Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm

"Ushi ni negai o" (Cows requested) is a series about six students at the agricultural faculty of an university in Tokyo, having to complete a hands-on training with farmers in Hokkaido for three months.

Takashimitsu Takashi (Tamayama Tetsuji) is bumming around as a part-time manager in a restaurant more than being at university. He has to do this training, that brings him back to his hometown, to keep himself from being expelled. Enthusiastic student team leader of the training is Mano Tohei (Koide Keisuke), whose elder brother is already a renowned scientist as well as book author about the topic of agriculture. Wakamatsu Ryuta (Nakata Atsuhiko) has no friends and likes to draw. Suenaga Mihoko (Karina) is a spoiled daughter of a rich family, who never had to work in her entire life and is registered as veterinary at the university, but is skipping her classes. Fujii Ayaka (Aibu Saki) changed university and is fully occupied by writing e-mails to her boyfriend. Chiba Kazumi (Toda Erika) is excited about farm work as Mano and wants to have a farm and animals later.

Working and living together is not easy for all of the students. Everyone of them develops throughout the series, even if it takes a little longer for one or the other. The good and the bad sides of life are pretty close to each other, but they have to learn to deal with them. Another big part is played by the love to both animals and people.

Additionally the problems of the small town's inhabitants, like the upcoming union of townships that results into problems with the name of the town, indebted farmers, or protests about the lack of modern machines.

The series, in which one can see the actors scooping hay or cleaning cow's udders, is pretty interesting, as it is different from everything else, beside the loving-part. Karina is fully compatible to the role of the work-rejecting beauty. Aibu and Toda can become a bit annoying sometimes. Unfortunately Tamayama is playing the lead role in this series, as he does not always fits in the shoes of a farmer's son.

The catchy song at the end is "Green Days" by Makihara Noriyuki, which is great together with the views on Hokkaido's landscape.