The School Rumble Live Action (JDrama) Thread
An Introduction
There has been an ongoing trend of popular mangas being turned into successful Jdramas (live action) lately. In fact, some of the most popular Jdramas that turned regular North American manga reader into avid Jdrama watchers are Gokusen, GTO, and yes, even, a hilarious Sailor Moon live action.
Now, I didn't watch the last, because a live action Sailor Moon sounds tacky as it is, but there are a lot of mangas, if done right, can become really interesting to watch for both fans of the original base manga and outside fans that never read it. With the lack of great storylines, TV Networks have relied more and more on manga adaptations to television shows to air every season. Unlike American television dramas, which usually have successful shows running for upwards of ten seasons, Jdramas usually air only one season (unless its super popular and it will air a sequel season), so the demand for new stories and series increases.
Now, what happen if School Rumble becomes serialized into a live action?
Personally, I think it would be great, as a fan of the manga and a fan of Jdramas in general it would be interesting to watch. SR is relatively easy Jdrama to produce because it is situated in a school setting and revolve around short storylines pulled together by a main storyline. Also the relationships are the prototypical comedy-love scenario that made other manga turned Jdramas such as Hana Kimi and Hana Yori Dango popular.
So in the event that it ever does happen, which it might not, here are the list of actors I would wish to play the characters. Enjoy!
Who I think should play who
Tenma Tsukamoto
Tenma is the most difficult position to fill, because the actor who plays her has to understand the nuances of her character. If she is not funny, cute in a weird way, and childish then the whole show would not work. I really thought the work of Ami Koshimizu in the anime series was phenomenal and the same person who takes the role of Tenma would have to be the same way.
My Pick:
Yui Aragaki:
http://server6.pictiger.com/img/6839...ting/tenma.jpg
Gakki would be my first choice. She showed off her chops in Papa to Musume acting as a old father, but I worry this might be over her head. She certainly has the look, down-to-earth and relatively short without being robust like most JIdols, but she still can be sweet and endearing.
Harima Kenji
Harima is also difficult, but the tough-guy archetype is a common character in Jdramas and shouldn't be as difficult to play.
My Pick:
Nishikido Ryou:
http://server7.pictiger.com/img/6980...ing/harima.jpg
Ryo, not only has the rugged dark tanned look that Harima has, but also shares his deep husky Japanese tone. He also can play the quiet loner, as evident in Ichi Ritoru no Namida.
Yakumo Tsukamoto:
Yakumo can be difficult to fill, but I already found the perfect actress for her.
My Pick:
Horikita Maki
http://server7.pictiger.com/img/6980...ing/yakumo.jpg
Personally, I worry about Maki's height versus Gakki's. Maki has a refined mature japanese look, but also looks young and innocent. Maki's role in Nobuta wo Produce showed her as a shy and reserved girl and her acting in the MV - Sangatsu Kokonoka by Remioromen, captures that isolation and maturity we come to expect from Yakumo.
Reference: http://youtube.com/watch?v=v1AMWl4zGVY
Eri Sawachika
Eri is a difficult spot to fill, not character wise, but look-wise. She is half-german and also a natural blond, so it will be difficult to find someone to fit the bill.
My Pick:
Erika Sawajiri
http://server7.pictiger.com/img/6980...osting/eri.jpg
Not just because they have incredibly similar names, but Erika can bring out the sweet (Ichi Ritoru) Eri and spicy (like in real life) Eri. I have also seen a blond picture of her and she somewhat resembles Eri.
Oji Karasuma:
Another hard cast, not character-wise but look-wise. It's hard to picture Karasuma as a person, because he is suppose to be both dorky-weird and (in Tenma's eyes) mysterious and cool.
My Pick:
Kazunari Ninomiya
He was in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, but other than that I am not too familiar with his work. I am not too confident with this pick, but Karasuma doesn't have a lot of screentime so I'm sure he could get by.
