Nobuta wo Produce

Synopsis:

Shuji Kiritani (Kazuya Kamenashi) is a very popular high school boy who is close to Mariko Uehara (Erika Toda), the most popular girl in school, but whom he does not actually love. Akira Kusano (Tomohisa Yamashita), his classmate, does not really have any friends - something that is attributed to the fact that he cannot read the atmosphere well. One day, a very shy girl, Nobuko Kotani (Maki Horikita) transfers to their school and is instantly picked on by a group of girls for her shyness. As a testimony to their youth, Shuji and Akira team up and decide to "produce" her, to make her popular. They nickname her "Nobuta".

Episodes: 10
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Main Cast:
Shūji Kiritani (桐谷 修二) treats everything in life as a game, and thus, lives his life as a little white lie. He believes that by keeping up a "cool" façade, he can get to his goal without getting hurt. Because he chooses to hide his true self, Kiritani is, on the inside, a truly lonely person. Although he does not like Mariko romantically, he has lunch with her everyday in a bid to boost his popularity. He is only truly open to Kusano and Kotani, and considers the two as his only true friends. Always putting the feelings of others before himself, Kiritani does not have the power to say "no". He always bottles up his own feelings, and never complains.

Unlike Kiritani, Akira Kusano (草野 彰) is not popular. Constantly on a soy milk high, Kusano always finds ways to get on Kiritani's nerves. Despite this, they become good friends by the end of the series. With much money to dispense of, Kusano finances most of their escapades. With no intention of following the footsteps of his father, the president of a company, Kusano is a free spirit who would rather live his a life as a "dime in the street" and enjoy his youth. At one point in the story, it is revealed that Kusano has affections for Kotani. However, he does not pursue his feelings knowing that he will not be able to make her happy. He demonstrates a high prowess in karate easily beating up a bully and smashing through a set of tiles. Naturally forgiving, he is ready to forgive and forget, as long as it preserves his friendship with Kiritani and Kotani.

Nobuko Kotani (小谷 信子, Kotani Nobuko) is painfully shy after initially being rejected by her stepfather at a young age. Following this, due to the fact that she finds it difficult to relate to other students, she has been continuously bullied. Because of this, Kotani is cynical. She believes that no matter where she is, or no matter how hard she tries, the world will still reject her. With Kiritani and Kusano's help and encouragement, she begins to open up more to others. Kotani considers Kiritani and Kusano as the two people who are the most important to her. At the end of the series, she has finally gathered enough confidence to smile and continue socializing, even without them.

Kazuya Kamenashi - Shūji Kiritani (桐谷 修二, Kiritani Shūji)
Tomohisa Yamashita - Akira Kusano (草野 彰, Kusano Akira)
Maki Horikita - Nobuko Kotani (小谷 信子, Kotani Nobuko) (aka Nobuta)
Erika Toda - Mariko Uehara (上原 まり子, Uehara Mariko)
Takashi Ukaji - Satoru Kiritani (桐谷 悟, Kiritani Satoru)
Yuto Nakajima - Koji Kiritani (桐谷 浩二, Kiritani Kōji)
Yoshinori Okada - Takeshi Yokoyama (横山 武士, Yokoyama Takeshi)
Tomoya Ishii - Yoshida (吉田 浩, Yoshida)
Katsumi Takahashi - Ippei Hirayama (平山 一平, Hirayama Ippei)
Mari Natsuki - Yoko Sada (Katherine) (佐田 杳子(キャサリン), Sada Yōko (Kyasarin))
Fumiko Mizuta - Kozue Bando (坂東 梢, Bandō Kozue)
Shunsuke Daito - Taniguchi
Honami Tajima - Misa Inoue (井上 美咲, Inoue Misa)
Akiko - Nami (佐伯 奈美, Nami)
Tomu Suetaka - Kondo (近藤 利晃(ボケ担当), Kondō)

OST:
The theme song is "Seishun Amigo" by Shūji to Akira, a special group consisting of KAT-TUN's Kazuya Kamenashi and NewS' Tomohisa Yamashita, named after their drama counterparts. The song topped the Oricon charts in 2005, selling over 1 million copies and climbing to the top as the most successful single of the year.