The Quintessential Japanese Drama of 2018
What makes Japanese drama different from its neighbors is how diverse its genre. From mystery thrillers, romance live actions, tearjerkers, weird WTF comedy to Job oriented ones. But my favorite is without a doubt the thought provoking genre. This genre is their forte in my opinion, those meaningful dialogues is always fascinating and this drama not an exemption, it has many dialogues that will make you think and it will teach you different philosophy in life.Japan is the land of symbols, if you've been watching anime for a long time you probably see this already, they are so good using symbolism as part of the narrative, to me it not just makes the show looks good but it elevates the story. Their method of using symbolism is more prevalent in Jdramas and Japanese Movies, that's why I always tell my anime friends if you want to learn more about Japanese culture don't watch anime but watch Japanese Movies instead.
Aesop's tortoise and hare is one of those fables that are known around the world. In the story the tortoise keeps going on no matter what happen, it teaches us hard work, perseverance and going the extra mile, the hare on other hand has this cocky attitude believing he will win against the tortoise even he sleeps during the race, but his carelessness made him lose in the end. Bokura wa Kiseki de Dekite Iru gives this fable different yet very fascinating interpretation. According to the drama the tortoise doesn't work hard and it doesn't even care about winning or losing, he just enjoys whatever in front of him. The way the tortoise see the world is very different from the hare, the hare doesn't even exist in his perspective. Meanwhile the hare always check on the tortoise and he always looks down on him, the tortoise is huge part of his world. This philosophy of "Not Caring What Others Think" is basically the central theme of this story, which is also very much applicable in today's world of social media where everyone always cares what other people will think and everyone always look at other people's life and compare it to them. BE A TORTOISE AND STOP BEING A HARE.
This is such a cozy and laidback drama, I would compare it to Wood Job, Little Forrest and Bread and The Soup and Cat Weather, as for anime I would say Yuru camp and Aria are good comparisons. The story is also very well written, the touching moments and funny moments are very balanced. Pacing is also nice until the last two episodes where the plot seems all over the place, but it's ok as long as the message is there I wouldn't mind. This drama is very Ikigai. The message is given in a very subtle way and I like how the scenes are not over dramatic. The way they connect the behavior in animal kingdom to philosophy in life is brilliant. This drama also has a set of interesting characters that plays a very good role in the story, not a single one of them is useless. The acting by Takahashi Issei is no joke. I bet only few actors can play the character he portrays. It's the type of acting where an actor carries the whole show. It is perhaps the most eccentric character I've encountered in Japanese drama, the development of his character is also one of the most interesting ever.
Lastly if you are looking for romance you would be disappointed but it's really obvious what he feels for her during the end. I am happy that they didn't force it as it is not what this drama is about.
Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/
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In turns funny, heartfelt, heartwarming and bittersweet, this was a drama which will leave you with feelings of contentness and peace.
A major theme of the drama was kindness and acceptance of oneself and others; after all, we could be no one else but ourselves. Many other things to marvel at and learn of, as well.
A must watch! (For those who are looking for a small piece of warmth and nuggets of wisdom).
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This was a good drama, watch it!
Prepare of a slightly messy review as I have a lot to say and am not sure how to say it, but I tried to divide it in to sections to make it easier to follow... The drama itself is however not the least bit messy, it a is really well made, has a good pacing, ok cinematography, easy to watch, makes you feel all kinds of emotions and is easy to binge.The Story:
The story is good it is fun but not silly, the characters are interesting human and they do a great job showing how conventions make people feel bad about themselves and add unnecessary pressure by simply questioning them as well as showing the dire consequences of forcing people to live up to them or trying to satisfy the ableist eye.
Kids are human too:
I am a sucker for people who treat kids like people, hate it when people lie to. kids, force them to do things out of their reach, bully them etc. So I loved how this drama dealt with this issue. I found myself agreeing with those who stood up for the kid and screaming at the screen, just listen to the kid, can't you see you are bullying your own kid... While at the same time appreciating the way they showed the immense pressure parents are under to raise their kids to be "normal"... And felt empowered as a parent who has always been open with my own kid about these things and supported her individual way of functioning as I too have tried do live by the values this drama seems to convey.
The Healing:
Most of the time the tag healing serve like a warning for me to stay away, but this drama does it really well. I can not put my finger on what it is they do here they makes it different, it could be the whole feel to it that does not ignore the problems. It is in no way perfect and well some part of the story may be over simplified at times but over all they show both the problems society creates but also some solutions, tried and error, mistakes are good kind of deal, is all about finding the right context for you, one that will make you grow, but also be were of your limits... and most importantly the value of accepting ones weakness.
" Pandas are able to survive because they accept their weakness"
Also he drama does a pretty good job showing the concept social construction , as it is society that decided to name things and group things the way we do... What makes a bird a bird, does the ostrich know it can not fly?
