My Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi) (2008)

A drama filled with absolute fun and tears! Absolute must-see for romance comedy lovers!!

When channel U first announced the airing of this drama, I didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it is probably just some normal teen love comedy just to promote some handsome blokes with a lame storyline. After my friend suggested to give it a try, I decided to watch it with my sis.


I admit that the unfamiliar casts did not help garner my interest at first, but the convincing and lovely acting of the down to earth Riiko, played by Aibu Saki, soon develop my liking for her, despite her being an ordinarily dressed girl accompanied with a quite silly hairstyle that ironically seems to suit her very well.


Her silly and lovable role is complimented well by the innocent and utterly devoted humanoid Night, played by Hayami Mokomichi whose sincerely amusing actions and presence hardly leaves her sight. Like Riiko, me and my sis as well, become attached to Night's character, and our wonder if his love for his owner, Riiko will ever come to fruition, and how hooked us to watch till the end.


While the initial episodes introduces mostly laughs and awkward situations between the unlikely couple, the later ones carry a more sentimental tone as Night's ego slowly awakened as his time and relationship spent with Riiko grew. More and more, we grew to love this drama for the sheer innocent love portrayed by Night towards Riiko, who at times seem to understand love more than the humans in the drama.


We love how the story evolved and eventually wrapped up in a beautiful and unforgettable closure. Surely, this is a drama of laughs and tears for those who have the heart to appreciate, even though it kind of lacked dramatic plot twists like some other more famous J dramas with a wider circle of characters, it is definitely a must-see for romance comedy lovers.


The special episode however was quite a let down, and sad to say, a rather redundant addition to the story. As most J drama fans would agree, specials oftenly fail to add on that extra depth to the story, and instead end up ruining the original series' good impression. In my opinion, I feel that special episodes work better only for series with isolated story arcs that changes with each episode e.g. Hero, Gokusen. But still, there are very few special episodes that do as well as the main series, and My Absolute Boyfriend's is one that falls short from its main series. The only conclusion I can draw for the need of a special episode is the idea that earning viewership ratings is more important than preserving a J drama's spirit...


*Episodes are available for viewing at dramacrazy.


Below info taken from DramaWiki

Episodes: 11, + Special

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Viewership ratings: 13.2% (Kanto)

Broadcast period: 2008-Apr-15 to 2008-Jun-24

Air time: Tuesday 22:00

Songs:

• 'Okaeri' by Ayaka

Cast

• Hayami Mokomichi as Tenjo Night
• Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soshi
• Aibu Saki as Izawa Riiko
• Sasai Eisuke as Shirasagi Yuki
• Ueno Natsuhi as Ito Mika
• Satoi Kenta as Hirata Hajime
• Nekoze Tsubaki as Adachi Kyoko
• Komoto Maki as Sato Nozomi
• Kaji Masaki as Tanaka Yoichiro
• Yamada Meikyo as Asamoto Shiro
• Minemura Rie (峯村リエ) as Yoshioka Tetsuko
• Erena as Ono Chiho
• Sakuragi Ryosuke (桜木涼介) as Morikawa Yasushi
• Watanuki Shoichi (綿貫正市) as Dei Takeru
• Irie Jingi as Hayashi Kota
• Yamamoto Kei as Asamoto Kazushi
• Nakamura Shunsuke as Asamoto Masashi
• Sasaki Kuranosuke as Namikiri Gaku
• Maya Miki as Wakabayashi Fujiko

General Synopsis

Robot maker, Kronos Heaven, finally develops "Night Tenjo", the perfect male humanoid programmed to be devoted and completely loyal to his lover. The company chooses temp worker Izawa Riko to take part in a 5-day free trial. At first, Riko only sees Night as a household appliance. But when she finds out how deep Night's devotion to herself is, Riko finds herself falling in love with him. Joining the love triangle is Asamoto Soshi, a distinguished young executive at her company who has feelings for her. --Fuji TV

Click here for Episode 1 Detailed Synopsis!

Click here for Episode 2 Detailed Synopsis!