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| Maiko Kikuchi and Hiromi Iwasaki in Ii Tabi Yume Kibun |
In the j-drama section of reddit, someone was trying to remember the name of the 1997 drama where a little girl gets taught shogi (Japanese chess) by an old man and eventually goes on to become a champion, and I suggested that that drama sounded an awful lot like the classic NHK asadora Futarikko.
I was later told about "Ii Tabi Yume Kibun” episodes that ran a few years back…with BOTH Futarikko girls (the older girls, not the younger girls) as the traveling commentators!
I was dying to see how both Hiromi Iwasaki and Maiko Kikuchi looked after 15 years, and when he sent over copies of the show, I was to find they looked absolutely fabulous as adults! Both girls had turned into mature 35-something women, but had lost none of the spark that made them so engaging back in 1997!
In fact, one thing I really loved watching this was how much they seemed like real sisters, and when they went to fetch water from a springs and it splashed all over the place, their wit and laughter was so funny, it felt like I was still watching a continuation of Futarikko!
This episode took the girls to the city of Kyoto, a town that is said to be extremely hot during summer, yet the girls visited the shops and checked out the eateries in a very cool environment, making for a very pleasant trip all around!
Also got another episode of Ii Tabi Yume Kibun, and THIS one featured Maiko Kikuchi once again…and Satomi Tezuka, the actress who, of course, played Maiko’s MOTHER on Futarikko! Ah, it was like seeing the whole gang again!
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| Satomi Tezuka and Maiko Kikuchi |
PS, It was quite a different dynamic with Maiko and Satomi as compared to Maiko and Hiromi, naturally, one seemed like Mother and Daughter and the other seemed like sisters traveling! Ah, the NHK Asadora bonds never break, they just go on and become stronger!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
