Some high schools are famous for producing star athletes, while graduation from others practically guarantees entrance to a prestigious university. The fictitious Sakurazaki Gakuen is known for one thing and one thing only: cute boys.
Sakurazaki is the setting for the new Fuji TV series "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e: Ikemen Paradise (To You Who Are in Full Bloom: Good-looking Guys Paradise)" (Tues., 9 p.m.), which stars Maki Horikita as Mizuki, a second-year high-school student with a crush on Sano (Jun Oguri), who happens to attend Sakurazaki. Unfortunately for Mizuki, Sakurazaki is not coeducational, but that doesn't stop her. In order to get close to Sano, she disguises herself as a boy and manages to effect a transfer to the all-male boarding school. Even better, she's placed in Sano's class.
The next time you ride the shinkansen, be extra nice to the young women who push the snack and drink carts down the aisle. Their job is a lot more difficult than you might think, as shown in the two-hour summer drama special "Shinkansen Girl" (Nihon TV, Wed., 9 p.m.).