Title: Gokusen 3
Broadcast date: 4/19/08 - 6/08
Number of episodes: 11
Genre: comedy
Cast: Nakama Yukie, Namase Katsuhisa, Takaki Yuya, Miura Haruma, Ishiguro Hideo, Nakama Junta, Kiriyama Akito, Waki Tomohiro
Plot: Once again, Yankumi (Nakama Yukie) is called upon to bring the rowdy boys of class 3D of another high school to heel.
What is good: Besides Nakama Yukie, the students seem to be better actors this time around.
What is bad: The ending is a bit abrupt.
Letter rating: C+
Overall: While the plot is still basically the same, there are a few changes. For one, the writers have added a sort-of overall villain to the fold. He's not in every episode but he does appear more than once. Also, despite the fact that the cast is still littered with boy band members, they aren't particularly bad actors. Nakama Yukie shines, as always, and it's really nice to see the Kuma character from the first series move forward in life instead of being stagnant. This season was much better than season 2.
A third season of Gokusen!
I absolutely loved the first season of Gokusen. The second season wasn't nearly as good. Despite that, it has been announced that there will be a third season premiering in April. I hope that they don't make the same mistake they did with the second. Maybe they will change things up a little instead of making it a direct rehash of the first season. (Though it wouldn't hurt if they brought back MatsuJun!) Luckily, Nakama Yukie will be back in her role as Yankumi.
J-actor mini bio: Nakama Yukie
Name: Nakama Yukie
Birthday: 10/30/79
Height: 5'2" (160 cm)
Weight: 101 lbs (46 kg)
Where do I know her from? Gokusen, Trick, Tokyo Wankei, Ringu 0: Basudei
Tell me some more! Nakama-san is also a singer. She has performed the theme songs for the anime Haunted Junction and the video game Megaman X4. Along with the Tokyo governor, Shintaro Ishihara, she was voted the most viewed personality on Japanese television.
What is your opinion of her? I think Nakama-san is a great comedic actress. I've often watched a series just because she was in it. While I haven't watched any of her dramatic roles yet, I believe that she could pull off a dramatic role just as well as she does her comedic ones.
JDorama review: Gokusen 2
Title: Gokusen 2
Broadcast date: 1/15/05 - 1/19/05
Number of episodes: 10
Genre: comedy
Cast: Nakama Yukie, Kamenashi Kazuya, Akanishi Jin, Hayami Mokomichi, Koike Teppei, Koide Keisuke, Namase Katsuhisa
Plot: Shirokin Gakuen has closed its doors. Six months later, Yamaguchi Kumiko (Nakama Yukie) is teaching a group of young children, though she'd much rather be teaching high school again. Due to a twist of fate, Yankumi gets a job teaching at Kurogin Gakuen. Once again, she is left to deal with the school's delinquents. This year her students are the worst she's ever encountered!
What is good: Nakama Yukie comes through once again.
What is bad: This is almost an exact duplicate of the first season but with new students.
Letter rating: D
Overall: The first season of Gokusen did everything right. The studio tried to recreate that magic with the second season but came up short. I easily predicted what would happen next because I saw the same exact thing happen in the first season! Nakama Yukie was still hysterically funny but she was put up against a group of actors, who are mostly in boy bands. (Kamenashi and Akanishi are in KAT-TUN and Koike Teppei is in WaT.) This season should prove to producers that you can't just toss a bunch of cute, recognizable boys into a show and come out with something awesome. I'd only recommend this show to someone who is a big fan of one of the actors. There isn't any other reason to watch it.
JDorama review: Gokusen
Title: Gokusen
Broadcast date: 4/1/02 - 7/3/02
Number of episodes: 12
Genre: comedy
Cast: Nakama Yukie, Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun, Waki Tomohiro, Narimiya Hiroki, Ishigaki Yuma, Namase Katsuhisa, Itoh Misaki, Nakazawa Yuko
Plot: Yamaguchi Kumiko (Nakama Yukie) always wanted to be a teacher, like her late parents. However, she is the granddaughter of the third generation Oedo yakuza boss. Kumiko will try her best to keep her family's business secret when she gets a job at Shirokin high school as the homeroom teacher for the worst class of the school - 3D.
What is good: Both Nakama Yukie and Matsumoto Jun's acting.
What is bad: No matter what the situation, Kumiko insists on doing everything herself and refuses help from anyone.
Letter rating: A
Overall: The casting director managed to get a wonderful group of actors together for this series. While I haven't seen any of her dramatic roles yet, Nakama Yukie absolutely shines as a comedic actress. Pairing her with Matsumoto Jun (of the group Arashi) was brilliant. The two of them have a chemistry that pops on the screen and you can see the friendship bloom through the entire show. Add in Namase Katsuhisa as the vice-principal of the school to keep Nakama-san on her toes. There isn't much more you could want in a comedy. Each of the main students of 3D get a background episode so it isn't left to just the leader of the group. While there is a special that follows the end of the series, I would have loved to see more of 'what became of Yankumi's first class.' I suppose I'l have to leave that to my imagination.