Japanese Drama Freak

3.) Education and Knowledge is power

Like what the first message mentioned, the society discriminates those with a lesser educational background. Thus, in order to climb up the social ladder and gain success and respect from others, one must study. Whether one has access to information can greatly affect one's life. From the example Sakuragi gives, people who has the knowledge of how the exam is marked have an advantage over those who don't. The world works in a similar fashion. People with more information have more control.

Sakuragi's comments are usually cruel, and it is also debatable whether communicating such a depressing idea to the drama viewers is a good idea. Nevertheless, there is a certain amount of truth in his words. The society overly praises the ones who manage to get a good grade and into a top-notch university while it looks down on those who don't. Like what Sakuragi says, "the road is only open to winners." Even though it is not guaranteed that one's path will be smooth after getting into a great university, it will surely be easier than the others'. Additionally, one will suddenly rise up the social ladder and improve one's own life. By stressing this over and over again, the drama shows its viewers the importance of knowledge.

4.) Defects of the Current Educational System

Here, Sakurigi communicates his belief about his ideal educational system to the viewers. He believe that a teacher should not simply hand down knowledge to the students; instead, the teacher should teach the students how to learn, how to find resources, and how to make decisions independently. 

Sakuragi's former teacher expresses a similar point of view. He compares the students in the common schooling system as beautiful tomatoes in a well-protected green house. The tomatoes, or students, will not be able to survive the world out there after they graduate and leave the green house. He then describes his ideal system as growing potatoes. It is true that they are not as pretty as tomatoes, but the potatoes are able to fight off obstacles, obtain nutrients, and grow by themselves.

The messages in Dragon Zakura is slightly arguable since it encourages the students to apply to a top university just for recognition from society and to focus on the grades and final results. It also puts a lot of focus on displaying social injustice without offering an actual solution to stop it. However, it shows a positive story of a group of teenagers gaining faith in their future and overcoming different obstacles. Thus, I believe it is left to each individual viewers to decipher the mixed messages and take what she/he want from it.

"Dragon Zakura." Online Video Clip. GoodDrama.net. 11 October. 2011. Web. 20-24 May. 2014.