Title: パパドル! Papadoru! (Papadol!)
English Title:
- Papadol!
- Papa is an Idol!
Language: Japanese
Year: 2012
Episode: 10
Cast:
- 錦戸亮 Nishikido Ryo
- 優香 Yūka
- 川島海荷 Kawashima Umika
- 今井悠貴 Imai Yuki
- 谷花音 Tani Kanon
- 八嶋智人 Yashima Norito
- 鈴木亮平 Suzuki Ryohei
- 城島茂 Joshima Shigeru
- 大倉忠義 Okura Tadayoshi
- 横山裕 Yokoyama Yu
- 村上信五 Murakami Shingo
- 丸山隆平 Maruyama Ryohei
- 安田章大 Yasuda Shota
- 渋谷すばる Shibutani Subaru
SYNOPSIS
Nishikido Ryo is a popular idol and member of Kanjani8 who meets and falls in love with Hanamura Haruka, a young mother with three children named Mei, Yuto and Kana. Haruka's mother files Ryo and Haruka's marriage certificate and they decided to push through with their marriage in secret.
Ryo cannot be the typical father-figure for Haruka's children because his relationship with Haruka and her children has to be kept a secret from the public. Mei, Yuto and Kana have to keep quiet about the identity of their stepfather, or even that their mother has remarried.
To make things worse, Kanjani8's manager finds out about the marriage and tells him to either get divorced within three months or end his career in show business.
REVIEW
Papadol! is not a typical drama because some characters are acting as their real selves, Nishikido Ryo and the rest of the Kanjani8 in particular. I don't really see the point why they had to be their real selves while the rest of the cast are make-believe.
If they wanted to portray the real world of idols, the production team could have created fictional idols for the drama. If they did this, they could certainly go far with characterization because they don't have to worry about the character tarnishing the image of the actor because it is obviously evident that the actor is playing a character in a drama.
I think the main reason why the Kanjani8 members have to play their own selves in the drama is because this production is a way to introduce these celebrities to the general public. I don't know for sure, of course, but this seems to be the only reason that makes sense.
Anyway, what I like in the drama are the scenes where Ryo's character tries to integrate himself within the family and the larger community. Although he makes mistakes, he tries to be the head of the family and a father figure to the children, which is difficult to do with authority considering that he's not publicly known as the head of the family and the children's father.
I didn't like how at end of the last episode, it was clearly shown how the last scene was being filmed, with the director yelling "Cut!" and then the camera panning out to show the makeshift sets of rooms in the house used in the drama. I know for a fact that the drama is fiction so I didn't really need any proof to show me that the drama is make-believe.
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パパドル! Papadol!
