My Boss My Hero / マイボス マイヒーロー

2006 JDorama (sort of) that starred Nagase Tomoya as the 30-something son of a Yakuza boss whose father decides that before he'll promote Sakaki "Tornado" Makio to the 3rd 'something' in the clan, he must obtain a diploma, or said position will go to his younger brother.

"Tornado" because when he's pissed off, Makio-kun turns into a crazy fighting machine, with not even the toughest bad-ass left standing in his wake.

Early in this 10-episodes of silliness, Makio has to go from a dark-clad thug to a uniform-wearing teen, and the first thing he learns about the private institution his father has paid heavily to slip his son into is that there are only a handful of treasured 'purin' cups available to the more than 100 students of the academy, and that if he doesn't move his ass at the bell, it isn't likely he'll get his hands on the sugary confection he's so fond of.

There is a kindly, old nurse who is always on hand to offer warm tea and sage advice to the students, along with a shy boy and confused girl who quickly become Makio-kun's friends.

Makio wants desperately to take over his father's position, but his younger brother has returned from University in the states and makes no bones about his desire to have the same thing, so it's up to Makio to enlist the aid of that ever-present 'gambatte' spirit if he ever intends to succeed.

This was meant as a light-hearted comedy with a message, and it may have succeeded had it not been for Tomoya-san's overly acted and Jim Carey-esque antics that ruined it for me.

He was too spectacular in Ikebukuro West Gate Park, so my expectations for him were too high, I think.

Don't quite know what happened, but aside from Futari, I haven't seen him do anything worth bragging about.

However! his resume is impressively long, so there is still hope if I can find more of his work at aznv.tv.