Family's Form (Kazoku no Katachi)
Feb. 24th, 2017 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunako_yueDaisuke Nagasato (Shingo Katori) is 39-years-old, single and works at a stationary maker. He enjoys his single life. One the day he moves to his new apartment, he meets his neighbour Hanako Kumagai (Juri Ueno) for the first time due to an unpleasant situation. Hanako is 32-years-old and single. She is also an OL and a divorcee.
Daisuke's single life faces a crisis. His father Yozo (Toshiyuki Nishida) and younger step-brother begin to live at his apartment. (asiawiki-2016)
A dorama like many others I watched before, since it is mostly about marriage and family. But could be precisely because of that that it was a pleasure to watch it. It is heartwarming, it is fresh, it has a lot of heart. Isn't that one of the reasons we like to watch J-doramas?
Story: (8/10) Like I said before, this dorama is about family, marriage, friendship, comradeship. It is like every "Romance" J-dorama I see it addresses the reluctance of the MC to get married, and people around them pressure them to get married. I know that Japan has a low rate of marriage/low-birth, but sometimes this kind of stories can get a little preachy. Like in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, this is the story of a mature guy, Daisuke, who is pleased to live alone and doesn't want to get married at all. He is completely happy living in his own "castle" (as he likes to call his apartment, who looks gorgeous, btw) and drink his beer. Alone. That changes once his father comes with Kota, Daisuke's new younger brother, and imposes his presence in his "castle". Also, around the same time, Daisuke befriends his neighbor, Hanako.
Daisuke is not as anti-social nor awkward as Kuwano, but he is grumpy. It is not hard to sympathize with him. I would also be grumpy if my precious space was invaded by people. But those people are all kind, with a good heart, although there are also some that can be a bit bothersome (like all-happy-girl Tanaka-san).
Hanako deals with her own problems, her mother also comes and invades her personal space. And her ex-husband wants to get back together. Like many other J-dramas (a thing I absolutely love) is that the ex-husband is a good man, not evil nor bothersome. Same with Daisuke's ex-girlfriend.
All characters that become a friend sort of, thanks to Daisuke's dad, was likeable. Specially Sasaki-san (I adore this chubby actor, he is so funny!). This dorama is mostly about that, how Daisuke's dad comes back to his son's life and changes everyone that is around Daisuke.
The only trope I don't like is the "has been sick all this time, dies at the end". Nevertheless, the funeral was both funny and moving. And I like that Daisuke doesn't change 100% at the end. Is there a wedding? We don't know. We can assume there is. I wouldn't call this a romance, I prefer to call it a deep bond, a true friendship, a camaraderie.
Cast: (8/10) Ueno Juri was excellent, I was moved by her tears. Not a moment I thought "oh, this is Nodame". Too bad her hair was so awful, but she is so pretty I could ignore it sometimes. Same with Shingo. I didn't see Shingo, but Daisuke. They were both excellent. And of course, Sasaki-san was also terrific. Many people praise Daisuke's dad but I am not a fan of this actor. I think he has many mannerisms that annoyed me. He is always saying: "ano sa", "ano ne". Mizuhara Kiko was terrible as Tanaka'san, she pouts so much it is annoying. Kota, the younger brother, was pitiful, but I dislike when pitiful characters don't talk and go there with their head down. That is my main complain. I think that he looked like a Japanese Harry Potter. And also a bit like Yuriko Yoshitaka.
We have 4 mini-reunions in this show: Ouran High School Host Club (Haruhi and Honeysempai, and coincidence! he was called "Haru"); Tiger and Dragon (Shishou and Jumptei Jump); Soredemo, Ikite Yuku (mother of the killer, brother of the killed one), and Shingo and Arisa.
{Edit: there is a guy who played the personal trainer of Hanako at the gym. For days I was "who was that guy?". He isn't in any of the cast lists. Then I remembered. He was one of the butlers of Mei-chan no Shitsuji.}
Music: (9/10) I like the music "Unpredictable Story". There are 2 versions, one slow and one faster. I think I prefer the slow one but even so, I like them both. Currently in my playlist.
