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Mendol-Ikemen Idol (Japanese Drama Series)SPOILERWARNING!
Remember the excitement of Last Friends: Japanese Drama Series? Well here is a another Japanese drama series with lesbian/bi characters and even a happy ending.
This series is called "Mendol-Ikemen Idol" and is a light hearted dramedy about 3 teenage girls trying to make it in the entertainment industry and becoming "idols". After failing another audition Asahi and Nami witness an crime and take some important data with them. Being chased by the bad guys they try to escape by dressing up as boys which results in them being "discovered" by a talent scout. So in order to stay hidden and still persuing their dreams, Asahi, Nami team up with another girl Hinata and become the boyband "Persona" which is managed by a lesbian, so it seems, business woman. The lesbian/ bi character in the making is Nami/ Kai (as a boy with a blonde wig). She is played by Takahashi Minami. It all starts when Kai insults famous singer Rei. Rei then develops a crush on Kai, not knowing that he is a she. In the beginning Nami/ Kai expresses disgust when she just sees lesbians and she calls her manager "L". There are some funny, mistaken-identity moments when Rei tries to convince Kai of her love. They even kiss a couple of times but the kisses are these typical asian tv 'lips barely touching and no moving/freeze' kind of kisses. What surprised me the most is the Rei's reaction when Kai reveals herself to be a girl. Rei just says "So? I don't care if you're a man or a woman. You're mine!" So they end up dating anyway. Takahashi Minami (Nami / Kai)
Takigawa Hanako (Rei)
PS: if you want to watch it I recommend http://www.mysoju.com/mendolikemen-idol/
Submitted by lectra (729 posts) on January 24, 2009 - 8:34pm. |
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Interesting..
I've heard about this series. Well no necessarily what's in it, but that it's about girls who dress like boys played by some AKB48 memers .
Now that you mention it has a lesbian character i'm even more interested.
I wonder, are the episodes subbed?
If its on Mysoju...
If its on Mysoju the episodes will be subbed.
I remember seeing this but didn't watch it because it looked too sugary to me and I don't need more cavities. I may try to watch it still, we will see.
it really is quite "sugary"
it really is quite "sugary" and clearly aimed at an younger audience.
at first i found it to be offensive with the "ewww... gross" remarks but was really surprised by the ending. in fact the only thing i like about this series is the ending.
lol
Did you like it because it ended and you didn't have to watch anymore? I sort of skimmed the episodes- it was too painful for me to watch in its entirety.
Spoilers! for Last Friends and Mendol- if you don't want to know don't read
I mean it was all bad acting and caricatures, but it did have one good point that Last Friends failed to deliver on in my opinion. The relationship ( however shallow it is) between Nami and Rei ended happily, and they are definitely together. Also their relationship appears to be strong and they're comfortable in their relationship which goes against Japanese society.
Last friend's ending was this strange ambiguous platonic ( we aren't so sure maybe platonic) family centered around the baby.Thats sorta happy but not really.
Come on, it wasn't as bad
Come on, it wasn't as bad as you are picturing it. Yes, it had a lot of silly moments and useless fanservice (aka girls with few clothes on), but I found the plot entertaining and well developed - some of the plot twists may have not been very surprising but they had some logic.
And it shares a director with Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e), maybe that's why I liked it so much (Hana Kimi and Mendol happen to be the only japanese TV shows I have ever seen, and probably it's not a coincidence they both share the same director.. and that I liked them so much)
I wonder...
I did like Hana Kimi but then I think it had much better acting. Mendol, I do admit I got into it kinda but It wasn't at the same lvl as other shows. I think the acting and some of the antics were a but much for me.
I could recommend some shows for you though, Last Friends is serious and all drama. If you like this show you may like Nodame Cantabile ( where i get my nick from).
haven't seen mendol but i
-.- i agree
100% agree with you.
Last Friends had such the "we can't take this where it needs to go or deserves to go" ending. I was so upset and let down at the end of Last Friends I had to go take my frustration out on my archery target- I had bruises on my arm for weeks.
Hana kimi ... well i read the manga and the ending did not suprise me at all. I'm just happy that Makino didn't turn into the little spineless punk like she did in the manga for that short period of time.
As for Nodame... all I got to say is NODAME RULES! I even learned the fart exercise on the piano in tribute.
no3bs
I have to admit to being a little addicted to the theme song of this show, Relax by no3bs (no sleeves). @_@
Also after a little thought I decided Takahashi Minami is hysterical in this drama.