Aozora no Tamago (2012)

First off, I'd like to just say that the summary does not do this drama justice. This isn't simply a cliché mystery drama the likes of all the rest. While the pacing is drawn out for the short 9 episodes, I never once felt like it was too slow or boring in any way.

Story:

I give the story a solid 8.5 or 9. It wasn't overly complex or mindblowing, however the writing was wonderful and full of emotion that most dramas neglect or don't bring out. I believe that the main focus in this show was to delve into the more psychological and highlight the relationships between people, and while yes there is some mystery, it wasn't very difficult to figure anything out. More important than solving the mystery was understanding why or what brought the people to this point. Especially important was the relationship between Sakaki and Torii--a friendship so beautiful I felt myself moved on several occasions, something very rare for me.

Acting:

The acting, in my opinion, was rather well done. While I've seen Inoue Masahiro before and therefore had a good idea of what to expect, I'd not had the experience of watching Akutsu Shintaro act before. I can definitely say I was impressed by how he portrayed Torii. The awkward movements, the interactions with Sakaki VS. everyone else, and his general appearance were all very believable and made me want to see even more from him.

Music:

It's difficult to say how good the music was based on the quality alone. However, it absolutely served its purpose. During the narrative scenes, it really increased the impact of the words and made me feel more strongly what was being said or spoken about. Instead of getting lost in the background or distracting from the beautiful script, it enhanced it. I really enjoyed it.

Rewatch:

Maybe in future I will rewatch this, though I don't think the impact will be as strong the second time around. However, simply to see Sakaki and Torii together again, I think I would definitely come back to this someday.


Overall I highly recommend this to most viewers. If you are a big mystery buff, I don't think this will be the best drama for you (the mysteries themselves aren't all that complex), but if you want to watch something quick and simple that isn't about all the usual drama tropes with a decent psychological theme, I would highly encourage all to give it a try.

Read More

Let me start by saying the synopsis not only does not do this wonderful justice, it sort of misleads you; having you believe this show could or could not be what it is as written. The story, and stories, were a spectacular showcase of character growth, dynamic, and genuine, unique talents. The only downside is the fact that there were not enough episodes!

The relationship between each character, as a group and as two people, with and without the guests for each story was very strong! It was interesting to see the backstory building instead of "exploding" within one episode; it was a great cliffhanger to keep the viewers watching. Though I wish there were more details, this sort of "vague" story seemed to fit within the 9 episodes perfectly. It gave more "view time" to the characters' stories, personally and as a group of peoples, and allowed the mystery of each episode to stay in the limelight.

Full disclaimer here!!
This may be listed in other reviews/comments or the genre listing, but this show seemed to have the possibility of becoming a BL (boys love) story, and I won't say that it is, because it didn't really seem to "cross that boundary". However, if you start watching this show based on that alone then you may be too biased to see what amazing storytellers the actors, actresses, and (of course) writers are! I haven't seen a show like this before! This was a fantastic, real, bittersweet story that I only wish had more episodes because it is almost tangible how lovely this story was!

Read More