Ikemen Desu Ne (Jdrama)

This drama is a remake of the Korean Drama You're Beautiful which was broadcasted in 2009. So, without further ado, let's get to the story~

Miko and Mio

Similar to its original story, this drama revolves around a heroine named Miko Sakuraba (Miori Takimoto). She is a novice who wants to be a nun but currently in training. She was about to go overseas in order to become a real nun. Miko is clumsy but she has a high spirit and never gives up. Miko has a twin brother named Mio and both of them had been separated from their parents since they were kids, that's why Mio aimed to be a professional artist to become famous. That way, he wished that he and his sister could find their mother. The twins are blessed with musical talents from their parents.

One day, a guy from a famous agency visited Miko. He is Hajime Mabuchi (Shingo Yanagisawa) who brought the news that Miko's twin, Mio, has been chosen to be the new member of a Japanese current phenomenal band, A.N.JELL, but due to a little accident, Mio had to have nose surgery abroad and couldn't attend the contract signing. To avoid scandals about Mio and A.N.JELL, Mabuchi asked Miko to disguise herself as Mio and replace him for three months. Miko was aware of Mio's real aim in becoming an artist is to find their mother. So, Miko agreed to help Mio until he's recovered from his surgery.

Miko who had been living in a church and learned to become a nun was surprised by the new circumstances and environment she got in. She is forced to live with the other three members of A.N.JELL who are all guys and handsome. She also had to deal with the entertainment world. The other three members of A.N.JELL are:

1. Ren Katsuragi (Yuta Tamamori), the leader and vocalist of the band, a perfectionist, a clean-freak, and very picky with foods. He has a sassy attitude, divo like, and arrogant. He easily gets angry. Ren writes most of the songs and music on the album. Behind those annoying characters and behavior, Ren is actually a lonely guy who longs for his mother's love and cared a lot about his friends. But due to the incident in his past, Ren became a cold person and couldn't trust anyone.

2. Shu Fujishiro (Taisuke Fujigaya) is the guitarist, and the nice guy in the group. Shu is the most mature in terms of character and always calm. Shu is like the oldest brother in the group. He tends to put his feelings aside and put someone else's happiness above his own. Although he looks shy outside, he actually feels things the most and very loyal. Like a prince charming who is adored by many girls because of his cool and calm nature. Shu is so gentle to the people around him.

3. Yuki Hongo (Hikaru Yaotome), just like his name, he's a very courageous person. Yuki is A.N.JELL's drummer who always lights up the place with his go-easy-go-lucky attitude. Yuki has an innocent aura and cared about his friends. Yuki has a special secret bus which he always rides when he's feeling down and needs to reset things on his own. Behind his cheerful character, Yuki is always so thoughtful about people who are dear to him. 

Miko as Mio must gain trust from Ren to approve her as a member of the band, which is not easy at all since Ren has been disagreeing with the idea of having a new member. He couldn't trust anyone to sing his song, and Miko's clumsiness makes Ren irritated. But at the same time, Ren couldn't help but think a lot about this new member. It didn't take long for Ren to find out that Miko is a girl disguising as a boy. At first, Ren couldn't accept this and hated Miko even more, but in the end, he was touched by Miko's effort and the reasons behind her disguise is to find her mom. Although Ren was hesitant because he had bad memories with his mom, he starts to believe in Miko's words that if she prays from the bottom of her heart and she strives for it, someday she will be able to find her mom. Ren promised to keep Miko's secret and protect her until her brother back.

Shu is actually the one who first discovered Mio's real gender, but unlike Ren, he didn't come to Miko and said it. Instead, he decided to keep the secret without telling Miko and protect her from afar. Ever since then, Shu develops feelings for Miko and it keeps getting stronger. He fell in love with Mio/Miko secretly, but Miko was unaware of this because she thinks that no one knew her secret except Ren and therefore there is no way that any members of the group would fall for her. Besides, she also thinks of Shu as an older brother.

Yuki is the only one who is clueless about Mio's true identity and yet he also fell for her. Yuki thought he suddenly became gay for loving Mio/Miko and keeps denying the fact that he was attracted to her. Yuki's love is so innocent that he finally decides to accept the possibility of himself being gay and keeps loving Mio. Yuki was really glad when he was told that Mio/Miko is actually a girl 😂

Although the three guys have fallen for her, Miko is clueless about that. The one whom Miko in love with is Ren because she thought Ren was the only one who knows that she is a girl at first, and Ren has always been there to protect her. Miko and Ren develop such a good relationship as the time passed, although they argue most of the time, Miko and Ren can be themselves while they are around each other. Ren is not as annoying as he was when he is with Miko. Miko realized her feelings is getting stronger that she became desperate and afraid of getting her heart broken. 

