Pink no Idenshi
Pink no Idenshi (Pinkの遺伝子 / The Pink Gene) is a Japanese television drama based on the manga of the same name by Jun Yuzuki.[1] It was produced by Masayuki Iwata with the episodes written by screenwriter Haruko Nagatsu, and aired on TV Tokyo between October 3 to December 26, 2005 with thirteen episodes. It focused on relationships around Phoenix High School.
| Pink no Idenshi | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Drama, soap opera, romance |
| Created by | Jun Yuzuki |
| Written by | Haruko Nagatsu |
| Directed by | Kayoko Hanamura |
| Starring | Hiroki Nakadoi, Narumi Konno, Makoto Sakamoto, Zenjiro, Kaoru Sumiya, Tsuyoshi Kimura |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language(s) | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Masayuki Iwata, Takashi Ohashi |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Distributor | TV Tokyo |
| Release | |
| Original release | October 3 – December 26, 2005 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The drama featured Hiroki Nakadoi from the hip-hop group Lead as Taichi Kobayashi, Narumi Konno as Natsu Saito, Zenjiro as the Satoshi Hanamura, Makoto Sakamoto as Hikaru Chikubujima, Kaoru Sumiya as Kaoruko Hojo and Tsuyoshi Kimura as Tsukasa Kirinoin.
All thirteen episodes were released on DVD on February 25, 2006.[2]
Plot
Set at Phoenix High School as "love-love", the series follows multiple relationships throughout the school, mainly focusing on Taichi Kobayashi (Hiroki Nakadoi) and Natsu Saito (Narumi Konno).
The main story focuses on Taichi and Natsu and the trifles of their relationship, along with the people who become infatuated with their partnership. The first two episodes, titled Kiss Me Baby parts 1 and 2, focus on Natsu asking Taichi out with Taichi accepting, and the second episode centers around Natsu wondering how to go about the couple's first kiss.[3] Episodes five and six (Hold Me Baby) feature a school nurse (Kaoru Sumiya) who is known as the "Virgin Killer." After meeting Taichi, she makes him her next victim.[4] Episodes nine and ten (Choose Me Baby) center around teacher Kirinoin Tsukasa (Tsuyoshi Kimura), who becomes obsessed with Taichi and Natsu's relationship. After pinning Taichi to a bed and kissing him and crushing Natsu's self-esteem, he decides to kidnap them both to fulfill his own fantasy.[5][6]
The final episode, Love Me Baby, has Taichi deciding to go to an inn operated by a relative of Chikubushima with four others, including Yakkun and Goro, who have a bad influence on him. Meanwhile, Natsu's grades are falling and she feels as though she should give up if she did poorly on her final. While walking, she meets Yuinoka.[7]
Other episodes focus on their classmates and their relationships. Episode three, Ubatte Daarin (奪ってダーリン / Depriving Darling) focuses on Rise Shibata (Manami Fuku) and her love for Mizuki Ikushima (Hiro Mizushima). Furachina Kyoushi (ふらちな教師 / Badly-Behaving Teacher) is about a student, Ayase Saiki (Jun Natsukawa), who becomes infatuated with teacher Masaya Fujiki (Mitsuru Karahashi) after he kisses her.
Cast and characters
Main characters
- Taichi Kobayashi (Hiroki Nakadoi)
- Taichi is a shy teen who attracts the attention of both men and women. When Natsu confesses her love for him, he accepts her affection and they both leave the classroom in front of their teacher. He becomes a target for the "Virgin Killer", who is the school nurse, and is helped by Natsu. Later on, he becomes a target of Kirinoin Tsukasa, a male teacher who becomes infatuated with him and Natsu.
- Natsu Saito (Narumi Konno)
- Natsu is an outgoing teen with a crush on Taichi. She confesses her love to him and he returns her feelings. After the confession, they both leave the classroom in front of their teacher. When her boyfriend becomes the target of the "Virgin Killer", she saves him before it's too late. When Taichi and her become targets by Kirinoin, she attempts to put a stop to it, only to have the teacher try to crush her self-esteem and convince her that her relationship with Taichi won't last. By the end, she overcomes the thoughts and refuses to leave Taichi, even when both of them are kidnapped by the obsessed teacher.
