Home Drama (2004)

#It's not good If I hadn't done this and if I hadn't done that'' It's not good to think like that, so I stopped. ''# this sentence reflects perfectly what ''Home Drama'' is about and Eiko was right because in life sometimes we have to move on and stop feeling guilty for something we haven't done . Keeping this kind of feeling for oneself is way too bad and will never bring happiness! And what is done is done we can't go to the past and change history.

I'll be frank, I came accross this drama when I was looking for Domoto Tsuyoshi' dramas to watch as I fell so hard for him in ''Bokura no Yuuki'', I wanted to see him in another drama and he did not disappoint once again, he seriously did such a great job, and then of course the synopsis seemed super catchy and I was so right, actually I'm always right when I sense a drama will perfectly fit my mood.

And now I'll get into the main topic, if you read the synopsis you already know that 8 strangers decided to live in the same house considering that they haven't anything in common other than they all lost someone dear to them in a bus accident while they were in Thailand. A few days after they all gathered in a thai restaurent , they then joked around saying they could be a family, of course it was not a serious talk but Shogo our main character who is now left alone in a big house thought it could be a good idea to send them a letter and ask them to move into his house and live together . That is not surprising because Shogo is really obsessed by the idea of having a large family as he grew up alone, he doesn 't have siblings and his parents died when he was young, he felt emptiness and wanted to fill this void by all means.
All the members of the accident finally accepted Shogo's request, they probably wanted to cheer them up and overcome the obstacles + find happiness together. And being together brought them so much : a new warm family, smiles, laughs, happy tears ...
I loved how they shared absolutely everything both good and bad, and went through all this without judging each others. 

There are lot of reasons which explain why I loved this show so much : it brillantly succeeded in making me smile and cry ; I was in tears in each episode but I have to blame this sad (but beautiful) piece of music which was always displayed at the right time, that is to say when Shogo was lost in his thoughts filled with moments he shared with his precious wife.
I felt 100 % connected with the characters, they are simply like ''any ordinary persons'' dealing with their own problems together hand in hand without any shame because there's no such a word like ''shame'' between a family. They all wanted to stay with each other and not leave the house no matter what others think about '' their strange cohabitation'', they were poorly regarded by the society ( school and work, neighborhood). It was hard for all of them but still they did not care cause they know what they're doing is not wrong. And nobody has the right to stick its nose in their family business. Spolier///////// I hated when people treated them like they were some ''circus freak'' and wanted to split them up. Whether what they're doing is right or not they are not in position to judge them\\\\\\\\\\End of Spoiler. 

I loved all the characters as they were all unique in their own way and were very compatible as if they have known each other for a very long time. There is one leader without whom nothing would have been possible  ''Shogo'', he is an altruistic person and does not mind to share his big house because he values all of them as if they were part of his family actually they really are his family now. He is always here when something goes wrong or good, taking care of them, and that's simply love in all its splendor. I can't hide it, he is simply my favorite character of the drama and definitely among my all time faves'. Tsuyo was really natural, he succeeded in conveying Shogo's feelings very well, a great actor indeed.
Then Eiko, the mother she's always smiling and hiding her deep feelings cause she's now with young persons and that probably reminds her the moments she shared with her sons and she also wants to be happy with all of them.
Akiba san was the most reluctant about this cohabitation however he finally realized that he needed to be with people who understand the pain of losing a precious family to overcome his problems and to be himself without worrying about what others would think about him.
Kono San he's not a talkative grandpa but he surely says heartwarming words and give strenght to the troop at the right moment ;)
Shoko, she has a steady temperament we could often see her getting jealous and that was pretty hilarious. My only regret about Shoko played by Inoue Mao is that she exagerrated a little bit at times, she was very young so that may explain why her acting was not always natural.
Hitomi, I don't have much to say about her but she's such a courageous woman, always smiling and sharing her fears with others probably to seek good advice and at the end she always takes the decision she thinks is the best for her.
Mayumi, her main personality trait is that when she's drunk she could be very frank and funny ;)
Kota , when I think of him there's only word that pops into my mind :chocobars. No seriously he is an attentive and loyal kid who will never let others insult his family.
Here finally comes the youngest of the family ''Hiroki'', he is such a cute kid full of confidence, I liked that and despite his young age he managed to find his place within this family.

Last words? this is another drama full of reflections about life and I think that's why I loved it so much. It may deals with death but it's not a depressing drama cause I think the writer probably wanted to show that anybody can move forward even if the wounds of the past are still here.
And yes the Japanese are for me the best when it comes to capture and move the audience. Of course It goes without saying I'll rewatch this drama cause it's now in my top 5 and there's a reason for it, hence my review ;)

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