Love is a very fickle thing, for anyone who's loved before knows of how something so simple can turn complicated in a single moment. Even finding "The One" can prove to be a difficult task in itself. While some of us at Japanator may be experts in the field of love, not everyone is as lucky as we are.
So instead of going through the emotional and physical hardship of looking for that perfect person, why can't we have one made just to our liking? From the personality to every physical feature, made to be the perfect "type" of lover existing for you and you alone. Oh an it's a robot, think something like a "Moe-Bot" (or Bot-Moe). No, not the super giant kind but one but super nonetheless.
Tonight on Dramataku: we learn about the perfect robot lover after the jump....
Zettai Kareshi - The Flawless Perfect Robot Lover Based on Absolute Boyfriendby Yuu Watase Original Japan Broadcast: April 15, 2008 - June 24, 2008
Love can be difficult, and Riiko Izawa has just learned it the hard way after being rejected by a co-worker she liked. Disheartened, she is approached by a company called Kronos Heaven, who offers her the chance to meet her perfect lover. Riiko accepts and she gets a surprise the following day when her "Ideal Boyfriend" arrives. It turns out that Kronos Heaven is actually a robotics company and Riiko just got their latest product: The Nightly Series 01, the perfect robot boyfriend matched to her every preference. Riiko is uneasy with her "Ideal Boyfriend" at first, but eventually takes a liking to him and names him Night. Things get more complicated when Riiko's boss, Soshi Asamoto, takes notice of her and her talent as a patissier. Now Riiko finds herself torn between the man of her dreams and the man who can help her achieve her dreams.
Based on Yuu Watase's manga of the same name, those who've read Absolute Boyfriend will immediately notice the drama's considerable changes from the source material. Schoolgirl Riiko is now an office lady working at a confectionery company, with hopes of being a patissier. Night is still a robot and is treated like one by Riiko -- and he is no longer a shoujo manga bishounen. Soshi isn't Riiko's childhood friend anymore and is now Riiko's boss at Soshi's grandfather's confectionery company. More welcome changes come with the omission of cliche shoujo manga elements such as squee moments.
The show feels like it was from a josei manga, which is the older and more sophisticated version of shoujo targeted at older teen girls and young women, which is also the main audience of this show and would explain the reason for the changes.
Despite all the changes, Zettai Kareshi manages to surpass its manga roots in many ways. Aibu Saki (Attention Please!, Happy!) portrays Riiko Izawa as a young lady and not some generic naive shojo manga girl who is easily swept away by good looking robots. You will totally feel for Hayao Mokomichi as Night (Regatta, HatarakiMan) everytime Riiko denies his advances and treats him like crap because she only thinks of him as an electrical appliance. Soshi is played by Mizushima Hiro (Hana Kimi, Kamen Rider Kabuto) and is a guy who's trying to recapture his grandfather's company's legacy.
Zettai Kareshi is brought to life with the help of the amazing ending theme song Okaeri by Ayaka. The show manages make something with a silly premise into a genuinely touching tale of love. The show still retains some of what made the manga really good, such as the ending, put together with Okaeri and that final sequence is still one of the most memorable endings I've ever seen.
The fans of the manga may denounce it for the changes but it's those changes are what makes this show great, think of it as a reinterpretation that's more than the usual shojo story. For those who've never read the manga, if you can buy into the robot bit, you'll find a cute love story with lots of funny bits. Oh and if you like half-naked ikemen then check it out, yo!
Seen it, it was good, but I kinda liked how the manga ended...very sweet story, the plot gave it more structure than the manga since the manga wasn't really surrounded by the whole making pastries plot...
The ED was cool, and although different than the manga, the drama was worth it's own merits. That scene where he shoved his broken knee back into his leg was rather GAR though.
In my opinion the live action version surpasses the original source by a lot. For example, Riiko in the manga can get very annoying and everyone around her makes the plot go round, she just stays there not making up her mind (she's the reason I didn't end up buying the whole set). Also, it's so ridiculous at times you can't take it seriously.
I'm glad the live action made a more mature story out of the manga, and everyone should give this j-drama a chance.
Now I feel silly for not recognizing Soshi being Kabuto.
I've only seen the first episode of this, but it was fairly good. Also having read the first manga vol, I noticed the differences right away, but they worked well.
I loved the ending so much that it made me cry. Its got a great share of laughs but it's still the ending that lingers in my thoughts every time I remember the series.
11 comments
I don't watch a whole lot of live-action japanese shows, but perhaps I should give it more consideration...hmm.