Between seasons of American and British tv shows, I oftentimes pick up a Japanese drama or two. Way back in late 2010/early 2011, when I first started following the Japanese pop group AKB48, I read tons of online recommendations urging people new to the group to watch the drama Majisuka Gakuen. I decided to give it a try and boy was I blown away! At the time, I was used to seeing idol groups play innocent, princess-like characters. In Majisuka Gakuen, the girls of AKB48 portrayed "yankee" high school students, a term which in Japan refers to a delinquent. The all-girls high school named Majisuka houses some of the roughest and toughest yankee students in the area. And while they often fight territory wars against other high schools, there is nothing more interesting than the fight for the top within the school itself.
The first Majisuka Gakuen featured many of the most prominent girls in the group back in 2010. Its sequel, Majisuka Gakuen 2, had many of these members return with new girls, (who were being touted as the "future" of the group) also being introduced. Majisuka Gakuen 3 took place in a prison and diverted completely from the storyline that had been introduced in the school setting. Majisuka Gakuen 3 wasn't too popular so for the 4th installment, the producers decided to move the setting back to the school and have the girls play student delinquents once again (instead of just you know, delinquents).
