マイ＊ボス マイ＊ヒーロー (My Boss, My Hero)

Image copyright Nippon Television Network Corporation

Title: My Boss, My Hero
Genre: School, Comedy
Episodes: 10
Broadcast network: NTV
Completed Airing?: Yes

Sakaki Makio (Nagase Tomoya) is the tough kid on the block. Twenty-seven years old and the eldest son of a Yakuza (essentially the Japanese Mafia) lord, he has earned the nickname "Tornado" for his awesome fighting skills. He is all set to take over the clan, but for one little problem: he isn't very bright. After making an elementary adding mistake that costs the clan tons of money (20+5+5+5 is less than 27), his frustrated father issues an ultimatum: either graduate from high school or he will give leadership of the clan to Makio's younger brother, Mikio. Makio must pose as a 17 yaer-old student, and if anyone discovers his secret, he will be unable to become the Yakuza boss he seemed destined to be.

Yet again, this is one of those so stupid it's funny dramas. Makio sticks out in class like a sore thumb, and though people comment on it sometimes, they accept it. He is bullied at first, only to befriend Sakurakouji Jun (Tegoshi Yuya), an angsty pretty boy, over the matter of winning pudding. That's right, pudding. But not just any pudding; this pudding is very Special, for every day at lunch the entire school holds a race to try and get their hands on one of twelve daily cups and the students literally trample over each other to win. He slowly wins the rest of the class over as well, especially Umemura Hikari (Aragaki Yui of Papa to Musume no Nanokakan), who he develops a crush on to the point that "the little midget in his chest" is making lots of noise. Their math teacher also starts developing something of a schoolgirl crush on Makio, though she doesn't understand why and doesn't even realize it for a long time.

The acting is stupid. It's supposed to be stupid. Makio especially often makes highly comical faces when he thinks, and it's hard not to laugh when you look at them. Many of the situations are so silly that you can't help but laugh: Makio wins his pudding race by tying the school's flag around his shoulders as a cape and leaping off the roof of one building and flying to the next one over (this was how he learned about parabolas); when Sakurakouji eventually decides that something is strange with Makio and takes a surprise visit to Makio's house, alarms go off and all the Yakuza are forced to hide, which involves grabbing the nearest expensive object and crawling into fireplaces, crouching behind staircases, and shooting Sakurakouji with a dart and using that distraction to move around a fake wall.

Of course, there are the cheesy moments, like when the entire class settles their differences and comes together to all participate in the school talent show, or when Makio's secret is revealed when a rival gang comes to threaten him while he's in school, or the little moral lessons that the school nurse imparts upon occasion. Sakurakouji is also more of a girl than I am. But overall, this drama is worth the watch. I laugh out loud whenever I watch it, and between watching it myself and sitting other people down and forcing them to watch it, I've seen it a good four times or so. Because honestly, stupid IS funny.

My Boss, My Hero Official Site

By the way, here is a video of a parody that a comedy show (similar to MadTV/SNL) did of the first time that Makio participates in the race. The scene is almost an exact replica of the scene in the drama... well, minus the Terminator and Jack Sparrow, that is. Also, there are no subtitles, so a rough translation is below.


Bottom right text: Episode One: Pudding Fight
00:12: Today, I'll absolutely get it. That pudding will be mine... today.
01:13: Ah! My pudding!
02:03 Text: The Terminator impersonation
02:18 Text: Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp impersonation
02:18: I'm not Johnny Depp, I'm Johnny Hiromi! (some sort of joke that I get about as much as you do)