ketch11-22

Ashiya Mizuki is a Japanese teenager living in California. She is a star runner at her high school. One day she finds out that Sano Izumi, a famous high jumper from Japan, is competing at a meet in California. She goes to see him and is immediately enamored by his graceful jump. On her way home, she is jumped by a group of thugs. Sano happens to be close by and comes to her rescue. She gets away. However, she later discovers that Sano was stabbed right under his ankle that night, which required him to stop competing until he fully healed. Even after he healed, though, he refused to jump again. Ashiya, feeling guilty because she blames herself for his injury, decides to move to Japan and find a way to make Sano jump again. Since Sano goes to an all-boys school, she must disguise herself as boy to be a student there and get close to Sano. The adventure begins.

This show has a large cast, yet there are 3 main characters that move the plot. The rest offer an incredible amount of comedy, so the show is not too serious. The school's only criteria for acceptance is that the applicant be good-looking, so there are groupies outside their school everyday. In addition, a group of four girls, that attend their sister school, have made it their mission to make sure all the good-looking boys are happy. If that is not enough, there are three dormitories that compete with each other, thanks to the school's principal. They are hilariously competitive, with so many unique characters.

There is so much going on. I've only touched on all the things that are set up in the first episode. It is a must-see and very enjoyable.

This is one of the most original and funny comedies I've ever seen. This is a rare comedy that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Mineta Chisato is a young woman who had lost her mother to an illness. She's had to disguise herself, go homeless and on the run, because her father put her down as a cosigner on his gambling debt. He owes one million yen and has abandoned her.

One day, the debt collectors track her down at an internet cafe, where she showers. She's finally cornered, when a helicopter flies toward the building and lands on the roof. A man, wearing a red cape, comes to her rescue. He makes her a proposition. If she marries him for one month, he will immediately pay off the debt and finally be free of the collectors. With little to lose and so much to gain, she agrees. She signs a contract.

The day before her contract would be up, he dies. That is when she discovers that there is a clause in the contract that was hidden. She must become the mother of six adopted sons, who live in a castle. She must succeed in being accepted as their mother. All six sons are estranged from each other. This is when the story truly begins.

This show is so much fun, with several amusing characters, such as Chisato's internet-cafe friends and recruited bodyguards, as well as the bizarre housekeeper. There are many secrets to be revealed and many secret rooms in the castle.

I highly recommend this show. It could be titled: "How to make a family."

This 10-episode series is wonderfully unpredictable. Just when you think you know what's coming, there are more twists and turns in the plot. I loved every minute of it. Although, I could have done without episode 10. The last episode just seemed to be the writer's indulgence for more drama. Everything else was brilliant and worth watching.

When her family's house burnt down in 2001, Kanon Akiyama became an orphan at age 13. Her brother, Yoji Akiyama, who was 18 at the time, was convicted of arson and parricide.

Six years later, Kanon is on her own doing the best she can living in her hometown and faithfully visiting her brother in prison. However, every time her employer finds out about her past and her bother's conviction, she gets fired. With so much gossip and prejudice around her, she decides to move to the city to find anonymity. She is hard working with a great work ethic and cheerfulness; yet her anonymity is once again shattered when a journalist arrives at her work place and her true identity is exposed. The journalist, Jiro Ikeda, is investigating the truth about the fire. Her brother has maintained that he is innocent, so he believes he can find out the truth.

This story is full of people with secrets and their stubbornness to keep their secrets hidden at all costs. That is where the tragedy lies.

Yet, not all is lost for Kanon. She is open and honest, with the desire to know the truth. Thanks to fate, she meets Junya Nagasaki, a young man with the same desire, but is surrounded by lies as well. Destiny awaits them both. All that needs to be done is for the truth to painfully reveal itself.

It is said that the truth sets people free. However, it also takes its revenge on those who lie and dishonor it.

I highly recommend this show. It is tender, charged and honors those that are true to their hearts.