I was pleased to come to IMDB and see this series with a reasonably high rating. While this series is often intentionally corny and over-the-top, the characters are enjoyable and well-acted. The teacher is both wise and naive. Her superior is excessively annoying to the point he's actually funny. Some of the characters are cliche, while others have a real foundation to them.
The only downside is the repeated theme of "Kid wrongly accused and thrown in jail or beat up by gang and teacher has to resort to violence to rescue." Rinse. Repeat. One has to wonder if there are any other plot lines in all of literature.
However, throughout all the nonsense one may be surprised to find actual lessons being taught regarding standing up for what one believes, kindness, knowing when to fight and when to not fight. We learn about loyalty regardless of flaws, and that it's possible to change one's ways regardless of past reputation.
Overall this is a fun and excellent series. One thing that amazed me was the transition of the main actress from corny goofball cute to a surprising beauty when she took off her glasses and let down her hair. It's somewhat like seeing Clark Kent transforming to Superman... only she does it better!
I really enjoyed her grandfather. The role was well-played and properly underplayed. His kindness and wisdom despite being the head of the Yakuza family added an excellent touch of maturity to this series. On the other hand it makes the Yakusa look like good guys, which is questionable morality and ethics in a show all about morals and ethics. Somewhat of a paradox.
Overall, very well done. All of the actors work well together to pull this off... even the cornball parts. ;D.
