Strawberry on the Shortcake Review

Strawberry on the Shortcake is a Japanese drama about a group of teenagers trying to understand what love truly means. Not to be confused with the American animated series Strawberry Shortcake, this drama stars Takizawa Hideaki, Fukada Kyoko, Uchiyama Rina, and Kubozuka Yosuke.

Strawberry on the Shortcake

Alternative Title: S.O.S.

Duration: 10 episodes

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama, School Life

Language: Japanese

Telecast: 2001

Synopsis:

The drama revolves mainly around the love lives of four teenagers whose lives are interwoven with each other. Irie Manato (Takizawa Hideaki) has been living a fake life after his mother left his father for another man. He is lonely and is being bullied in school. Before he totally gives up, he meets a beautiful girl named Misawa Yui (Fukada Kyoko). Her cheerfulness and frankness have saved Manato, and he finds himself falling in love with her. Not long after, Manato’s father remarries. Coincidentally, his stepmother’s daughter is Yui. The two becomes very close.

Sawamura Haruka (Uchiyama Rina) is Manato’s childhood friend living next door. She has a huge crush on Manato which he is oblivious about. After Haruka confesses her love to Manato through love letters, the two start dating despite Manato’s feelings for his stepsister.

Yui meets heartthrob Saeki Tetsuya (Kubozuka Yosuke) who fails to graduate from high school twice. She immediately falls for him and starts following him around. Tetsuya, however, only treats her as a friend. He is hopelessly in love with his teacher Asama Mariko (Ishida Yuriko) and has been having an on-and-off relationship with her. Only Haruka knows about their affair which she highly disapproves of. On the other hand, Manato has made friends with Tetsuya after meeting him on the rooftop.

Cheerfulnuts’ Review:

Although I don’t agree with a lot of things taught in this drama, I still like it. It has an amazing narration, and the mood is made even better with Abba’s classics. After completing the series, the songs Chiquitita and S.O.S. are still ringing in my head.

In Japanese dramas, it sometimes gets difficult to fully understand each of the character’s emotions. And like S.O.S., I find the characters strange and not easy to relate with. The real/fake person concept is quite confusing. There were times when I don’t know which is which. Yui is too cheerful that she doesn’t seem real to me. That being said, the characters’ oddity made them very memorable to me.

In the first few minutes of the drama, I was automatically drawn to the story. The title alone is enough to catch my attention. At first I wonder why such title is given to this drama. Is it about baking shortcakes with strawberries on top? Or perhaps one of the leads loves eating strawberry shortcakes? But as I’ve watched more episodes, I’ve finally understood that “strawberry on the shortcake” is a metaphor used to describe how someone loves a person. It’s amazing how such a simple object is given a deep meaning. Although I think how someone eats the strawberry on a shortcake has nothing to do with how one loves, this strawberry-love analogy is very interesting. It’s like a personality test that divides eaters neatly into two groups: the ones who eat the strawberry first are aggressive when it comes to love, and the ones who eat the strawberry last always wait for the right time to confess their love.

I am a strong believer of the saying “opposite attracts”, so when I learn that Manato and Haruka prefer to eat their strawberry last, and Yui and Tetsuya prefer to have theirs first, I wanted these pairs to switch partners so bad. I just think that the first pair is a bit boring together (although I like Sawamura) and the second pair is a bit too wild.

What I love most about this drama is how it captivates the viewers. I can’t believe that I’ve finished it in a day. My eyeballs got really worn-out from the long hours of watching. The events were unpredictable. I couldn’t wait to find out what would come next. Some parts are a bit boring and dragging though; but overall, the drama is entertaining.

S.O.S. isn’t as profound as it appears to be (with all the metaphors and stuff), but it’s not bad and can still make an adult like me ponder about the concept of love. If you want a cute love story, or if you want to watch a school life drama, this one may suit your taste.

Cheerfulnuts’ Verdict:

7 out of 10 stars

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