Title: スタンドアップ!! Sutando Appu!! (Stand Up!!)
English Title: Stand Up!!
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2003
Episode: 11
Cast:
- 二宮和也 Ninomiya Kazunari
- 山下智久 Yamashita Tomohisa
- 小栗旬 Oguri Shun
- 成宮寛貴 Narimiya Hiroki
- 鈴木杏 Suzuki An
- 釈由美子 Shaku Yumiko
- 的場浩司 Matoba Koji
- 加藤貴子 Kato Takako
- 塚本高史 Tsukamoto Takashi
- ベッキー Becky
- 松本莉緒 Matsumoto Rio
SYNOPSIS
嵐 Arashi - 言葉より大切なもの Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono (Things More Important Than Words)Four guys find that they are the last virgins in their high school.
Asai Shōhei, otherwise known as Shō-chan, is in love with his young substitute teacher Mochizuki Isuzu. He wants to confess his feelings to her but he couldn't find the courage to do so. His family owns a drugstore and his father is the vice-president of the neighborhood association.
Iwasaki Kengo or Kenken was raised by his single mother. His mother owns the love hotel where he and his friends usually hang out. He is a train freak and the only one among his group who has a girlfriend. Although he's in a relationship, he thinks that by not engaging in sexual relations, he is showing his love and respect to his girlfriend.
Enami Kōji, also known as Kō-kun, is the captain of the school's soccer team. He expresses his anger and frustration while playing sports. He is quite popular with the girls but he cannot interact with girls; every time he tries talking to girls, he always ends up babbling incoherently.
Udagawa Hayato or Udayan is a fledgling musician and a member of the school band. He gets picked on a lot by a band of girl bullies, probably because he has low self-esteem and he is a little perverted, always happy when he sees panties.
Ōwada Chie is a childhood friend who returns to their neighborhood for the summer. All of the four guys had a crush on her when they were younger and they couldn't quite believe that the perfect princess they knew turned out to be an ordinary (nothing special) girl. Chie stays over at Shō-kun's house and she's looking forward to spending time with her old friends.
REVIEW
Stand Up!! discussed controversial issues among high school students such as how and when to have sex, peer pressure, teen pregnancy, and rape. It's great that this drama exists for in-depth discussion especially since the topic is quite sensitive.
I would have to say that I think it's strange that the four guys' major preoccupation is all about sex. Maybe I don't get it because I'm a girl and girls are wired differently. Apparently, there are studies saying guys do think about sex all the time.
The drama was set in an intimate neighborhood where everyone knows everyone. So the conflict between the teenagers wanting to have sex and the adults preventing them to do so is more evident. The adults reason out that they don't want the teens to have sex because it's too early for them to become adults. The implication that one becomes an adult when he has gone through his first sexual experience baffles me mainly because I think there are other more concrete ways of becoming an adult.
Iwasaki Kengo: Why are you so worried about the youth? If you don't trust us, it ultimately means you don't trust yourselves because you are the ones who taught us and showed us everything we need to know. So trust us and trust in the fact that you've raised us properly and have been good examples for us.
I think instead of not informing kids about sex and preventing kids from doing sex, adults should provide adequate information and maybe even prepare kids on how to have sex responsibly. Kids have other ways to find out information and they will still try to have sex so it is important that they are guided through the process properly.
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スタンドアップ!! Stand Up!!
