There is no doubt that the first casting of Hana Kimi was amazing. What? With stars like Oguri Shun as Sano, Hirokita Maki as Ashiya Mizuki and Ikuta Toma as Nakatsu at the helm and a bunch of oh-so- adorable supporting characters like Mizushima Hiro, Shirota Yuu and Yamamoto Yusuke, it was both eye candy and quite a fancy to watch. In fact, it was one of those dramas I really enjoyed watching for the laughs, and for the ikemen as well. For a fangirl like me, it was a great drama to watch. However, I did feel that while some actors delivered, like Ikuta who totally stole the show and brought his character to life, some just sat in the background and looked pretty.
To be honest, there was something lacking in the first adaptation that I can’t seem to put my finger on it. It could be that Horikitty just didn’t deliver or maybe it was because the scenes were too predictable, the people in the supporting roles were half-assing it. I expected more from Shirota Yuu, but it was like Tezuka all over again. No life at all. Hiro was doing okay as Nanba-senpai but he could have done better as well. Hiro is an amazing actor, I know that but somehow he wasn’t very amazing to me here.
My biggest disappointment was Shun. He wasn’t cutting it for me as Sano. He was being too lax about his role. Though, Sano as a character doesn’t have too much of an emotional range. There were things that he could have done, right? But he didn’t. *sigh*
Now there is another cast of the same drama headed by Miura Shohei as Nakatsu, Nakamura Aoi as Sano and Maeda Atsuko as Ashiya Mizuki and there is a lot of debate going on about it in different circles. But one thing is for sure. THIS CAST HAS BIG SHOES TO FILL.
For one, I am convinced that Shohei has a lot of things to consider and prepare for if he wants to replace Toma as Nakatsu. Toma has pretty much been a household name with lines like “Homo Ja nai!”. Toma was brilliant and Shohei really has to work if he wants the people to be convinced about him.
As for Maeda, I don’t know much about her, but she seems quite cute and from what I’ve seen, pretty decent as an actress. I just hope she’s more convincing than Maki was in the first drama. Though, she does look like Maki – a lot.
Nakamura Aoi, what can I say? I love this boy. It’s probably my bias because I actually fan this boy because he looks like Ryo. 😀 He was the convincing point for me to actually want to see the drama. He’s a good actor and I am not complaining that he’s being given more opportunity now. I could only wish he does better as Sano than Shun did.
I looked at the rest of the cast as well, and I could say that I may see this to be promising. ( Though not as brilliant as the first). I’ll watch it before I speak. Many people may say that this is one of those dramas that we don’t need because the first one is good enough, I think otherwise. There could always be another way to do things, and this might just be better. Who knows?
Good Luck Cast 2!
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