Drama Rant: Zettai Kareshi / Absolute Boyfriend (Fuji TV, 2008)
Robots R Us!
by Ender’s Girl
The Cast:
Mizushima Hiro, Hayami Mokomichi, Aibu Saki, and assorted pastries
In a Nutshell:
Three robots in a love triangle. ‘Nuff said.
(SpoilLert: Not. Enough. Data. *whir, whir*)
Durrr… can robots learn to love? Can a human fall for a(n incredibly good-looking) household appliance? Can Japan possibly think of a screwier premise for a drama? And will the Blue Fairy magically appear and grant the Loverbot’s wish to become A Real Boy? Do I look like I give a flying fig? *throws up in mouth*
Haha, but the premise looks straight out of some trashy romance novel. A LoveDroid!!! Made especially for Hot! Robot! Nookie!!! Designed and assembled to tailor-fit your intimacy needs!!! Requires minimal clothing! In fact, can function in a perpetual state of dishabille! Batteries not included! Must re-charge at night while squatting on your toilet seat! And the clincher — comes with the perfect male stripper name: Night-o!!! (LMAO! whattaname! whattaname!!!!!)
*Googles the drama* Waiiit… the actor who played Night-o was that tall skinny student dude in Gokusen 2?!???? Fo’ real???? Had. No. Idea. Can. Not. Compute. Can. Not. Compute… *self-destructs* Well, in Zettai Kareshi he’s as handsome and well-built (hihihi) as a Greek statue… but not really my type. I wonder why that is… Oh, I dunno, maybe it’s because I prefer real live flesh ‘n’ blood human beings, and not this bundle of electrical wiring, fiberglass, and fake epithelial tissue, eeeewwww. Really, to fall in love with a robot…? How unnatural!!! *shudders*
But… not if the one falling in love with that robot — is ANOTHER ROBOT!!! (Well, stuff me with succotash, if it isn’t Aibu Saki!!!) My, my, if it isn’t the prettiest little automaton to ever come off the production line! (Ganbatte, Aibu Saki! Ganbatte!!!) Her character, an aspiring pastry chef, spends her days on this drama doing five things: 1) pining after Mizushima Hiro, 2) looking spaced out, 3) perfecting her cream puff recipe, 4) staving off Night-o’s programmed advances, and 5) looking spaced out.
Mizushima Hiro plays some rich dude who owns the company that Aibu Saki works for, the one who sniffs a potential hit in the 3,103,988 cream puffs that Aibu Saki bakes throughout the drama. Hiro is little more than a useless mass of black, greasy curls and cheekbones on this drama, and he’s sooooo devoid of all life and feeling, that I’ll bet my brother’s old Gundam Wing action figures that Mizushima Hiro — is ALSO A ROBOT!!!!! Wow wow wow!!!
Strangely enough, I actually started to feel sorry for that damn Night-o-matic in the final episode of the drama. He falls in love with Aibu Saki but this new, un-programmed emotion causes his system to go haywire. (Poor Night-o hanging and rebooting like an old Pentium 2 was really kind of sad to watch.)
Reminded me of that scene from The Wizard of Oz:
Dorothy: “Goodbye, Tin Man. Oh, don’t cry! You’ll rust so dreadfully. Here’s your oil can.”
Tin Woodsman: “Now I know I’ve got a heart, ’cause it’s breaking…”
*wipes away tear*
So Aibu Saki feels torn between pursuing her pastry dream all the way to Paris, and staying put in Japan so she and Night-o can play the “Let’s see how many electrical appliances we can plug in your various body orifices before you start to short-circuit!!!” game… every single night-o. But because true love means letting go, Night-o’s last altruistic act is to record a farewell message on his microchip, after which he detaches the chip as a memento for Aibu Saki — thereby effectively shutting his own self down. We last see him curled up in the crate that he first arrived in, with his maker (Geppetto? Dr. Elefun? haha) gently bidding him good night-o before switching off the light-o.
So Aibu Saki and Hiro hie off to Paris to make more cream puffs. (But what Aibu Saki doesn’t realize is that there’s a cream POOF right beside her.) *evil laughter* (There he is — look to your right, Aibu Saki!….No, no, Aibu Saki, your other right!!!) *more evil laughter*
And then we hear that there’s a Zettai Kareshi SP. Which you probably shouldn’t touch… unless you converse in binary code, too.
*whir, whir, click, zip-blip-blip-whirrrr*
Grade
Artistic & technical merit: C-
Entertainment value: C
Overall: C
Tags: aibu saki, jdrama, mizushima hiro, zettai kareshi
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The Little Dorama Girl 
December 12, 2009 at 12:38 am
this is based on a shoujo manga by the mangaka that made Fushigi Yuugi… Many did not like the drama because it diverged so much or rather did not evoke the same feeling as the manga did.
The manga somehow was able to suspend your disbelief and root for the impossible love between a sexbot and his owner. Alas, as you said, with the actors in this dorama, I never touched this one bit.
December 13, 2009 at 11:47 pm
I read the manga and I watched the drama – and the Special. I really liked the manga, it was light, cute, silly but cute. The drama changed the main setting from a high school girl to a young office lady and somehow the manga was really different. What I really find amusing is that all the mangas I have read til now have no problems with showing skinship & kisses & even sex but this drama which bases on the manga has none of this in it….just got sidetracked…by the way they went to Paris, France to become a full-fledged patiseur (?), not Germany.
I actually did like the actors not that they were that great but still they were nice to look at. 🙂
December 14, 2009 at 10:20 am
Egad! So they went to France and not Germany, huh. Well, it would make a lot more sense to go to France–they were going to make pastries after all, not… bratwurst or something, lol. But thanks for pointing out the blooper! (Post amended accordingly. 🙂 )
Really, the original Riiko in the manga was a high school student??? Are teenagers even allowed to keep sexbots? Lol. But I can understand the network’s decision to sanitize (or neuter? heh) the more risque elements of the story, since the TV audience is a much broader demographic. And yeah, the Night-o actor had all the right specs (haha) for the role, but I thought he was much cuter on Densha Otoko. 😉
December 14, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Japan is really liberal with these kinds of stuff in manga..
Did you know that a sci study in the 90’s showed as early as late middle school people are already having sexual relations in some form or another… Soooo… its not really surprising in Manga… its just that in the doramas they tend to tone down the ante… hehehe.
Sorry I cannot give an appropriate link for the sci study I am just recalling stuff from my Japanese sociology class during my college days.
April 21, 2010 at 10:37 am
hey! thanks for the review.. i actually watched zettai kareshi sp. as a matter of a fact, ive read the manga before ive watched the drama so that’s why i put up with it. frankly, speaking, i was watching for aibu saiki because she always had supporting roles and i liked her in them so i decided to watch her as a lead. but mokomichi was so um… bad? well, i dont know if he was bad. i mean he is good looking and hot if he’s your type (but not mine) and he could act smtes.. the thing is i couldnt warm up to him.. maybe because he was wooden and i know that’s the way he should be as a robot but in the manga, i guess i didnt have to see him in action so i could connect to him as a human. anyways. thanks again for the review
April 21, 2010 at 12:32 pm
maybe i ought to see the SP after all. my best friend really enjoyed both zettai kareshi and the SP. actually made her cry and all. 🙂
April 22, 2010 at 6:11 am
um, it didn’t made me cry (i think.. altho now that you said it, i have this vague idea in my head that I did cry.. so um.. lol. i’m not sure anymore). anyways, i think that you won’t lose much by watching the SP. it kinda gives a closure to the story (kinda like prodai SP but better)