I just finished watching the finale.
I'll put my final thoughts in spoiler tags so no one reads anything they might not want to.
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Nobuta wo Produce was good. Not exceptional, but deep, inspiring, and emotional. But only when you really stop and think about what it's trying to tell you. On the surface, it's another happy-go-lucky show like Hana Kimi (on a slight level). But if you go past that and think about the message, there are lessons about love, and friendship, and life.
As far as renzoku goes, it could've been better. When I finished the show, I realized that I didn't know the names of maybe 90% of the kids at school. And we're probably not supposed to...but somehow the school atmosphere seemed wrong. The humor was there (Akira, the occasional Nobuta moment, and especially Shuji's dad), but none of it was at school. DESTINY was retarded (fun, but retarded).
Shuji as the main character was a good way to go. He genuinely wasn't likable in the beginning -- lying to Mariko, pretending to be someone else, saying "bye bicycle." But as he progressed, he was such a great character, and easy to learn with. I'm still not a huge Kamenashi Kazuya fan, but thanks to NwP I kinda got into KAT-TUN. As an actor, I think he can improve on quite a few things...although he was still good in this drama. Does that make sense? XD
Yamapi. omfg. What a beast. I think his humor and lovable-ness drove the show for me, at least in the beginning. Akira was unbelievably annoying in the first episode, with the flapping and the KON. Especially in the scene with Bando's boyfriend, we get to see that he has a deeper side, is caring, and actually thinks.
Horikita Maki as Nobuta was such a performance. I'm used to a bubbly and talkative Maki, but I have to commend her as an actress for the Kotani role. It was well done...before long I got used to the Nobuta persona.
MARIKO-CHAN. <3 I wish I knew her. She's such a loving and forgiving person. I wanted to punch Shuji when he said those things to her...but at least he made up. Erika Toda is amazing. <3<3<3
The old people. Catherine and Delphine...they were almost the same person, lol. But I like how they were there, in their own weird way (which again develops on the theme of being yourself and being popular in that way) teaching us lessons.
I do love this show. I don't know if it ranks in my top three, but it was great. NOBUTA POWER...ENTER!
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