If you're looking for a mystery or family-suspense drama, this is not the one. But if you're in the mood for a feel-good, heartwarming family drama with a pinch of humor this might be for you.
The concept is not actually fresh and I'm pretty sure I've seen some of the conflicts play out before, but this drama manages to do many things right that can easily annoy you if done wrong.
The heroine is set up to be a typical meddler character. I've seen many dramas were there is a problem, then the heroine goes way overboard to get involved, says something and the problem is solved. Those kinds of girls would totally get on your nerves in real life. Kiko is different in that I never felt she pushed too hard. She speaks up when she sees abuse or wrongs but still respects the others' privacy. She's someone you'd like to have as a friend in real life. I really appreciate that she doesn't make everything alright through some magic speech but gives the others the chance to solve their problems themselves. This way all solutions feel earned and more natural.
As you you know from the description there's lots of characters with problems. All of those problems are interesting and feel real enough to relate. I really like how this show is structured in that it doesn't go episodic and restricts one episode to one character and problem. Instead we see parts of all problems in all episodes. It does feature one character a little more each ep, but as I mentioned before problems are not solved magically. So you're able to see how all of the characters gradually work through their problems.
This show wants to teach a few life lessons about marriage, parentage and education, but it mostly doesn't come off as preachy.
The kids are super cute. I was especially impressed with Yamamoto Ayumo, who plays Kiko's son Haruto. In all of his scenes he felt so real and never like he was just acting.
All of the mother's were lovely acted as well and Seto Koji is really cute as the reluctantly kind teacher.
I already don't remember any of the music.
This is not the best show out there, but it's satisfying and it does put you in a pretty good mood, so I'd recommend it =)
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Kimura Fumino does a great performance as Kanbara Kiko, the out-of-place mother who's absolutely out of her depth in a school where other mothers are not only in completely different social spheres than she is (with the exception of her school friend Yuki, played by Kanjiya Shihori), they have very different values which she comes into conflict with constantly. As it's expected from this kind of drama, this will lead to her being the "breath of fresh air" in this environment, providing a real perspective and contrast to these women, and will be in the center of gossip, drama and a fair share of misunderstandings. Not unheard of in jdramas, not at all.
What I appreciated, though, was that every episode had a moment for Kiko to speak her mind. She wasn't a character to hold back when her values were threatened or when she saw someone in trouble, she didn't hold back when it came to defending children from their mothers, mothers from their husbands or standing up for her son at every moment it had to be done. The drama could have made her a victim, could have had her suffering for 9 episodes and a half, but it didn't, and I'm so very grateful for that.
The relationships that sprout between these ladies are a delight to watch. They all have different perspectives and even the ones that start being terrible have reasons behind them and no one is left unexplored. There are toxic marriages, there is depiction of domestic abuse, relatives with mental illness, harassment, neglect...and a lot of ladies learning and standing up for each other. At the end of the day, that's what I'm really here for, all jokes aside.
If you're into strong female characters, unapologetic leads and interesting stories of women above the age of 30, this is a good one to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is a very light drama, not the dramatic one I had expected. It was very easy to watch, and thankfully, many problems were fixed almost in the same episode, so there was no dragging.**Possible spoilers**
There may be a bit of bullying from the posh mothers' side, but it wasn't too much, just childish stuff like notes telling Kiko to go away. Nothing over-dramatic, and nothing that Kiko couldn't handle. In spite of being a single mother, she had at least her grandpa, plus her coworker. And later on, her ex. So this if far from similar to "Woman".
I liked Kimura Fumino as Kiko, she was strong and didn't overact. Never seemed pitiful, but resourceful. I think I liked Dan Rei as much (or much more) as Kimura Fumino. This actress was very lady-like, very soft-spoken. It is not hard to imagine her and her real-life husband together, they are very similar in that aspect.
The children were super cute, specially Haruto and Rika, but I can't say they were good. They overacted some times, specially Rika's crying. But I got to admit that I was tearful when Haruto made his speech of not being pitiful, with a huge smile. It was very tender.
I can't say that Kiko was perfect since her biggest flaw was her reluctance to let Haruto be with his father. But nevertheless, she was portrayed as The Heroine to the maximum, changing the life of these 4 women, who looked like they were going to Mean Mothers but turned out every one of them had a problem at home (hikkimori son, cheater husband, penniless, dictator mother-in-law). I dislike when in dramas the MC is preachy, always giving a 10-minute speech and everybody listening to her/him. This happens a lot in Mother Game. Yeah, ok Kiko-san, we get. You are perfect **eye-rolling**
Taking aside all the preach, it was engaging and somewhat relaxing. The male characters were either jerks or useless. The female were strong and never behave in a childish way (ok, except for the bullying). I mean, there were times where it would seem like the character would yell in despair, like when Satoko-san confronted her mother-in-law, but it was all very civilized.
Some of the conclusion of the stories were "and then?". So the evil mother-in-law only needed to be confronted ONCE to behave? Hmph (her son was so useless, what an a**-hole husband). And what about the Odadera's fate? The sensei (Seto Koji) was so MEH. Was he really in love with Kiko-san? What a way to show it, by being so reluctant to have working mothers in that school! I am glad of her answer.
A few complains maybe, but overall, it was easy and enjoyable to binge-watch it.
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