# Producing Nobuta (2005)

> Two unlikely high school boys secretly remake a shy, bullied girl into the most popular student in school.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/12589

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 10
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, comedy
- Created by: Shiraiwa Gen
- Network: Nippon TV
- Cast: Kazuya Kamenashi, Tomohisa Yamashita, Maki Horikita, Erika Toda, Takashi Ukaji, Kanako Fukaura, Yuto Nakajima, Yuichi Kimura
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481046/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: wistful, warm, comedic, bittersweet, sincere

## What critics say

Viewers broadly enjoyed the warm, character-driven makeover story and its strong young cast, though the series is a light school drama rather than a critical landmark.

## Synopsis

Producing Nobuta (2005) is a Japanese high school miniseries produced by Nippon Television Network and adapted from a novel by Shiraiwa Gen, running ten hour-long episodes in a single season. Popular student Kusano Akira (Tomohisa Yamashita) and his oddball friend Kiritani Shuji (Kazuya Kamenashi) take on a project that drives the whole series: they attempt to transform a shy, bullied girl, Kotani Nobuko (Maki Horikita), into the most popular girl in school so that her tormentors will back off. Each episode is built around a new stage of the makeover, with the boys' schemes colliding with classmates, rivals and a growing attraction that nobody quite admits. Erika Toda and Yuichi Kimura round out the supporting cast in a school setting that rewards image and status. The tone is warm and wistful, with comedy about social pressure giving way to quieter ache about loneliness and unspoken feelings. Fans of Gokusen, Hana Yori Dango and Kimi ni Todoke will find resonance in its japanese school life, friendship and first-love sensibility, as a contained teen drama that wraps up in one tidy run.

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