Nobuta wo Produce, ep. 06-10

[oyceter]

Wooooe! They got the ending wrong! Just... they can't leave Nobuta alone!

I am somewhat mollified by the very cute Nobuta and Mariko fic I read in Yuletide, but I do not care! It is wrong!

Anyway. The series ended up making a few missteps, but I still like it a lot. The parts I didn't like largely concerned Aoi; some day I would like to not have a manipulative girl, please. I didn't get annoyed as I might have, just because of that scene where Mariko comes in and sees Aoi making Nobuta cry. I really, really, really like Mariko.

I did like how they resolved Akira liking Nobuta; part of me still wishes Akira and Nobuta had gotten together, but oh well. I'm just glad they didn't go with Nobuta/Shuuji, because that feels wrong and expected and boring. And I am sad that we didn't get more of Nobuta and that the story ended up being about Shuuji. Sigh. It was a good story about Shuuji, but the meta part of my brain is tired of shoujo that is all about the guys.

I also liked Shuuji's fall from grace, and when he got up in front of the class to ask them to make a film for Nobuta, I could not have loved him more. I also nearly cried when they played the video for Nobuta. Oh Nobuta! I love you so much! And Shuuji sometimes made me want to smack him on the head -- don't doubt Akira and Nobuta! They're the kind of people who will stand by someone no matter what, Mariko too, and I love them for it.

That said, a lot of what I loved about the show was tainted a bit by the ending. I didn't mind Shuuji going off, and I think him entering a new school by himself would have been bittersweet and sad, but also perfect, but I just hate that they left Nobuta by herself! Woe!

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I actually never minded Nobuta being left alone(except really, she wasn't...she still had Mariko) because she wanted to know if she could stand on her own feet, and she never would have been able to find out if either boy was there, because neither would have ever been able to not try to help, openly or secretly. mariko, of course, is much smarter than either boy and can stand by.

Besides, in my world, they all go to college together. The problem with any jdrama that stars a JE boy isz that in the end, no matter what, it'll always be about whatever JE boy in it is the most popular at the time.

But I agree...far too much shojo ends up being all about the boys. Sometimes it's ok, but really...I'm a girl. I like the boys, but can't they at least be equally important?

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

The ending made me cry like a baby. Not just because of the sadness, but because it turned out to be all about Shuji and Akira. I console myself my imagining the awesome adventures of Nobuta and Mariko (and Bando) or pretending that the last five minutes do not exist.

I was glad that Shuji decided to stay with his family. They are like the cutest tv family ever! And none of them seem to resent their mother for always being away.

[poilass.livejournal.com]

I have just finished watching Nobuta too! (about ten minutes ago! I watched the first episode a few days ago and wasn't that taken, and then I watched seven episodes in a row, and then I got up early to finish it this morning and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.)

I was completely horrified when it turned out to be Aoi, though they saved that a bit for me in the end, and, god, I adored that scene where Shuuji is telling them they shouldn't talk to him anymore, and walks tragically away to be ALL ALONE and they get up and follow him like a pair of ducklings, clearly thinking: wow, you're a total idiot!

I think I disagree about the ending a bit. At first when Akira showed up I was all NO NO WHAT ABOUT NOBUTA!, but the fact that it was her idea mostly reconciles me to it. I trust her judgment; if she thinks she will be fine on her own, I think she will be fine on her own too. And I am less sure that Shuuji would be fine on his own, so she might have a point. But I do wish we had seen the scene where she convinces Akira he should go.