Eccentric or NPF representation?
The male lead is described as eccentric. I find the word eccentric as a bit off for this drama because though they do not use the word autism or NPF diagnosis it is very clear to see that both the male lead and one of the side characters have to deal with living with autism in an ablest world... However I can not find the words NPF or autism being used in the description or inside the drama (correct me if I am wrong) only that they say that they function differently than most kids. Not using the made up by humans but agreed upon term does bother me because I would like to see these words normalised and become less exotic/eccentric and more like adjective to help us understand and find representation... Am I making any sense here?
To sum it up, it is a good drama with a good story and good representation... There is also a guy who is a lot like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. So go watch it.
I am not a bad mother after all...
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Extremely well written, directed, and filled with an amazing cast! This drama is now one of my all time favorites! I binged watched this show within one day and it was absolutely worth it. The story, plot twists, and separate character stories alike were nothing I've ever seen played out in movies or other tv shows, or even read in books. I have to admit when I saw that Kaname Jun was in the cast I was set on watching, however, once I started episode 1 I was hooked from the first minute!The story is interesting, sweet, filled with mystery, and a lot of light. I laughed with each episode, cried with a couple of episodes, worried over a few characters, got angry a few times even; but overall, this show is literally one in a million and I absolutely adore the story being told.
I think this show could possibly do with a special episode, or two! Maybe even a second season. I loved watching Takahashi Issei at work! All of his expressions, his genuine smile, his reactions to pleasant and unpleasant things, the way he interacted with strangers and family/friends, the way he got along with George and "spoke" with the animals were very amusing and wonderful to watch. I have to say that I really learned a lot from Aikawa-sensei!
This show teaches a lot of different ways of thinking, as well as different ways to go about thinking of new things or the same thing. I really believe this show is a fantastic way of teaching the differences in people, not to mention every other living thing(s), and is something that no one should miss out on.
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A miracolous story to warm and embrace our hearts!
When I first started this drama, I probably wasn't ready for it: I must admit I got stuck at ep.2 and couldn't go on - I could feel the great inner value of this title but I couldn't bring myself to face it. Then, months later when many things in my life drastically changed, I decided to start watching it again from scratch.And I'm so happy I did it: this drama is such an overwhelming experience, in a good and positive way!
The story is very simple yet layered, just like life really is: people with their own struggles who appear during the main lead everyday life, and he approaches them with such a pure attitude that they get sucked in his "enlightening" way of life.
The cast is GREAT: I would say Issei is one of the most talented actors out there nowadays, and he portrays Aikawa's role in a way that feels totally natural - never too forced, never too exaggerated, always on point and always fluid. I fell in love with his smiles and his facial expression during this series, he was amazing.
The support cast was great too, kudos to Eikura Nana, the students and the young Koichi.
The flow of events is smooth and maybe slow-paced, but somehow the great balance between fun, sweetness, nature, witty dialogues and "zen approach" just got me hooked. I bingewatched 10 episodes in basically one day: I laughed, cried, felt my heart softening and smiled deep from within... like it didn't happen in ages.
At the end of this everyday-life adventure, I was caught up in Aikawa's light: that kind of light that is never strong as the sun that blinds you but, instead, stands still on your path and guides you like the moon who embraces you.
In these days of solitude, isolation, confrontation with the hard parts of life, I think this drama was exactly what I was missing and looking for.
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This was such a peaceful, heartwarming drama to watch. It's now in my top 10 dramas of all time, and while I admit my drama list isn't very long yet, I don't imagine anything can bump it from its standing. I feel more whole as a person than I did before I watched "Bokura wa Kiseki de Dekite Iru" which might not make a lot of sense, but is absolutely how I feel.
The only thing I would have changed is casting Honoka Yahagi. Her lip pursing drove me crazy in "Itazura na Kiss" and 5 years later she still had the same annoying habit. Anyone else would have been a better choice, but that is just my preference. Every other actor was spot-on.
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It carries so much depth, meaning & joy!
He is a true embodiment of what it means by "When you shine your light, you allow others to shine theirs too"I love to see more dramas with such a unique profession. I actually enjoyed the animal knowledge shared here in a fun way. I mean we have enough of police, lawyer or doctor in drama, lol. His profession alone makes it a very interesting watch!
I enjoy watching Aikawa at every moment because his eyes is sparkling with awe, wonder, curiosity, passion and beaming with light. l also love the way this character is portrayed.
Although he is in a way weird, but he still has EQ in the sense that he does know when someone is upset, and the fact he is direct, means he speak up and clear stuff up. He probably has way better communication skills than other "normal" people who just assumed things! Also, he is sensitive and smart and pick up lots of things.
What I love the most is how he inspires and imparts wisdom to people around him without trying hard. He is simply being himself, and letting his light becomes bigger and it ripples!
