A Girl and Three Sweethearts(好きな人がいること) Japanese Drama Thoughts

  Do you make decisions based on your feeling or do you make decisions based on how other people will react? A select few people do this based on getting a positive reaction from others even at the expense of their own identity. Its in human nature to want to be loved and excepted by people but this notion doesn't guarantee happiness. You get everyone to like you then you lose your own individuality. If you had taken the harder route, you might have step on a few people's toes but at least you would of been able to live truthfully. I know what being true to who you are does for one's life and the drama "A Girl and Three Sweethearts" talks about people's own personal turmoil to be themselves in the mist of youthful love.

  "A Girl and Three Sweethearts" is directed by Kanai Hiro, Tanaka Ryo, and Moriwaki Tomonodu. The locations require three directors in my opinion. The cast is full of young established stars, Kiritani Mirei, Yamazaki Kento, Miura Shohei, and Nomura Shuhei. The drama also costarts, popular singer/actress Sakurako Ohara with model turned actress Nanao.

  Our plot tells the story of a young girl who wants to be a famous patissier(or chief) but was just fired from her job in Tokyo. By fate she meets up with her old high school classmate who also happens to be her old crush. He owns his own restaurant and asks her to join him in building the business thats located on some island. She becomes head over heels for her old crush that she makes the move without any thought. Little does she know that his two brothers also are involved in the restaurant.

  I really want to state that this drama was shot in Okinawa, Japan but I'm not completely sure. They probably mentioned where the restaurant was in the drama but I had a blond moment. The shots are all about supporting a love that formed over a summer. The setting is perfect for young people to grow closer to each other unwillingly. Emotions are on a great high for key dialogues and the camera is right there to catch all the close ups and pan out shots you need to become an addicted watcher. I loved the main location for this drama. It was an island but not an island that was isolated. It contained a city and different styles of houses built around the area. Ocean free beyond the sand and sunsets that signaled ending of the day set the tone for the emotions felt between the characters. Whenever the two leads would go outside to converse alone, I couldn't help but take in the scenery. The feeling felt more like the sights were there to support the actor and actress instead of overtaking them.The result could have been the actress and actor sitting on a rock in the middle of the ocean without much emotional meaning but the director makes it a mission to show the right imagery to match the actor/actress's lines, and emotional turmoil. The boarding house that the four character;s lived in had a cozy welcoming aura that you become attached to right away. The houses's structure reminds me of a tree house mixed with traditional Japanese style. OK! The house wasn't literally up in a tree but wild life was around the house so might as well be a tree house with more than one floor. The restaurant itself seemed like it was a little far away from their house but it was cute with a professional feel.  So many memorable moments happened in all these places that I feel like I had a great experience as a fly on the wall. None wrote me a part in the script so I'll settle for being a fly. I got to plan a trip to this island where it was filmed. Then I can be that foreigner that runs from location to location matching places with the ones I saw in the drama.

  I was introduced to Kiritani Mirei once again thanks to this drama. She first caught my attention in the drama, "Shinigami-kun" where she played the death watcher that was crude and violent. She was one of the characters that really gave the drama a comedy edge. In "A Girl and Three Sweethearts", Kiritani is meek and weak willed at first. She's always lost when things don't work out the way that she wants them to. Then enters her old crush played by Miura Shohei. He has his own issues and honestly, is a very wishy washy person. He wants to make everyone happy no matter what he wants deep down inside. People who care about you don't want to be happy while your hurting deep down inside. Save yourself the heart ache and live for you as well. Otherwise he was a nice guy but he had  a lot of issues on his plate. Yamazaki Kento is the head chief who has a ruff around the collar attitude. He doesn't talk much and when he does its straight to the point then he shuts his mouth again. Naturally, Kiritani and Yamasaki's characters are going to butt heads because they are polar opposites. Yamasaki's characters wasn't for babying her like she was used to being. He wanted her to grow to be the best that she could be. I did think that he was harsh on her in a few instances but she needed those harsh words for motivation. Nomura Shuhei was the younger(?) brother who just lives each day in a happy go lucky way. Nothing gets him down and he rather be smiling and positive than negative. People who NEVER have anything to worry about are normally the ones that have insecurities behind the fake giggles and jokes. Kiritani did good in her transition of becoming a girl who doesn't know how to bring out the confidence she unknowingly has. She went from being a weak girl with no back bone to a girl who realizes she has to grind for everything that you want in this world. Things just don't fall in your lap. I loved her choice to start facing conflicts head on instead of avoiding them. When  she gets mad her voice becomes strangely deep and raspy in its high register. This same quality was showcased in "Shinigami-kun" and its was funny there because of the context. Here it makes you go, "OH SHIT, SHES MAD NOW!"( She had a few reasons to yell too.) Kento sheds his cute boy image for a more ruff tuff guy who is tan and muscular. I was overjoyed with the appearance change.  I've seen him in a few other drama/films and he's good at playing characters that have out of the ordinary personalities. That smirk he does is taunting but cute at the same time. His character can confuse you because he's mean then nice. One thing for sure is that his actions always have a reason behind them. Its not that he's just down right mean. A sweet guy is there under all the mean boy antics. Poor Shuhei gets type casted again...... These ultra happy characters are made to fit him like a newly tailored suit. Not that he doesn't play the hell of these characters but at least this time around he was given more room to get sentimental. Just like in "35-sai no Koukousei" where his character played a student in a group of bullies.(Kento was also in this drama.) I also wanted his character to shake up the potential love interest conflict more than he did. His character was more like the side guy that was the very last opinion. The costars did their part in extending the storyline with different conflicts. Nanao gives off that model look in all the projects that she's in. Most of the character's she plays also come off as pretty bitchy. At least she had a heart this time around. Lets hope she gets a lead role soon. Ohara looked cute, acted cute, and was cute. We all know she was put in this drama for ratings. I'm saying this as her semi fan. Shohei's character was cute as a potential boyfriend but he was too nice. The scenes where he was doing everything in his power to protect his brothers were his most powerful scenes. The actors and actress chemistry was the wheels that kept this drama going for me. Some scenes are so well acted that that it will leave you speechless. I wanted to find out who she would choose in the end like everyone else.

  The plot, while predicable and cliche at times held a solid ground. I was into the family aspect of the drama and how that affected the characters. Like I said above, the relationships between the characters kept the drama fresh. The love aspect wasn't the only relationship brought to the forefront but family bonds also played a big part of the drama. I loved how the opening sequence of the four of them standing(sometimes sitting) together represented a family. This drama seemed like it was going to be like one of those Otome games that Japan loves so much. You know how in those games, the female lead gets her pick of four guys to be her lover and you grow closer depending on the choices you make. Thank God, this drama had more substance than that. I was treading lightly in the beginning because the first episode didn't hook me until she got on the island with the boys. Before then, I was just witnessing a girl who whined way too much to her friend on the phone.

  "A Girl and Four Sweethearts" is a great drama if you want a fluffy young love story. Its got some substance for older viewers but you know its main target is high schoolers and maybe college students.(Me.) Down to its bubble gum pop soundtrack, addictive plot, beautiful scenery, and hot eye candy, you will leave this drama wanting to go make good summer memories of your own before you get too old.