My Boss, My Hero

[Excerpt from Daily Yomiuri, July 14, Wm. Penn, Televiews]: Saturday: My Boss, My Hero (9 p.m., NTV network) Tomoya Nagase plays a virtually illiterate 27-year-old yakuza whose father won't let him take over the gang until he gets a high school diploma. One star.

By far the week's most interesting and frustrating viewing, it bounces like a pingpong ball between hilarious campy scenes, silliness, viciousness and bits of self-reflection. It's an emotional mishmash that will probably be one of this season's biggest hits but pales beside NTV's other gangster/high school comedy, Gokusen. The funniest scene comes when the gang lines up to give the traditional gangster, bent-knee greeting and they all fervently yell: "uraguchi nyugaku omedeto gozaimasu" (Congratulations on your backdoor admission.)

There is also an interesting moment at the school gate when he comes into contact with the school's own self-styled yakuza, the gym teacher bearing a kendo stick, but it's all downhill from there. Our tough gangster, who can stare down the teachers with a really vicious sneer, is addicted to pudding. Half of episode one is wasted on his silly attempts to acquire one from the cafeteria's limited supply. Buried beneath all this rubble is a serious thread about a man who has never had a chance to explore his better side and some comments on the cruelty of the education system, but the overall effect is bleak. One would do better spending Saturday night watching NHK's biography of the pioneering Japanese French chef. I bet he could make a pretty good pudding too. I am not giving up hope yet. There are still six new series to check out this week. One of them has just got to be worth two stars.

STARRING: Nagase Tomoya
NETWORK: NTV
Theme Song:  
DURATION: July through September 2006