My favorite part is when he explained why we are made out of miracles, nicely putting a wrap to the show. Plus, I never think of it that way, so he totally shows me a new paradigm there!
Oh, my heart is so full and my soul so nourished after watching him. Plus, he challenges me to think big too! I mean, this dude goes to space (which I totally would love S2 on that, thou unlikely)
The only thing is the FL is hard to watch, esp at 1st few episodes, I almost dropped the show because of her but glad I stayed on. Thanks God she got better towards the end
I love how each cast is given their final "ending", giving them the spotlight and let the show wraps up in very holistic way
This drama carries so much depth, meaning & joy!
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Did justice to representing certain people on a spectrum
This was an unusual show as usually, dramas won't centre on a ML that is high functioning on a spectrum. I feel that a lot of dramas likes to portray autistic characters as vulnerable or a disability that needs help but this was very different with the ML as it was an unique charm of his. Issei did an amazing job portraying the complex character as I used to have a classmate who was really like his character. I also appreciated how the drama did not focus on love relationship as that is not the point of the show. Rather, its about showing that these seemingly 'different' characters can also contribute well to the society with understanding and compassion from the rest.However, I wasn't really bought into the open ending at the end as it just feel very far-stretch and not realistic. I just feel that the writer is trying to push the out of ordinary theme to the max. And I would have love if they developed more on the students' back stories but I guess its difficult since Jdrama are very short. Otherwise, I think the drama was really good and did a good job in depicting the lives of people who are high functioning and on a spectrum. The music plays a good supportive role to the plot but nothing out of the extraordinary.
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Miracle
If I had to choose the right words to describe this drama, I think "unique" and "hidden gem" would be the most appropriate. Perhaps "dork" is also a fitting word. I was so absorbed in the story of this drama that I couldn't think of anything else. The interaction between the two main characters was captivating. It may not be what you expect, but I enjoyed their one-sided debates because they didn't understand each other. The dialogues in this drama often felt piercing to the heart.If you're looking for a suspenseful or similar intense drama, I don't think this drama is for you. However, if you're looking for a drama that might inspire us to enjoy our lives more, I think this drama is the perfect choice. Japanese dramas are really good at creating slice-of-life stories that feel close to the heart.
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being not normal is difficult
a 30 yo university professor lives alone with his housekeeper, a middle-aged woman very skilled in cooking. he is a very spontaneous person and doesn't know how to lie. he seems to do everything he want in life without bothering about social limitations. and that's the problem, especially in japan where normality is a way of life. because of that, he has a very lonely life. people usually think he doesn't think right when meeting him. but as time goes on you understand that he was right from the beginning. he will learn to get along with his students, his colleagues and even his dentist.the story is catching, it's entertaining and funny. in order to understand how unusual this character is, you need to understand that in japan nobody is supposed to stand out, so the social pressure is overwhelming. it is very well explained through the story, but I think western people need this clarified. I have loved everything except the end: they did too much or not enough. the end doesn't have this closure feeling.
you can watch this when you need some peaceful story to soothe your day. it's relaxing and easy to share with friends and family. I would recommend this as a daily gathering during a stressful period.
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Aikawa San delivers profound lessons!
My original rating was a 10.. but from episode 8 onwards, I started to see a trend which dropped my rating temporarily down to an 8.. More on that below..I came for Takahashi. He delivered. He’s sweet, innocent, with a playful charm when he’s fascinated by all the animals, yet has a kind of confidence in his own world, while getting scared like a little school boy when he gets yelled at. So many flavors in one actor.
A very interesting dialogue: When Aikawa San says the dentist is like the rabbit, the dentist lady tries to compare herself to the turtle because she doesn’t want to be the rabbit that snoozes and loses. In other words, in trying to compare herself to the turtle she’s still trying to win. Then Aikawa San says something very interesting: “Was the turtle hard-working? That story can be interpreted anyway you like… it (the turtle) didn’t work hard at all. It did not care about winning or losing. It just enjoys whatever’s in front of him. Imagine this the world from the turtles point of view. It’s just walking and crawling on the ground. The world is only a few centimeters above the ground. The turtle only goes forward so that he can enjoy the amazing world. Rabbit don’t even exist in the turtle’s world. That’s why the turtle didn’t shout to the sleeping rabbit.” In other words, the turtle wasn’t even in the race, and yet it seemed to win it! Wow wow what a perspective, I love that so much. All this time we are taught that the turtle and the rabbit were competing evenly against each other and the turtle took advantage of the rabbit’s nap time and won the race. But the turtle wasn’t even running that race, only the rabbit was competing against the turtle.
Then the dentist lady asks, “Then what about the rabbit? How do you interpret the rabbit? It had talent but wasted it and lost. Am I wrong?”
He says “ the rabbit runs to look down on the turtle. It wanted to prove how great it is.”
