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sunako_yueKoharu (Hikari Mitsushima) lost her husband Shin (Shun Oguri) in an unexpected accident. Koharu must go on for her two children Nozomi (Rio Suzuki) and Riku (Rai Takahashi).
Koharu works hard to make a living, but her financial situation does not improve. She goes to the social welfare office to apply for assistance, but is refused due to not meeting certain requirements.
An employee at the welfare office asks Koharu if she has family that can support her, but she says no. Koharu's father passed away and her mother Sachi (Yuko Tanaka) left her and her father for another man (Kaoru Kobayashi) twenty years ago. They have been estranged since then.
An employee at the welfare office then contacts Sachi. Her mother makes it known she will provide support for Koharu. Meanwhile, Koharu is stunned by her mother's response. After twenty years, Koharu decides to meet her mother again. (asianwiki)
For anyone who was watched "Mother", it is obvious it is the same director/screenwriter. This dorama could have been named "Mother II", or "Motherhood", since it is the story of, not one, but several mothers and their relationship with their daughters and all the hardship they go though as a mother. So this is not only about Koharu working hard as a single mother to raise her two children (who were wonderful actors) but also her strained relationship with her own mother Sachi, and at the same time, the relationship between Sachi and her other daughter (from another marriage). On the side, there are also another single mother with 3 children who re-marries a couple of times, a doctor mother who doesn't want to give up on her career only for the sake of being a mother and a little bit of Shin's (Oguri Shun) relationship with his mother.
This is a slice of life, the kind I love to watch. It was simple, nothing too dramatic and just bittersweet. I found myself on the verge of tears several times, like when little Riku was so worried about the missing dog. Or little Nozomi being so worried about her mother, who was hiding from them that she was sick.
Another wonderful thing in the simplicity of this dorama was the lack of make-up of the characters, the simplicity in their homes and clothes. It made everything more homely, more real. The story develops in a little town, not in fancy Tokyo.
As for the acting, I think everyone was excellent in their roles. This is the first time I see Matsushima Hikari. She embodied the role of a suffering mother to perfection. Maybe it is her heart-shaped face. Maybe is her slim body and tiny arms and long fingers. Maybe is her eyes. She looks like a fragile yet strong woman, and when she gets the news that she had a sickness (aplastic anemia) I was like "Noooo, why everything has to happen to this poor, fragile woman?". I am not sure if her character was entirely real (she never loses patience with her children; everything she does is for her children and not once she complains) but that is not say she didn't have any flaws. No, she was a bit resentful towards her mother; she moved to her mother's house with second motives, but that is also what it is great about "Woman" and "Mother": all characters have flaws; there are no black not white, but grey. When you think that you dislike someone (like Sachi, being so mean to Koharu; or Shiori, being such a weirdo and being the main guilty of Koharu's sadness) something happens that make you realize they are just humans. They also make mistakes.
Unlike "Mother", the men in "Woman" are important to the story. Sachi's husband -Koharu's stepfather- is a nice man who wants to bring Koharu back in Sachi's life. Then there is the doctor, who convinces Koharu to fight for her life. And of course, there is Oguri Shun, whose role was bigger than I thought it would be.
Overall, it is a nice dorama, the kind that gives the audience lots of feelings. It is not a depressing story by any means, just a real one, which means it has it good and sad moments. It is also very Japanese-like in my opinion; scenes that look very real, moments a bit slow but meaningful, simple but nice and touching.
**My rating: 8/10**
Koharu works hard to make a living, but her financial situation does not improve. She goes to the social welfare office to apply for assistance, but is refused due to not meeting certain requirements.
An employee at the welfare office asks Koharu if she has family that can support her, but she says no. Koharu's father passed away and her mother Sachi (Yuko Tanaka) left her and her father for another man (Kaoru Kobayashi) twenty years ago. They have been estranged since then.
An employee at the welfare office then contacts Sachi. Her mother makes it known she will provide support for Koharu. Meanwhile, Koharu is stunned by her mother's response. After twenty years, Koharu decides to meet her mother again. (asianwiki)
For anyone who was watched "Mother", it is obvious it is the same director/screenwriter. This dorama could have been named "Mother II", or "Motherhood", since it is the story of, not one, but several mothers and their relationship with their daughters and all the hardship they go though as a mother. So this is not only about Koharu working hard as a single mother to raise her two children (who were wonderful actors) but also her strained relationship with her own mother Sachi, and at the same time, the relationship between Sachi and her other daughter (from another marriage). On the side, there are also another single mother with 3 children who re-marries a couple of times, a doctor mother who doesn't want to give up on her career only for the sake of being a mother and a little bit of Shin's (Oguri Shun) relationship with his mother.
This is a slice of life, the kind I love to watch. It was simple, nothing too dramatic and just bittersweet. I found myself on the verge of tears several times, like when little Riku was so worried about the missing dog. Or little Nozomi being so worried about her mother, who was hiding from them that she was sick.
Another wonderful thing in the simplicity of this dorama was the lack of make-up of the characters, the simplicity in their homes and clothes. It made everything more homely, more real. The story develops in a little town, not in fancy Tokyo.
As for the acting, I think everyone was excellent in their roles. This is the first time I see Matsushima Hikari. She embodied the role of a suffering mother to perfection. Maybe it is her heart-shaped face. Maybe is her slim body and tiny arms and long fingers. Maybe is her eyes. She looks like a fragile yet strong woman, and when she gets the news that she had a sickness (aplastic anemia) I was like "Noooo, why everything has to happen to this poor, fragile woman?". I am not sure if her character was entirely real (she never loses patience with her children; everything she does is for her children and not once she complains) but that is not say she didn't have any flaws. No, she was a bit resentful towards her mother; she moved to her mother's house with second motives, but that is also what it is great about "Woman" and "Mother": all characters have flaws; there are no black not white, but grey. When you think that you dislike someone (like Sachi, being so mean to Koharu; or Shiori, being such a weirdo and being the main guilty of Koharu's sadness) something happens that make you realize they are just humans. They also make mistakes.
Unlike "Mother", the men in "Woman" are important to the story. Sachi's husband -Koharu's stepfather- is a nice man who wants to bring Koharu back in Sachi's life. Then there is the doctor, who convinces Koharu to fight for her life. And of course, there is Oguri Shun, whose role was bigger than I thought it would be.
Overall, it is a nice dorama, the kind that gives the audience lots of feelings. It is not a depressing story by any means, just a real one, which means it has it good and sad moments. It is also very Japanese-like in my opinion; scenes that look very real, moments a bit slow but meaningful, simple but nice and touching.
**My rating: 8/10**