There is also Nana, another famous actress who is attracted to Ren and aware of Miko's true identity as well as her feelings for Ren. In order to separate her from Ren, she forced Ren to pretend to be her boyfriend otherwise she will reveal the secret. Nana always acts like a good fairy in front of the media, but the truth is she is faking herself to gain popularity. It's interesting to see her change of character.

The rivalry between three members to get Mio/Miko is heartbreaking and funny at the same time. The story does not only revolve around a love triangle or quarter (lol), there is a story about family and friendship as well. The secret between Miko/Mio and Ren's parents becomes the most important thing for their relationship.

Why I prefer Ikemen Desu Ne over You're Beautiful?

It's not about a beautiful face
The actors bring justice to the characters. At first, most of the fans are hesitant about this drama because they said the cast is not as handsome or pretty as the Korean actors, but in the end, and we all fall in love with their acting and the story they conveyed. Beauty is a matter of preference, and I don't think we can compare it. I personally love this version because, like most Jdramas, it has a fast pace and get to the point instead of adding unnecessary scenes or dialogues.

Ren Katsuragi is the new Tsukasa Doumyoji
He is a tsundere and a good one. Tsukasa is my favorite Tsundere and I never thought that Yuta / Ren would be able to pull off such a character. He can be annoying yet adorable at the same time. Stubborn and scary but somehow he can give a warm feeling too. I thought only MatsuJun can do this, but Yuta made a great portrayal as well, considering this is his first lead role, he nailed it.

Shu shows emotions instead of plain expression 
Unlike Shin Woo who seemed like a poker face person (in my opinion), Shu brings out more emotions and actually shows what kind of pain he felt when he was jealous or insecure. He is quiet and calm, but he can show a strong feeling through his intense look and expression. Some emotions that Shin Woo failed to show, is successfully shown in this drama because of Taipi's great acting skill. 

Hikaru portrayed Yuki in his own style
Hikaru never tries to act like Jeremy at all. He has different adorableness and he isn't exaggerating it. He can be very cheerful but when he got serious, you can feel strong emotions from him as if his cheerfulness really disappeared. He really is one of the finest actors in JE, I wish I could see him in more different roles.

One of the best chemistry ever
Tama and Miori are just perfect for the roles and their chemistry is naturally beautiful. You don't feel any awkwardness between them even when they have to say some cheesy romantic lines. In IDN, it is obvious why Mio fell in love with Ren. The fans couldn't see her with anyone else but Ren. That's because the drama didn't confuse you with too many scenes between the main lead and second lead. The chemistry between Ren and Mio is one that felt the strongest. Even after Tama and Miori had a drama with other actors and actresses, we still can't get over the chemistry between those two. Much like MatsuJun and Inoue Mao, Tama and Miori have left a great impression in their portrayal as a couple.

The bond of family and friendship
Family and friendship always become the most important aspect of Jdrama. The drama shows more of Ren's mother's warm character and the way Ren eventually forgives her is really heartwarming. I love how Jdrama writes their dialogue, they are so good with deep conversations about family, and the ones that Ren and his mother had was not a long conversation, and yet it contains a lot of important things: short and straight yet hit right in the feels.

The director is useful. 

The director didn't just boss around and say random English words. He actually made an effort to find out about Mio and Miko, but still supporting her in the end although he had been deceived with her disguise, he still cared about her and motivate her to chase her dream and believe in what her heart says.  

The Iconic Things become very important. Jdrama always makes some things iconic and make it become a treasure which seems really important. Those things will remind the viewers about the story. Like the hairpin Ren gave to Miko, the pig-rabbit doll, the stars, the necklace, and Miko's mother ring.... these things been shown many times in each episode, in different circumstances that make you understand how important it is, they don't just randomly show these things in any scenes. They really become treasures and important things for their respective owner and the feelings reach us.

Miori looks handsome as a guy

Although she still looks like a girl while playing Miko who disguised as Mio, but in episode 10 when he played as real Mio with that CG guy body, he looks really handsome. Like... a real man 😂 I kinda wish they will show more of this Mio because I believe Miori will play it brilliantly as a real guy, not as a girl who disguised herself as a guy. Of course, he needs to show feminism as Miko, but if he really plays like the real Mio, with that CG guy body, of course, I'm sure it will be more interesting.

Anyway, this drama is very recommended. And the soundtracks are really nice too. It's the same soundtracks from the Korean version but they add new songs in it. ❤

 

PS: The gifs were taken from Tumblr. Feel free to message me if you want to be credited or want me to take it down. Thank you :)