Ace wo Nerae!

Surprisingly this was really good. Actually this was reminiscent of the manga/anime Prince of Tennis!They should have named this the Princess of Tennis. LOL! With the exception that Oka Hiromi wasn't a tennis prodigy but trained hard and made the "big time". Where as Echizen Ryoma, was the tennis prodigy but had to prove himself to the top players that just because he was small didn't mean he wasn't talented. Anyway....that's a whole other review.

Ace of Nerae translated means "aim for the ace!" Oka Hiromi is our heroine. After watching Ryuzaki Reika play tennis, Hiromi wanted to play tennis. So she joins the high school tennis team with awful results. After encountering Munakata Jin several times, she discovers that he is in fact the new high school coach. And many of the team members don't like him because of his intense training. We learn later that the coach had set his "sights" on her and vowed to take her to the "top". To the dismay of the starters, the coach makes Hiromi one too. Teased, tormented, and bullied, Hiromi suffers her first year as a starter but vows to keep up the training to become strong. Coach wasn't the only one who set their "sights" on her. Todo Takayuki, a starter for the boys tennis team, has started to like her. But coach isn't too thrilled because their affection is affecting her play. Takayuki abides by coach's wishes and stays away so Hiromi can become the best player. The drama proceeds to show Hiromi's improvement as she works her way to the top. But coach is hiding something and to save Hiromi, he doesn't tell her.

I really like this. I guess because it was all about girl power. It was about overcoming adversity. It was accepting what we can and can't do and improving upon it. Let's just say it's uplifting and you won't be disheartened. *smiles*

I have to say I liked the character who played Todo Takayuki. Cutey patootey!
Yoshizawa Hisashi

I really look forward to seeing more from him. Second pic is my favorite.

Ishigaki Yuma

I'm a little peeved because I can't find any recent pictures of him! Eeergh! And if I did they were character pics. Eeergh! Anyway, I've seen him sooooo many times in the past few months because almost every show I've seen has him in it. LOL! Too funny. He's been in H2, Gokusen, WaterBoys, Engine, and Hana Kimi (and I've seen them all!)