occultangle

When I first started watching this I couldn't help but compare it to the other two morning dramas I had watched, Ohisama and Umechan Sensei. I really wasn't feeling the modern Touhoku setting at all, and it was putting me in an ill mood. I really wish that I had started with a better attitude, because it made it take a lot longer than necessary to realize that this was not only their equal, it totally surpasses them. It is not only my favorite morning drama, it is probably my second favorite drama ever.

I think the point that stands out the most for me is simply that I was never bored a single moment watching this. I can't watch ten episode series without thinking the middle is boring, or the ending is weak, or it's all too slow or something, and that goes even more so for morning and Taiga dramas. But watching Amachan I was always entertained. Every single episode was perfect. I know some people didn't like the Tokyo arc, but I loved it, and felt that it added so much variety to the series. And that brings up another point, I could never guess where this show would head next. In the beginning I was certain this would be all about being an Ama, but it's about so much more.

Another important point is how much I loved every single character. Again it didn't start out that way, but as they grew on me I came to deeply care about them all, from every random old lady, to every random idol, to all the Ben-sans in the way. But of course no one defines this trend better than Aki herself. My first impression of her was, why would they have such an un-cute actress as the star? But she grew to become a "normal type of cute", to finally becoming the heroine she is. She really brought to life what her character was all about, by just being her self and persevering she changes everyone around her, including the audience.

Ultimately, I don't really know why I love this so much, but I can say this, when I was done watching, I didn't know what to do with my life anymore. I have dozens of dramas that need to be watched, but I'm just not interested. So I spent all my time on the internet reading articles and watching interviews. In doing so I discovered there is a meme going around Japan right now, "Amaloss", short for Amachan loss syndrome, in which people describe symptoms such as not having the motivation to wake up in the morning without Amachan airing. So looking for a cure to my own Amaloss, the only thing I could do was start watching it over again from the beginning. That's something I never do, but shows just how magical Amachan is.

I can just tell that this drama is going to be very polarizing and frankly quite despised by many people. But I simply must be the person to say that this is absolutely one of the best dramas ever, period. I happened to notice that it was written by the same person as "First Love", which was also strongly hated by many people, and which I feel is one of the most overly criticized series ever. There are many thematic similarities between the two series, even a lot of the dialogue is almost exactly the same. But most of the things wrong there, mainly the last few episodes and the over the top characters, are much better here, and one of the great things there, forbidden love, is so much more powerful and blatant here, because it's a love story between an uncle and his niece.
I know this isn't the first time Japanese entertainment media has dealt with a story about incest, but television drama always has a tendency to toy with forbidden love themes, for example often times it's a student/teacher, but they usually only use it for enough shock value to get ratings but then back off before they might actually offend people. They don't back off here! And I couldn't be more pleased with them for that. I realize that something like incest is not something normal that most people would want to participate in in real life, but it makes for very moving drama if one will just accept it as a story.
Another thing that's so excellent here is the way it builds to a climax and then halfway through reinvents itself. It allows the story to be more "epic" without either dragging on, or having to resort to trivial forms of conflict flip-flopping the story (which is exactly the problem with the last few episodes of the aforementioned "First Love".) In this way it reminds me of my absolute all time favorite drama "Aoi Tori." The story is actually very beautifully simple and straight forward, an uncle and a niece fall in love, but that is obviously not an easy relationship to have. That does bring me to the only flaw I can think of, and that is the over the top behavior of the jilted boyfriend and the power of tabloid magazines, but this is television so I don't feel like that is beyond expectation nor does it significantly harm the main plot. Kanno Miho's character is quite evil, but it's also equally believable and reasonable, and if anything, her eventual acceptance of the situation is the only thing that would be questionable in real life, but it's great for the story.
Really I was rather shocked by this drama, I really didn't think they would so honestly portray a story like this and be willing to go all the way through with it. But it was a very good kind of shocking and the best drama I have seen since "Aoi Tori."

