Lite and enjoyable
8 / 10jdoramadotcom · 2011
HAMMER SESSION is like GTO-lite - which doesn't stop it from being energetic and generally interesting. Hayami Mokomichi (ZETTAI KARESHI) is good-looking and enthusiastic enough as a master con-man who aligns himself with the good guys; Shida Mirai is a student who willingly helps uncover a series of series of problems that plague her school. The concept is not unlike GOKUSEN - a winning format - though it could use more of the latter's light satire it give it somewhat wider appeal.
GTO was legitimately great; HAMMER SESSION does its best to mine an inconsistent mix of comic and dramatic situations; it's pitched to a Japanese middle-school audience, addressing issues like juvenile delinquency, unemployment, and overbearing parents. Mokomichi is slim, tanned, and wears a knowing grin like a mask. Shida, on the other hand, brightens everything she's in. Her performance is less antic than in the memorable SEIGI NO MIKATA, but she throws herself into every scene with aplomb. Nobody has done this kind of role better.