back to school

Japanese audience loves its school dramas. Whether it is a romantic comedy set in school like Hana Yori Dango or it’s something like Great Teacher Onizuka where a former thug comes to school to make a difference in the lives of his students. The newest addition to this genre is 35-year-old high school student, where a woman returns to school to complete her graduation.

School dramas mostly deal with issues like bullying, isolation, friendship and peer pressure, lawlessness, depression, and relations between teachers and students. Baba (whose name means an old woman) joins a high school class teeming with such issues. There are class bullies, girl gangs, troublemakers, victims and teachers who are unable to do anything. Baba, who has scars from her previous school experience, this time, tries to help others by being a strong and trustworthy character. While at school she helps the class get closer with each other and tackles issues which the school staff wants to avoid or brush under the carpet.

Films like Billy Madison, etc deal with this issue in a lighter vein but Japanese television takes school issues very seriously and churns out school dramas every season. However, the only drawback to this is that the themes and issues get repetitive. Also, as these dramas are usually led by a strong main character, this would mean that the lead has to be convincing and do a stellar job wooing the class and the audience.