This drama gets a lot of hate that I feel it doesn't deserve. I do admit that Wakui Emi's character is rather shocking, but to me that seems to be only because she has always played such innocent roles before. I can't see though how having such a villainous character in a television drama is in any way strange or unexpected, let alone bad. Nor do I feel she should have been seen as un-redeemable.
Watabe Atsuro's character is indeed exceedingly goofy, and it's hard to imagine girls falling in love with him, especially to this extent, but it's the type of role he usually gets cast in, and this drama succeeded in using him to his fullest extent, specifically it was very interesting to see him as a teacher of classical Japanese, his recitations of poems and his cheesy yet profound dialog really made it somewhat believable that a young girl would develop a crush on him.
Fukuda Kyoko's character is out of this world adorable, her facial expressions range from a deer caught in headlights to a pouty child, and every word that comes out of her is whiny and worried and makes you want to cuddle and spoil her like said pouty child. Of course that's not to say it's particularly believable, but her and the rest of the characters make for a sort of caricature of very real feelings that people have, and in the world of TV drama I feel a very strong ability to relate to them and in turn they become surprisingly real and believable people.
The most stand out part of this series however has to be just the overall style. There is a beautiful mix of modern day chic with traditional Japanese esthetics. And I think the one point where almost every one can agree on is that the theme song by Utada Hikaru is wonderful and really helps set the mood and deliver emotional impact at the end of every episode when they play it. Without this song the series wouldn't be half as good.
I will concede that there is one major flaw in this show however, and that is that it falls apart in the last few episodes. I think Wakui Emi's issues should have been resolved after her suicide attempt rather than dragging them all the way to the altar. It definitely does feel like they have yanked the audience around one time to many, and leaves the entire series with a sense of unnecessary meandering. I think it would have been so much better if this series had been several episodes shorter, but that's actually true of most dramas. And at least here they only go too far in the end, where so many other dramas just flip flop the whole way through for no good reason other than one comment by one person, and I don't usually here people complain about it to this extent. At least here there is good reason for the characters to waver in their decisions.
So, I am somewhat disappointed in a sense, but if it weren't for the last few episodes I would be screaming that this was one of the best dramas ever, so I can at least contend that it is too harshly criticized.

I thought Kimura Takuya's character was basically a more extreme version of the type of roles he's usually played before. I wouldn't have thought it a good idea, but the result was perhaps his best role ever. However it was Shuumei who really stole the show, or at least that's what I would like to say, but the show's biggest failure was the lack of screen time she actually receives. Instead we get more of Shinohara Ryoko's character, Maemi. I have to admit I never much cared for her as an actress in general, but it's especially aggravating when I want to know what's going on with Shuumei, but she's always locked up in some hotel room. Which is perhaps why I found the first episode totally amazing, and found myself progressively more disappointed as the show went on. In reality, the whole drama is a not very thinly veiled commentary on the recent economic advances China has seen. I remember reading a quote once about how yamatodamashii was a sort of action oriented, common sense compared to Chinese learning. This is clearly represented by Rensuke who like a great Daimyo must spill some blood for the greater good, but who is inherently caring and righteous, and who is ultimately betrayed by his close friend, who of course has Chinese blood. (I am not trying to state my personal opinions on this either way, just merely reflecting on what I felt the story's message to be. And I would like to point out how ridiculously obvious it becomes when chairs made in China start EXPLODING. Also I don't feel it's necessarily an anti-Chinese message as Regolith is initially the clear aggressor, and Rensuke clearly says that he did "the same things", but I do feel there is an intended parable in Rensuke's development, for how Japan should view themselves in the changing modern world. ) Although the final episode was very well done, and contained some of the series finest moments, the ending was nonetheless particularly disappointing to me. It was exactly the cliche ending I started expecting from the second or third episode, cliche from a general Japanese drama perspective, but even more so as a Kimura Takuya drama. I felt it ended like nearly every other drama he's ever stared in. But it is even further evidence to support my claim on what the the show's message is, and has to be considered a success, at least from that perspective.