JDrama Review : Chugakusei Nikki

Title : Meet me after School, Chugakusei Nikki, Junior High School Diary

Episodes : 11 (about 50 minutes each)

Genre : Drama, School, Age Gap, Taboo, Romance, Forbidden Love, Family

Story : 7 out of 10

Characters : 8 out of 10

Cinematography : 7 out of 10

Chugakusei Nikki describes a forbidden love and the results of it.

Poster for the japanese drama Chugakusei Nikki

Story

Hijiri is a young school teacher, who wants to be the ideal teacher for her students, even though it is her first time teaching and she makes several mistakes. Hijiri’s fiance works for a big company in the city, and so, they hardly see each other. Hijiri is lonely, but she takes comfort in her work. She cares for her students and tries to be there for them. Her warm character attracts one of them, Akira, a fifteen-year-old boy who lives with his mother and stepfather. Akira expresses his feelings to Hijiri, but she rejects him. Eventually, however, she gives in, realizing that she, as well, has feelings for him. But, she is ten years older and an adult. So, she confesses to Akira’s mother about her situation, quits her job and leaves her fiance, disappearing from everyone’s life. Years later, Akira is preparing for college. Hijiri has returned to teaching in a small village and she is finally happy. However, Akira’s mother found out about it and she does not approve that Hijiri is happy after what she has done to them. And Akira, after learning about Hijiri’s whereabouts, he rushes to find her, still in love with her.

I’m not really a fan of age gap love stories, especially when one of them is underaged. So, I didn’t know if I should start this one or not. Not that anything dramatic happened when he was a minor, but if you simply can’t stand it, then you won’t be missing much if you skip this one.

The teacher

Now, for the story, the presentation of the taboo of this forbidden love and the aftermath of it was nicely executed. The drama takes it time to portray the characters and to give some breathing space to the love story to be developed. The love story itself never had those romantic scenes, with couples going on dates and being lovey-dovey with each other. Rather, it was a result of Akira’s persistence and Hijiri finally letting her guard down and giving in. They share a kiss next to the sea, after meeting at a festival, each with their dates. But, right after, Akira’s mother finds out and Hijiri, knowing that having feelings for Akira is wrong, disappears. The way they both part was kind of heart wrecking. Eventually, though, everything goes back to normal. Until Akira and Hijiri meet again. They are not the people they were back then. They have different priorities and dreams. But, the attraction is still there.

So, overall, the drama doesn’t show a nice romantic story, but the way Akira’s and Hijiri’s forbidden feelings destroyed their lives, and how society viewed them. It also focused on the characters, and their own backgrounds, trying to explain why these damaged people found comfort in each other.

Characters

The two leads

Hijiri is a bright, optimistic young teacher. She is willing to do anything to make her students trust her. After one of them confesses his feelings for her, she tries to ignore him, knowing that encouraging him would do them both no good. But, she is lonely and her fiance is starting waving away from her. So, she discovers that she has feelings for her student. Knowing that that makes her a bad teacher, she quits and disappears. Later on, she has finally settled and she is being a teacher again, loving her students. Meeting Akira again, even though he is not a minor anymore, threatens that peaceful life again. Arimura Kasumi kind of looked younger than a teacher, but she was graceful and quite emotional.

Akira is a troubled student. He lives with his mother after his father left them, and he gets into trouble often. After Hijiri becomes his teacher, she helps him out several times. Akira realizes that Hijiri is there for him and cares for him, and so, he falls for her. After she rejects him, he is heartbroken, as she is avoiding him. And after their final breakup, Akira starts writing a diary, swearing to find her one day when he is not a kid anymore. Okada Kenshi was simply brilliant. This is his debut as an actor, as he is quite young, thus, it was amazing how good he was.

Cinematography

The drama was filmed quite simply, with clean shots and a nice technique when it came to presenting the character’s inner feelings. However, the time jump wasn’t handled that well.

Overall

My overall rating for this drama is 7 out of 10. The story was okay, although it lacked some intensity and the management of the time and pace wasn’t good.