Miyako ga Kyoto ni Yattekita! (2021)

What a lovely lil' dorama! ^_____^

I hope you'll forgive me for quoting/paraphrasing what I had written in my review of "Hotarugusa", as it's befitting for this lovely "Miyako ga Kyoto ni Yattekita!" too! ^__^;
And that is: amidst the recent, ever-surging wave of "westernized" j-dramas (...), it does one's heart a whole lot of good to find a small gem like this!
The whole dorama is a heartfelt declaration of love for Kyoto, all while portraying the lovely story of the reunion between a divorced father and his 20 years old daughter, whom he hadn't seen in 12 years.
The script is wonderful, filled as it is with witty dialogues, touching scenes and a light-but-totally-not-shallow general atmosphere; the leads, Sasaki Kuranosuke and Fujino Ryoko, both delivered a great performance; the music is adorable, particularly that ubiquitous tango; last but certainly not least, Kyoto in all its glory is such a perfect setting and the short documentary clips, introduced by Fujino-san herself, shown at the end of each episode are just the cherry on top!
What else can I say? I literally enjoyed every single minute of it! Perfect 10! ^___^

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Beyond Expectations

I'm not really sure what this show was supposed to honestly be about (the history of Kyoto, coming of age story, dramatic relationship(s), family relations, new starts somewhere fresh) but this story really blew me out of the water! I've never been so infatuated with a set of characters; this story is absolutely in my top 15 of favorite shows!


I wasn't sure what I was expecting, or even looking for, and to be honest, I mostly wanted to watch a story with Sasaki Kuranosuke in it; I usually find new stories to watch or new actors/actresses to follow by following other actors/actresses that I already enjoy watching. And Sasaki Kuranosuke did not disappoint! This story is heartwarming and gut wrenching, very raw and relatable, unique and honest, respectful and absolutely beautiful. I saw a brand new Kyoto that I've never seen from other videos or guide books.


I really liked watching the connections between an "outsider" and the community form, it was interesting to watch the relationship between father and daughter grow as well. I think the story did a wonderful job of showing a new relationship between a father and daughter as adults quite well! It can be a challenging thing to see your child as an adult, and to treat them as such; but this story really did a fantastic job of showing how strong, hard, dedicated, fun, and respectful work can pay off in the end... in any type of relationship!


I think the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, nothing too dramatic honestly, but it definitely left me wanting more of Miyano Miyako, Kakinoki Kukichi, and Kyoto! I liked hearing the Kyoto dialect, it was such a strong language yet had it's cute moments, too. I like that this story showed the viewer(s) the history of Kyoto in a fun, modern way while still staying true to their roots! I can't wait to see more!

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