- Hikaru Chikubujima (Makoto Sakamoto)
- Hikaru is a classmate and friend of both Taichi and Natsu. Throughout the series, they stick up for him when he his made fun of by other classmates and he, in turn, helps them through their troubles. In episode ten, he walks in when Kirinoin has Taichi pinned to a bed locked in a kiss. However, Kirinoin threatens to kill Hikaru's pet hamster, Angelina, if he interferes.
- Satoshi Hanamura (Zenjirou)
- Satoshi is Natsu and Taichi's teacher, who watches them confess their love for each other and abandon class together. Despite demanding order in his classroom, when he sees the shy Taichi fall for the outgoing Natsu, he is happy for the newly-formed couple.
- Kaoruko Hojo (Kaoru Sumiya)
- Kaoruko is a school nurse known as a "Virgin Killer" throughout Phoenix High School. After meeting Taichi, she becomes infatuated with his innocence and virginity and demands to make him her next target. She locks him in the office with her, where she attempts to take his virginity. Unsuccessful, she drugs him and kidnaps him. Taichi manages to escape, though in an induced stupor.
- Kirinoin Tsukasa (Tsuyoshi Kimura)
- Kirinoin is a male teacher who becomes obsessed with Taichi and Natsu, becoming jealous of their relationship. He tries to manipulate the two, trying to convince them that their love is false and a "fragile relationship." While he fails at breaking Natsu, he succeeds with Taichi, who he forces onto a bed and kisses. Before he can advance, Hikaru walks in to see a numb Taichi and the sadistic amusement of Kirinoin. With his obsession in full-throttle, he kidnaps both Taichi and Natsu.
Other characters
- Manami Fuku as Rise Shibata
- Hiro Mizushima as Mizuki Iskushima
- Jun Natsukawa as Ayase Saiki
- Mitsuru Karahashi as Masaya Fujiki
- Eri Sakai as Yumeka Shindo
- Shoichi Matsuda as Toworu Kurosawa
- Misaki Momose as Nao Matsuda
- Ryunosuke Kawai as Miriwo Kinoshita
- Takayo Kashiwagi as Madoka Mizue
- Motoki Ochiai as Daisuke Yuki
- Meguru Ishii as Chijiru Kanno
- Yu Shirota as Maki Nakajo
- Takuya as Senri Nakajo
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kiss Me Baby (part 1)" | October 3, 2005 | |
| It's the beginning of the school year at Phoenix High. Natsu Saito (Konno Narumi) asks Taichi Kobayashi (Hiroki Nakadoi) to go out with her. He accepts and they both cut class in front of their sensei, Satoshi Hanamura (Zenjirou). | |||
| 2 | "Kiss Me Baby (part 2)" | October 10, 2005 | |
| A month after Natsu and Taichi start their relationship, Natsu starts planning how to go about their first kiss. | |||
| 3 | "Ubatte Daarin (奪ってダーリン / Depriving Darling)" | October 17, 2005 | |
| Rise Shibata (Manami Fuku) confesses her love to Mizuki Ikushima (Hiro Mizushima) without prompting. Before he can respond, Rise kisses him. With the threat of being locked in the library for the night, he must find a way to bear both Rise and her clumsiness. | |||
| 4 | "Furachina Kyoushi (ふらちな教師 / Badly-Behaving Teacher)" | October 24, 2005 | |
| Chemistry teacher Masaya Fujiki (Mitsuru Karahashi) likes to flirt with girls, especially female students. After kissing student Ayase Saiki (Jun Natsukawa), she becomes obsessed with him. | |||
| 5 | "Hold Me Baby (part 1)" | October 31, 2005 | |
| School nurse Kaoruko Hojo (Kaoru Sumiya) is labeled as a "virgin killer." When she sees Taichi for the first time, she decides to mark him as her next victim. | |||
| 6 | "Hold Me Baby (part 2)" | November 7, 2005 | |
| Kaoruko continues her pursuit of Taichi, forcing him into an compromising position. After drugging him, she kidnaps him, ready to take her prize. | |||
