Lunch Queen (Lunch no Joou)

This is a Japanese drama about a young woman who really loves food. Her life isn't the best. She works at a cafe, really just putting the hours in, but really doesn't care about the work. What she does care about however, is when lunchtime comes around. She will do whatever it takes to take her lunch on time, and when that time does, she goes on a hunt for the best lunch in town. She even keeps a book full of notes on the places she's tried. It's just another day for Natsumi when, on her very precious lunch break, a strange man pulls her into an alley and begs her to come home with him, pretending to be his wife. He says that his father is dying and he wants to see him one last time, but he'll be so disappointed if he doesn't bring home a wife, she would only have to pretend for the day, etc. Natsumi is having none of it... until the guy says that he will give her the best omurice (rice omelet) that she's ever tasted, so she goes.

As it turns out, this guy's family runs a restaurant, and he's just back to con them out of some cash. Because Natsumi took pity on this guy, she lost her job at the cafe, and without that has no way to pay for her apartment. In addition, she has a very strong love for food, and fell in love with the restaurant's flavour. So she goes back to the restaurant, claiming that as their brother's fiancée, they have to help her. She will work at the restaurant until that guy comes back. At first, the brothers are understandably having none of it. But they slowly warm up to her, especially Jun, who develops a crush on her. She tries her best to do her job well, and she eats with such gusto that they can't help but enjoy her presence. As she lives with them, she learns more about the family and their struggles to continue the business and preserve their unique flavour. At the same time, Natsumi runs in with some people she used to know, people in a bad crowd, and she has to juggle the two worlds. Will her 'fiancee' ever come back to fix the mess he made? If he does, will he have to fight off his younger brother for Natsumi's supposed affection? Will Natsumi be able to hold on to this world she find increasingly dear to her? Watch to find out!

I liked this drama. The characters are all fun and energetic and genuine. As with most of these shows, they really try to capture that 'artist' essence and the importance to try hard and give it your all, which can be heartwarming. The biggest thing though, is that this show makes me hungry. I wouldn't be lost walking into a Japanese restaurant, but I've never been to Japan and have not tried 'authentic' Japanese food. I've never had an omurice, but watching this show... I want one.

You can watch the first episode here. http://www.gooddrama.net/japanese-drama/lunch-queen-episode-1

Mei-chan's Butler (Mei-chan no Shitsuji)

This is a high school drama about a girl named Mei whose parent's die. After their death she discovers that her estranged grandfather is very wealthy  and she will inherit his empire, but first must attend a fancy all-girl reform school to become a lady. This school isn't just any school though. There are no desks, but rather cushy arm chairs and side tables and the campus is a third the size of Tokyo, but the weirdest thing of all about this school is that all of the girls must have butlers.

Mei is sort of resistant at the thought of becoming like these weird people, but eventually finds a reason to stay despite her reservations. Of course there are several people who are against her being there and make life hard for her. One girl in particular, the girl who has earned the highest rank on the lady- scale in the school, turns out to be her rival (in more ways than one), and even after she wins over some of her classmates, it is this adversary who is the real trial for Mei. The girl- butler dynamic is important to the plot. We learn as we watch that being a butler isn't just about waiting on someone hand and foot, but that there is a special bond between master and servant, and that the servants choose to serve.

I thought overall that the drama was interesting in theory, and the story line was well done, but the heroine was kind of pathetic. She was always whining or moping about. When she had a problem she would just stand there dumb-struck until someone saved her or until it was almost irrelevant for her to step forward. I also didn't like the actress who played her. She has one of those faces that seem to always be frowning, or smelling something disgusting, and yet her character was supposed to draw people to her and see how amazing she is. For the most part the characters weren't extremely attractive, but in addition to her unattractiveness, she couldn't act. If they had chosen a different actress to play the heroine this drama would have been much better. As it is though, it's still worth the watch.

The whole thing is actually up on YouTube for the time being, so knock yourself out.

Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori

I really enjoy this series, it's one of my favorites. I have seen the anime and am currently reading the manga (just starting) so I feel that I can't really talk about the series as a whole, but the elements I liked from the anime have presented themselves in the manga, so far. 

The story is about a girl named Haruhi who gets into a very prestigious private school on scholarship, but is actually one of the few students coming from a poor family. She is only at the school to get an education and does not try to make any friends or pay any special attention to her appearance, so wears the boys uniform everyday. She looks for a place to study one day and accidentally goes into a room being used by the host club, a club where 'dreamy' boys from the school set up a cafe like place for girls to come and be pampered by the 'type' of their choice. Haruhi goes into this room and accidentally breaks a very expensive vase. She then finds herself working for the host club to pay off this debt, and eventually working as a host herself, as a boy. Everyone thinks that she's a boy, and the members of the host club eventually find out, but then try to keep this a secret from the rest of the school. Different members of the club start to fall in love with Haruhi and try to win her affections... but she's just so apathetic about the whole thing that she doesn't try to engage with any of them. 

What I think draws me to this series is that its kind of a mockery of all shojou stories. You have all of the typical stereotypes that are played out ( manipulator, boyish, strong silent, etc) in an over the top rendition that just makes you want to laugh and then you have the heroine which plays the part of you, she is almost detached from the story, but fully integrated into it. There are times when it seems like she's saying 'are we really doing this right now?' but ends up doing it and having fun (like when you're fed up with the ridiculousness of a story, but are happy when the couple gets together). Lets just say she's the voice of reason, and for once A HEROINE WHO ISN'T STUPID!! As I feel that it is making fun of the genre, I must also say that that isn't all it does. It actually has a pretty decent story line and some good characters. I recommend!!

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

I enjoyed reading this series. The story is about a girl who stumbles upon the family secret of the most popular boy in school, which is that certain members of the family change into the animals of the chinese zodiac when hugged by a member of the opposite sex.

The reception of this manga is mixed, and depending on who you talk to they either loved it or didn't. I liked it. I thought Torhu was a strong heroine, though this isn't blatantly apparent (though I think that the whole idea behind inner strength is that it happens inside of you, so it might not be that readily apparent to onlookers). She has a quiet strength and is the rock that holds everyone together. 

I thought that the characters were well done too. The manga was long enough to go in depth on most, if not all of the characters which made the story line pleasingly complex and intricate.
 
I'm loved the ending, I thought it was really cute, and actually, this is one of the cleanest manga I've ever read. Most mangas directed at an audience over the puberty line are all about romance and relationships, if shoujo, or have the girls in suggestive clothing, if shounen. This one's a shoujo and though there's romance in it, that isn't the focus, the curse is. So I guess its one of the refreshing ones, as it still manages to pull off a great storyline with compelling characters. It's one of my favourite mangas ^^