In any case as I watched the drama for HK, I couldn't help but notice some major character changes. Sano, the romantic lead, is manga's own Mr. Darcy: He's a little shy/anti-social, serious, elegant, and adorable when his feathers get ruffled. Manga Sano is pretty awesome. Drama Sano...not so much.
"Fake Sano" as I call him is grumpy to the point of jerkdom. Between the actor (Oguri Shun), director, and writer, Sano managed to lose a lot of what made him a sympathetic character. (Nothing against Oguri Shun; after all, he pulled off what would have been a spot-on Sano as Hanazawa Rui in Hana Yori Dango.) Not only that, the new charismatic Nakatsu is out to steal his wind.Charismatic Nakatsu, hilariously played by Ikuta Toma, got a good two-thirds of what would typically be "romantic lead" scenes. Mizuki (the female lead) thinking of leaving for America? Charismatic Nakatsu is there to stop her five minutes before Fake Sano even thinks about it. Formal school dance? Charismatic Nakatsu is there to dress in a tux and dance with her. Not to mention the fact that he gets let in on Mizuki's big secret and manages to play part of the protective role that manga Nakatsu never even got close to.
Of course, Nakatsu isn't the romantic lead; Fake Sano ends up nabbing the girl. Here's the thing, though: I wished it was the other way around. Enough of Sano's likability got siphoned off into Charismatic Nakatsu that he ended up making a better leading man.In the manga, Nakatsu was constantly interrupting moments between Sano and Mizuki; if he did something sweet, it was immediately countered with a goofy, off-putting stunt. As a reader, I was constantly wanting to shoo him out of any scene with romantic potential. But Charismatic Nakatsu is all awesome. My biggest "yell at the screen" moment for the drama was Fake Sano interrupting a "moment" between Mizuki and Charismatic Nakatsu.
Sigh...at least they kept the ridiculously ugly pants.
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