Fall 2011
Nankyoku Tairiku is about three Japanese Antarctic expeditions that occurred after World War 2 or during "post-war era" Japan. During this period, Japan was in the process of rebuilding itself, but there was still a lingering mixture of bitterness and failure within the country. In the winter of 1957, Japan was one of many nations to take part in the International Geophysical Year which was an international scientific research project. After a few setbacks, the country backed up the expedition and with the help of 19 Sakhalin huskies, a group of explorers set off on the ice-breaker Soya to head towards Antarctica. What awaited them was a brutal yet inspiring journey into a land that was barely touched by man.
Recommendation: This drama was based on a famous true story about two dogs, Taro and Jiro who survived in Antarctica for about a year after the crew of the first expedition left all the dogs behind due to harsh weather conditions. I remember watching Nankyoku Monogatari which was a movie about the same story with my parents when I was young and it was a very sad movie. I am one who usually skips these types of dramas, but I wanted to see more of the background behind the expedition which the drama provides.
In any case, the show itself was good and the first episode especially drew me in, but after a few episodes, it kind of slowed down and I was a bit disappointed with the acting and directing. Excluding Kimura and the dogs, everyone just seemed to play robotic roles. I generally like Sakai Masato, but jeez, he had this constipated look in all his scenes! The acting for the most part felt forced and I thought even for a 10 episode series, it felt a bit stretched. Still, it was nice to retell a story about a country in dire need of inspiration and if you want to understand more about the expeditions this is a drama for you.
Story: 1.0
Acting: 0.5
Directing: 0.5
Character Development: 0.5
Emotional Factor: 1.0
3.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns
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