# Dragon Zakura (TV series)

Dragon Zakura (ドラゴン桜, Dragon Zakūra), also known as Dragon-Zakura, is a Japanese live action television series based on the manga of the same name.

## Cast
### Teachers

* Hiroshi Abe as Kenji Sakuragi, a lawyer and the homeroom teacher for the special class
* Kyōko Hasegawa as Mamako Ino, an English teacher from Ryūzan High School. She takes care of History lessons for the special class.
* Yōko Nogiwa as Yuriko Tatsuno, the director of Ryūzan High School and the wife of former owner
* Yôsuke Saitô [ja] as Tokihisa Kondō, the vice-principal of Ryūzan High School.
* David Ito as Masanao Ochiai, a teacher from Ryūzan High School
* Tōru Shinagawa as Tetsunosuke Yanagi, the Mathematics teacher for the special class
* Minori Terada - Ryūzaburō Akutayama, the Japanese language teacher for the special class. His name is a comical reference to Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
* Susumu Kobayashi as Shutaro Ain, the Science teacher for the special class
* Akio Kaneda as Hiroshi Kawaguchi, the English language teacher for the special class
* Shin Yazawa as Nozomi Yamamoto, Mamako's friend and a teacher of Shūmeikan High School.

### Students of the special class

* Tomohisa Yamashita as Yūsuke Yajima
* Masami Nagasawa as Naomi Mizuno
* Teppei Koike as Hideki Ogata
* Yui Aragaki as Yoshino Kōsaka
* Akiyoshi Nakao as Ichirō Okuno
* Saeko as Maki Kobayashi

### Family members of special class students

* Mako Ishino as Setsuko Yajima, Yūsuke's mother
* Jun Miho as Yūko Mizuno, Naomi's mother
* Kei Sunaga as Kōsei Ogata, Hideki's father
* Tomoko Aihara as Mariko Ogata, Hideki's mother
* Yōko Kurita as Megumi Kōsaka, Yoshino's mother
* Kazuko Katō as Miyako Okuno, Ichirō's mother
* Momosuke Mizutani as Jirō Okuno, Ichirō's twin brother. He is a student of Shūmeikan High School)
* Nobue Iketani as Mitsue Kobayashi, Maki's mother

### Other students of Ryūzan High School

* Akari Hori as Asumi Toda, an idol who repeatedly sends Maki e-mails from her workplace
* Ayano Gunji as Saori Abe, Naomi's friend. She had requested Naomi to introduce her to Yūsuke

### Others

* Hiroki Murakami as Yoshio Tanaka, one of Nozomi's suitors. He is a law graduate of Tokyo University. An arrogant man, he is proud of his academic and social standing even though he is neither handsome nor fit.
* Mitsuru Karahashi as Yasushi Sawamatsu, the second suitor of Nozomi. A high school dropout, he is rather simple-minded with "awesome" as his favorite phrase and a very limited vocabulary. His favorite pastime is playing Pachinko and he only has a part-time job.

## Episodes

| Ep. | Title | Romanized title | Translation of title | Broadcast date | Ratings |
| 1 | バカとブスこそ東大へ行け | Baka to busu koso Toudai e ike | All you that are ugly and stupid, go to Tokyo University! | July 8, 2005 | 17.5% |
| 2 | 自分の弱さを知れ! | Jibun no yowasa wo shire! | Know your weaknesses! | July 15, 2005 | 16.5% |
| 3 | 遊べ!受験はスポーツだ! | Asobe! Juken wa supootsu da! | Entrance exams are sports, so play! | July 22, 2005 | 13.8% |
| 4 | 壁にぶつかるまで我慢しろ | Kabe ni butsukaru made gaman shiro | Hold out until you hit the wall | July 29, 2005 | 16.1% |
| 5 | 泣くな!お前の人生だ! | Nakuna! Omae no jinsei da! | Don't cry! It's your life! | August 5, 2005 | 16.8% |
| 6 | 英語対決!勝負だバカ6人 | Eigo taiketsu! Shoubu da baka rokunin | English showdown! Fight for Stupid 6 | August 12, 2005 | 17.9% |
| 7 | 見返してやる!東大模試 | Mikaeshite yaru! Toudai moshi | Vengeance! Mock exam for Tokyo University | August 19, 2005 | 15.6% |
| 8 | バカの涙･･･夏休み課外授業 | Baka no namida... Natsuyasumi kagai jugyou | Tears of fools... Extra lessons during summer vacation | August 26, 2005 | 17.0% |
| 9 | 信じろ!成績は必ず上がる | Shinjiro! Seiseki wa kanarazu agaru | Trust yourself! Your marks will surely improve | September 2, 2005 | 14.5% |
| 10 | 友情か受験か?最後の決断 | Yuujou ka juken ka? Saigo no ketsudan | Friendship or entrance exam? Final decision | September 9, 2005 | 14.5% |
| 11 | お前らはもうバカじゃない!運命の合格発表! | Omaera wa mou baka janai! Unmei no goukaku happyou! | You are no longer morons! Fateful day of results! | September 16, 2005 | 20.3% |
| Ratings for Kanto region (average rating: 16.41%) ||||||

## Theme song

The theme song of the show is "Realize" by melody. and the insert song "Colorful" by Tomohisa Yamashita.