This dialogue was everything. Wow just wow!!! May I live the turtle life forever and only for us on what’s in front of me and not look at or compete with rabbits!
Now why does Aikawa San say “Eeee!” Before sleeping? Is it like “Aummmm” the primordial sound of the universe? I thought I would never figure it out but.. the grandpa taught him it’s to forget about the bad memories and wake up feeling better- the grandpa forgot but he still does it. Shows his childlike innocence. Such a person is not appreciated too much in this world.
Another gem of a quote from Aikawa San: “I rarely get along with other people. But I get along with the person I wanted to the most. That’s more than enough. Long time ago, I used to load that person. I tried really hard not to get along with him but failed. I couldn’t stand it and cried every day. Our relationship is fine now. It’s me.”
Another gem of a quote: “When you focus too much on the task in front of you, your wishes will come true before you realize it.”
So.. why did my rating temporarily drop from a 10 to an 8? The first several episodes that showed Aikawa San’s unique perspective and experience of living fully in the moment, which showed a level of acceptance, that he was different from the crowd, and that he couldn’t be pushed and molded into a box. But from episode 8 onwards, there is a strong trend in the story going towards marriage, and the pressure and obsession for Aikawa San to marry is strong, with his annoying housekeeper/mother always sticking her nose into it. Basically he needs a maid for life, and that’s why she starts teaching the dentist lady and pestering her to get with him, and basically forcing romantic feelings onto them that just don’t seem to be there. The two have zero chemistry and are forced and pressured to fabricate feelings for each other out of nothing. The relationship seems strictly like acquaintances with vague reservations and awkwardness with each other, but there’s nothing in it that indicates romance. But for the director to push this romance angle so hard in the last 3 episodes is so forced and starts sounding like “The Man Who Cannot Marry”- where the agenda is to show that “Even if society said he’s weird and an outcast, Look! He can get married and start breeding too so we can keep society going! What started off as a lighthearted show about accepting this man who is different and doesn’t fit the mold, starts to push him into that same mold. There’s a scene in episode 9 where Aikawa San has been pressured so much by his mother housekeeper Yamada San to “Think about his feelings for the dentist so they can start planning their wedding!” That he tells the dentist what he thinks and the best he can come up with is “You’re interesting,” while the dentist who is destroyer for someone, anyone to love her is holding her breath hoping he says the right lines to make her happy and “complete her.” She ends up confused and disappointed with “you’re interesting..” because the romance script is demanding and tries to force feelings that just aren’t there. In the end is it all just about romance and marriage and breeding before the mother dies? The same old nonsense societal mass programming? Is this what the show what building up to since the beginning? Marriage, family, breeding? As an audience, I feel cheated.
But then there was a scene where Aikawa sensei gets told off by his uptight competitive colleague, and there are tears in his eyes. You can feel it. OMG Takahashi is so precious! I almost added a star just for that one scene. Aikawa San is so pure and genuine as a character- just keep him the way he is and stop trying to push marriage onto him! He says that when he made his light larger, unpleasant things got inside too, and caused him pain. And his grandpa says “That’s a good thing…” So Aikawa San reflects on this and decided that from now on, his light should continue to spread.
A wise thing as Aikawa San prepares to go to space, he said these wise things: “I solved the mystery. You asked me I met a lot of people, and the dentist, and Koichi, so the light within me grew larger. When I don’t try to erase all the terrible and painful things, but wrap them all with light, my own light becomes infinite. That means, even outer space will fit inside my light. That’s why I’m going to space. You invited me here for a purpose, right?”
Since by the end there was no forced romance, contrived wedding scenes, or family breeding agendas, I reverted my rating back to a 10. Aikawa sensei went to outer space and continues to spread his light. That’s more like it.
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Como una receta para el alma
Un drama que trajo la Fundación Japón a latinoamérica recientemente, pero, como le perdí la pista para verlo por TV, vi el resto de los capítulos por acá en internet y nada, quedé encantada, es un drama hermosísimo en todos los sentidos empezando por su protagonista, Kazuki, que es uno de esos personajes que hasta dan ganas de abrazarlo por el bonito corazón, esa luz que tiene que influye en todos los demás personajes de forma positiva.Además, esta historia nos habla mucho del amor propio, lo importante que es y además de no rendirse con tus sueños pero te lo cuenta de una forma tan bonita que todo lo que hay es tan coherente, desde la naturaleza, los diálogos, las situaciones, los personajes, etc.,
Es perfecto para disfrutar en las tardes después de salir del trabajo o cuando estás buscando una historia sin dolores de cabeza, que te haga sentir bien. Sencillo y va a un buen ritmo, ningún capítulo me aburrió, al contrario, me parecían cortos.
¿Ya les dije que es un drama muy bonito? :P
Estoy agradecida de haber encontrado una historia así.
Definitivamente se va a mi lista de favoritos.
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