Title: よい子の味方 Yoiko no Mikata
English Title: Ally of Good Children
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2003
Episode: 09
Cast:
- 櫻井翔 Sakurai Shō
- 松下由樹 Matsushita Yuki
- 吹石一恵 Fukīshi Kazue
- 矢沢心 Yazawa Shin
- 濱田マリ Hamada Mari
- 松嶋尚美 Matsushima Nahomi
- 板谷由夏 Itaya Yuka
- 乙葉 Otoha
- 吉田日出子 Yoshida Hideko
- 遠藤章造 Endo Shozo
SYNOPSIS
嵐 Arashi - とまどいながら Tomadoi Nagara (While Lost)Inspired by his preschool teacher, Suzuki Taiyo aspired to become a teacher ever since he was young. After finishing his studies, Taiyo applied to a lot of nursery schools but not a single one is willing to hire him. Nursery school teachers are mostly females and most mothers feel better if a woman will take care of their kids.
Taiyo was finally offered a temporary assistant teaching position at Himawari Nursery School when one of their regular teachers went on a maternity leave. Taiyo is excited to teach kids and play with them but the other teachers at Himawari Nursery School and the kids' mothers are doubtful that he will do a great job.
REVIEW
Suzuki Taiyo is a very difficult character to emphatize with, at least for me, because he seems terribly stupid sometimes. His heart is always in the right place but sometimes, he's either too slow on the uptake or he's just terribly clueless. He's still someone you'd want to root for, so I suppose in a way, he's still a likeable character.
Yoiko no Mikata explores the subject of gender discrimination indirectly. Taiyo wants to be a nursery school teacher and it's not a career most men would want to be in. In the drama, it was reasoned out that women are more appropriate for the job because they are naturally good with children.
Personally, I also found it a little weird that a guy would willingly choose to be a nursery school teacher. In the general scheme of things, it doesn't seem to fit. But then I thought of how some careers are previously thought of as inappropriate for women, such as pilots and engineers. Given this perspective, I was able to realize that gender discrimination is really an issue to a certain extent when it comes to jobs and careers.
Sakai Minako is a very funny character. She is also a teacher at the preschool and she was the one who taught Taiyo the ropes about caring and teaching young children. Minako initially agreed with the other teachers that Taiyo is no-good as a teacher and definitely not someone a person in her right mind would consider as a romantic partner. However, as she spent time with Taiyo, she grew to like him because of his passion and his charms. There were several scenes in the drama that shows Minako's change of heart.
When Minako still didn't like Taiyo and the two were arguing in front of the children, the children asked them if they are married because they act very much like their parents (the dad constantly messing up and the mom always scolding the dad). Minako was offended with the question and she was quite angry.
Later on, Taiyo and Minako were again bickering in front of the children. The children asked them again if they are really married because they surely act as a married couple. Minako was embarrassed by the question but in some way, it is obvious that she is quite pleased with the thought.
I found these scenes really funny especially since Taiyo's best friend Sasaki Shuzo is attracted to Minako.The three make for an awkward love triangle but the romantic aspect is not the focus of the drama and I think it is included only for comedic purposes.
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よい子の味方 Yoiko no Mikata
