Soshite, Ikiru (2019)

I sort of like this drama to some extent but I'm not totally satisfied.

Things I like about the drama:
- no fairy tale ending, thank gosh!
- everyone's acting (regardless of how I felt about certain characters)..especially that of Kasumi Arimura's.♡
- has a good theme
- realistic story

Well if I move on to what I don't like about this drama, the number one thing would be everything about Kiyotaka and Han-chan..gosh they're the worst!
The screenwriter tried to make us see Kiyotaka as a good genuine character, but for me he was the worst. He was selfish and I didn't see him genuinely liking either Toko or Han-chan. >.< I hated him even more when he found out what happened to Toko and still didn't go to talk to her about it. And I hated Han-chan for convincing him that it was better for him not to talk to Toko. She was such a terrible "friend".

Selfish people like that exist so that's unfortunately realistic and anyway that's not exactly what I hated. What I didn't like was the fact that we were supposed to see Kiyotaka and Han-chan as decent people as well with the theme of the drama applying to their characters as well. Just nope!

I think I would have actually liked the drama better if Toko had been the only main character. I liked how straightforward she was and how she stuck to the decisions she made and somehow got the courage to move on and live despite all the troubles she faced. I can't say the same for the other two.

Music: I didn't pay much attention so I barely noticed any music. I think there wasn't much music actually..

Re-watch: Yeah I won't be watching this again. It was just good enough for a one time watch.

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My emotional roller coaster ride watching this drama

I have finally decided that I actually loved this drama. It wasn't an easy decision to come to though. I remember feeling like this drama would be a beautiful, happy romance drama as I just finished watching the first episode. That feeling did not last too long. *Spolier alert* I absolutely loved the part where Ikuta Toka spoke about her feelings with her fellow volunteers after the construction. It was the first of many times she was able to awaken my emotional sensors lol (maybe because I love Kasumi Arimura). I hold a little grudge in my heart against the writer for fixing sadness in every stage of Toka's life. I felt absolutely miserable as I watched Han san unknowingly betray her because I thought at least she was a great friend and a sole support for Toka chan. Having said that, not only did she verbally gave the lesson of "grab ur own happiness" but also practically taught it( if only Toka would not have run away and approached them in that restaurant part) . I had ill feelings for Han chan whilst watching the episodes but they faded upon realizing that she actually did help the dude get back to normal. How can I hate someone for developing feelings for someone??. In the end, I knew what I was wishing for to happen but that wish seemed unattainable. This drama teaches us what to expect from life and that even in meeting devastated phases in your life, eventually it is up to you to find your happiness and live on.

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Without a doubt (at least for me) this was a good one, but, you should be aware that it's going to be different from what you would have expected.
Story: it's kind of sad, but terribly realistic. Life it's like that. Things don't work as in k-drama , where there's almost every time a happy ending and good things happen to the leads. This does not mean the ending is sad, it's simply not what we could see as the best one (but for sure every audience it's different). Here you would see life as it could be. Life has goods and bad things, and your future would depend on how you are able to deal with them.
This is the main message you get from this show. Hard things happen, and you must continue living on. That's it.
Acting: I decided to watch this after 2nd watching (and loving) Chugakusei Niki, cause I wanted to see Akimura Kasumi again. In this drama, I liked her role very much. The female lead is really a strong and brave woman. Continuously, sad and really complicated things happen to her, and she is able to deal with them as best as anybody could.
Nevertheless, I'm not sure it's the same for the male lead. Ok, he suffered in Phillippines, but that's all. It seems that most of the time he doesn't care for anything. I can't understand he is so "cool" with having no news from the female lead. The least he coud have done is look for her, to know what was happening... It was the same for Hana-chan, in my humble opinion, she is the best exemple of an anti-friend. She knew all along that what she was doing wasn't right, if not, she would have contacted Toko the first moment she set a foot again in Japan. So, yeah, even if troubles come in the way of life, I really can't understand this part.
And yes, most of the time love is not enough and you need so much more to make it work. If you are lucky enough, you will live with the love of your live; if not, you'll always find something else that makes you happy. As the moral in this drama shows: "happiness should be grasped with your own hands".

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