| 7 | "Ouji-sama wa Mitsu no Aji (王子様は蜜の味 / Prince Charming has the Taste of Honey)" | November 14, 2005 | |
| Yumeka (Eri Sakai) is a young lady who lives alone in a castle with her servant. Believing in the fairy tale Prince Charming, she falls upon Toworu Kurosawa (Shoichi Matsuda), a student at Phoenix High who looks like a perfect reincarnation. The day she confesses, he rejects her. Seeing no other option, she kidnaps him. | |||
| 8 | "Kiss Kiss Kiss (キス☆キス☆キス☆)" | November 21, 2005 | |
| Nao Matsuda (Misaki Momose) makes a romantic date with her childhood boyfriend Miriwo Kinoshita (Ryunosuke Kawai). She makes whiskey bonbons, unbeknownst to Miriwo, who eats several and becomes seductive. | |||
| 9 | "Ai no Kotodama (part 1) (愛の言霊 / Forbidden Love)" | November 28, 2005 | |
| Teacher Kirinoin Tsukasa (Tsuyoshi Kimura) becomes infatuated with Taichi and Natsu, and grows jealous of their relationship. When he forces Taichi onto a bed and kisses him, he is discovered by Taichi's and Natsu's friend, Hikaru. | |||
| 10 | "Ai no Kotodama (part 2)" | December 5, 2005 | |
| With the threat of Kirinoin killing his hamster Angelina, Hikaru refuses to intervene with Kirinoin's nefarious plans. While trying to crush Natsu's self-esteem to bring her to him, Kirinoin calls her relationship with Taichi "beautifully fragile.". As his obsession reaches its peak, he kidnaps Taichi and Natsu. Finding the hamster Angelina safe, Hikaru reaches the decision to save his friends. | |||
| 11 | "Abunai Houkago (アブナイ放課後 / Be Careful After School)" | December 12, 2005 | |
| Madoka Mizue (Takayo Kashiwagi) is the Art Committee president with a sadistic side. Newcomer Daisuke Yuki (Motoki Ochiai) joins the committee, who Madoka can't resist to torture before making a move. | |||
| 12 | "Kiken na Sankaku Kankei (キケンな三角関係 / Dangerous Love Triangle)" | December 19, 2005 | |
| Chijiru Kanno (Meguru Ishii) has a crush on her classmate Maki Nakajo (Yu Shirota), who constantly ignores her. She happens upon Senri Nakajo (Takuya), Maki's older brother, who is a devil with an angel's face. Lustful for Senri, she tries to remember her love for Maki. | |||
| 13 | "Love Me Baby" | December 26, 2005 | |
| Taichi decides to go to an inn operated by a relative of Chikubushima with four others guys, including Yakkun and Goro, who negatively influence him. Meanwhile, Natsu's grades are falling and she feels as though she should give up if she did poorly on her final. While walking, she meets Yuinoka, who people believe is mentally unstable. The two become more acquainted as they walk around town. | |||
Reception
The series received positive reviews from viewers, with viewers praising Narumi Konno's portrayal of the main character in the original manga, Natsu Saito. Others said how the series had a charm to it with many of the actors being very young, including Hiroki Nakadoi, who was seventeen at the time of broadcast.[8]
References
- "Pink no Idenshi". Manga Rock. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- "Pinkの遺伝子 / ぜんじろう / ORICON NEWS". Oricon. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- "Ｐｉｎｋの遺伝子 第１話 Ｋｉｓｓ ｍｅ ベイビー（前編）". VIDEX. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Ｐｉｎｋの遺伝子 第５話 ｈｏｌｄ ｍｅ ベイビー（前編）". VIDEX. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Ｐｉｎｋの遺伝子 第１０話 ｃｈｏｏｓｅ ｍｅ ｂａｂｙ （後編）". VIDEX. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "『Pinkの遺伝子』DVD好評発売中". TV Tokyo. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- "Ｐｉｎｋの遺伝子 第１３話 ｌｏｖｅ ｍｅ ｂａｂｙ". VIDEX. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Pinkの遺伝子カスタマーレビュー". Amazon Reviews. Retrieved November 4, 2018.