Asunaro Hakusho (あすなろ白書^?, Asunaro White Paper) is a manga series by Fumi Saimon that was serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits. It won the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga in 1992.

The series was adapted as a live-action television drama. It first aired in Japan from 11 October 1993 to 20 December 1993 on Fuji TV, and had an overall viewer rating of 31.9%, making it one of the most popular television dramas of the 1990s. It features music by S.E.N.S. and Fujii Fumiya (True Love), Touge Keiko (Hitosaji no Yuuki) and Fujii Fumiya (Just Like Wind).

Kimura Takuya's acting was outstanding in this drama and his famous line, "Am I not good enough for you?" becomes a famous saying amongst young people and the entertainment world. This drama paves way to Kimura Takuya's super stardom in "Long Vacation" (1996).

Cast

• Hikari Ishida as Narumi Sonoda
• Michitaka Tsutsui as Tamotsu Kakei
• Takuya Kimura as Osamu Toride
• Anju Suzuki as Seika Higashiyama
• Hidetoshi Nishijima as Junichiro Matsuoka
• Ayako Sugiyama as Kyoko Machida
• Yumi Morio as Harumi Sonoda
• Mariko Kaga as Mitsuko Kakei
• Koichi Iwaki as Sosuke Akiba

Synopsis

A coming of age story that follows five young university students who form a circle of friends. Tamotsu and Osamu (Kimura) fall in love with Narumi, who prefers Tamotsu. In order not to hurt each other as friends, both young men try to avoid forming a relationship with Narumi, which inadvertently leads to tragedy among the friends. After the accidental death of Junichiro, the friends leave university for various reasons, leaving Narumi to continue and finish her studies. A few years later they all meet again and are surprised by the secrets that are revealed.

External links

• SMAP WONDERLAND - White Paper
• JDrama entry