Princess Jellyfish was originally a Manga created by Yuichi Tokunaga that was published into seventeen volumes and has sold over a million copies in Japan with each volume selling thousands of copies worldwide. The American edition of the manga was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2017 and the series inspired an eleven episode anime followed by a live action film released in 2014. Director Junichi Ishikawa and writer Akiko Higashimura revived the beloved series once again a decade later. The drama stars popular actor Seto Koji, along with Kyoto Yoshine, Asuka Kudo, Haruka Kinami, Rena Matsui, Rio Uchida, Eriko Tomiyama, and, Rika Izumi.
A shy nerdy girl moves from the countryside of Japan to live in an all female boarding house in Tokyo. All the girls in this house would be considered NEETS(people who are shut in from the outside world.) but that all changes when a beautiful woman steps foot into their lives. She is nothing like anything that they would be associated with and to top it all off she isn't even a she- She's a he!!!!! Together they learn the strength of being themselves in the face of world and that beauty is only what you make of it.
Someone though of the bright idea to milk more money out of the Princess Jellyfish series. The original series came out in the early 2000s making it a decade old. I would be mad at the whole production had this drama turned out to be a hot mess. Princess Jellyfish as a made for TV drama works wonders somehow as a end result. Who knew that the writer could hold out a story about a crossdressing pretty boy and a awfully shy Jellyfish loving nerdy girl for ten episodes? First off, let me start by saying that I never read the Manga or watched the live action film but I did watch the anime which felt very unfinished. Probably because the manga didn't have enough chapters out at the time to finish the anime completely. So I wasn't sure how the drama version would turn out since they had more than enough material to make the story work out. What interested me the most was this new take on the series would handle the idea of a cross dressing love interest. How the script would address this issue and how strongly the content would relate to the issue of loving who you are inside as well as on the outside. I can't speak for the manga or the film, however I can say that the show discusses these issues well. The writer does a wonderful job modifying the script to expand on the story while even giving fans a chance to wonder what if this had happened in the original plot. There's also a perfect blend of comedy to keep you feeling connected to the characters, even if most of them are very weird in themselves. Fashion elements are apparent in the world of Princess Jellyfish which are touched on in a more detailed way in the drama. I loved seeing all the characters come into themselves as people when they put their all into creating clothes they wanted to wear. A cross dressing main character was handled in a way that spreads more awareness using a confidence that makes viewers feel like they can face anything that comes at them. I felt this when watching the character because cross dressing isn't seen favorably in the eyes of everyone especially in Japan. The drama pushed forward strongly through this fact for a warm outcome though.
Seto Koji was a beast in this drama. It didn't help that he has such a cute face that can pull off crossdressing like a girl. He does the original character so much justice that you kind of have to just sit and take him in. His character had a good amount of grace to be a female on top of the manliness to be a love interest. That's a talented actor for you. I wasn't actually rooting for his character to get the girl though. Asuka Kudo's character seemed like a better fit and he was putting up a good fight all through the drama. His straight laced character was funny in comedic scenes where thing just happen that he has no control over. Kyoko plays the nerdy girl in the middle of the two guys. Her character isn't who you would expect to be the main girl at first, but she grows a lot in this drama adaption too. She has a couple of drastic changes to her personally and appearance giving her character a greater scale to relate to. Getting dressed up wasn't to make yourself feel good or for anyone else. Instead it was to bring out the beauty that was always on the inside. I think the characters highlight this fact in there actions as the drama progressed. I love the whole cast to bits really. Princess Jellyfish is one of those dramas that you can't get enough of due how easy it is to get attached to the characters. They're all kind of different in a strange way. Aren't we all a little strange?
Loved the shots for the fashion scenes. I felt like I was there sitting next to the runway, cheering each of the characters on. Any type of reveal of beauty was shot very well. From the lighting to the slow motion that put an extra dynamic on the scene. Some of the comedy had less of an impact in real life camera shots. You know like the extra unrealistic movements of cartoons for example. They made the scenes work the best that they could using sound effects plus over the top acting which I loved.
Princess Jellyfish the drama maintained the essence that made the original series such a feel good experience. Fans of the series defiantly need to give this a watch. You're missing out if you don't.
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