Winter 2012
Okay, so before I totally refocus on studying I was able to fit one more drama into my tight schedule. I was looking forward to watching this recent Yamapi drama which also included Eikura Nana; I haven't seen her since Proposal Daisakusen. I also like Sorimachi Takashi and I was curious to see how Maeda Atsuko would do since it would be my first time watching her in a drama as well. The story focuses on the second son Ihara Masato (Tomohisa Yamashita) of a director who owns a funeral home. Masato left home 4 years prior and the eldest son, Ihara Kento (Sorimachi Takashi) who helped around the funeral home business, recently disappeared without a trace. The eldest daughter, Ihara Haruka (Maeda Atsuko) took responsibility to help her father with the business while the youngest siblings, Ihara Hayato and Ihara Momoko remain indifferent to the business. Their father suddenly passes away and Masato is forced to decide whether or not to close the business that he despised all his life or to take it over and keep it running. Through a series of dramatic, life altering experiences, Masato comes to realize that there is more to the funeral business than just death and sadness.
Recommendation: If you are looking for a tearjerker you have come to the right place. I thought the cast played their roles quite well and the story was deep and thoughtful, but ultimately I ended up not being able to fully immerse myself into this bittersweet drama. It's not all sad and depressing as the characters interact in lightly placed comedic scenes. I believe the story sends a strong message about the intricacies of life and death. People regret and misunderstand each other and tend to miss opportunities to resolve relationship issues until it's too late, but the living still need to move on and there is always a lesson to be learned when someone dies. Overall, I liked the characters and the depth of the story, but from the first few episodes I felt that the incidents' occurring were too coincidental/unbelievable even for a drama. The direction of the story was a bit awkward as it focused on the complexities of running a funeral business, to resolving family issues and changing into a full blown mystery/detective story with a dash of paranormal activity. There were also a few scenes that were too mushy for my taste. Still it kept me interested, and some of the scenes with the family coming together were both priceless and heart wrenching. The ratings were unfortunately sub par, but I thought it was worth my time. I was surprised to see Eikura Nana play a major role. I think she is a good actress and had nice chemistry with Yamashita Tomohisa.
Story: 1.0
Acting: 0.5
Directing: 0.5
Character Development: 1.0
Emotional Factor: 1.0
4.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns
This was the first Eikura nana drama i watched.. i must say over the years, she has grown a lot and i look forward to seeing her in more dramas.
ReplyDeleteyou are right, the chemistry between nana and yamashita was great. I really liked this drama and the misery element of it, which all falls together at the end :)
sorry i meant mystery ... with 'misery' it sounds weird :\
ReplyDeleteYes, I like Eikura Nana too. I heard she is good friends with Nagasawa Masami. Both women starred together with Yamashita Tomohisa in Proposal Daisakusen.
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