Rewatch value: (9/10) this is one of those dramas that can be recommended to anyone. I don't think there would be a person, male or female, who wouldn't like this. It is easy to watch, it is charming, it is not slow, it is real.
**My rating: 8.5/10**
Daisuke's single life faces a crisis. His father Yozo (Toshiyuki Nishida) and younger step-brother begin to live at his apartment. (asiawiki-2016)
A dorama like many others I watched before, since it is mostly about marriage and family. But could be precisely because of that that it was a pleasure to watch it. It is heartwarming, it is fresh, it has a lot of heart. Isn't that one of the reasons we like to watch J-doramas?
Story: (8/10) Like I said before, this dorama is about family, marriage, friendship, comradeship. It is like every "Romance" J-dorama I see it addresses the reluctance of the MC to get married, and people around them pressure them to get married. I know that Japan has a low rate of marriage/low-birth, but sometimes this kind of stories can get a little preachy. Like in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, this is the story of a mature guy, Daisuke, who is pleased to live alone and doesn't want to get married at all. He is completely happy living in his own "castle" (as he likes to call his apartment, who looks gorgeous, btw) and drink his beer. Alone. That changes once his father comes with Kota, Daisuke's new younger brother, and imposes his presence in his "castle". Also, around the same time, Daisuke befriends his neighbor, Hanako.
Daisuke is not as anti-social nor awkward as Kuwano, but he is grumpy. It is not hard to sympathize with him. I would also be grumpy if my precious space was invaded by people. But those people are all kind, with a good heart, although there are also some that can be a bit bothersome (like all-happy-girl Tanaka-san).
Hanako deals with her own problems, her mother also comes and invades her personal space. And her ex-husband wants to get back together. Like many other J-dramas (a thing I absolutely love) is that the ex-husband is a good man, not evil nor bothersome. Same with Daisuke's ex-girlfriend.
All characters that become a friend sort of, thanks to Daisuke's dad, was likeable. Specially Sasaki-san (I adore this chubby actor, he is so funny!). This dorama is mostly about that, how Daisuke's dad comes back to his son's life and changes everyone that is around Daisuke.
The only trope I don't like is the "has been sick all this time, dies at the end". Nevertheless, the funeral was both funny and moving. And I like that Daisuke doesn't change 100% at the end. Is there a wedding? We don't know. We can assume there is. I wouldn't call this a romance, I prefer to call it a deep bond, a true friendship, a camaraderie.
Cast: (8/10) Ueno Juri was excellent, I was moved by her tears. Not a moment I thought "oh, this is Nodame". Too bad her hair was so awful, but she is so pretty I could ignore it sometimes. Same with Shingo. I didn't see Shingo, but Daisuke. They were both excellent. And of course, Sasaki-san was also terrific. Many people praise Daisuke's dad but I am not a fan of this actor. I think he has many mannerisms that annoyed me. He is always saying: "ano sa", "ano ne". Mizuhara Kiko was terrible as Tanaka'san, she pouts so much it is annoying. Kota, the younger brother, was pitiful, but I dislike when pitiful characters don't talk and go there with their head down. That is my main complain. I think that he looked like a Japanese Harry Potter. And also a bit like Yuriko Yoshitaka.
We have 4 mini-reunions in this show: Ouran High School Host Club (Haruhi and Honeysempai, and coincidence! he was called "Haru"); Tiger and Dragon (Shishou and Jumptei Jump); Soredemo, Ikite Yuku (mother of the killer, brother of the killed one), and Shingo and Arisa.
{Edit: there is a guy who played the personal trainer of Hanako at the gym. For days I was "who was that guy?". He isn't in any of the cast lists. Then I remembered. He was one of the butlers of Mei-chan no Shitsuji.}
Music: (9/10) I like the music "Unpredictable Story". There are 2 versions, one slow and one faster. I think I prefer the slow one but even so, I like them both. Currently in my playlist.
Rewatch value: (9/10) this is one of those dramas that can be recommended to anyone. I don't think there would be a person, male or female, who wouldn't like this. It is easy to watch, it is charming, it is not slow, it is real.
**My rating: 8.5/10**
