend this series! Especially now that you can marathon it and not have to painstakingly wait for a new episodes every week for 16 weeks (thanks Japan for your one-episode-a-week torture....). Have fun watching!