The Wonders of “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store”

Recently read one of the most entertaining, sweet and touching books, “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store”, by the awesome author Keigo Higashino. As some of you know, I’ve been obsessed with reading all the works of his I could find (of the few works of his that have been translated into English, anyway) after being blown away by his story “MALICE” and this was one I was particularly anticipating!

Most of Higashino’s novels centre around mystery and crime, (a la his GALILEO and SHINZANMONO works) however, Miracles of Namiya Store is a pleasant diversion, dealing with a more magical realism type style  in the vein of Haruki Murakami. Miracles concerns an old, abandoned general store that gives out advice to those who seek it- though the method of transaction between asker and giver is one of inspired wonder! More on the plot later....

I really loved this book, and after wards must have recommended it to SEVERAL of my friends, even as I was re-reading it yet again! And as almost every novel of Higashino’s has been translated into television series, one-off specials or theatrical films, I wondered with hope if Miracles had had the similar treatment….and was HAPPILY THRILLED to find out it HAD! A 2017 release, this movie starred actors and actresses I loved, and wasted NO TIME grabbing it!

Our Story:

 Three troubled youths (Ryosuke Yamada, Nijiro Murakami, Kanchiro Sato) break into a house, tie up the owner and flee with her valuables into the darkness. They attempt a getaway, however the vehicle they’ve acquired won’t start and, trapped in the neighborhood by the police, they’re forced to find a place to hide out for the night til the heat dies down.

One of the teens remembers an old abandoned general store in the neighborhood and they make for it.

 This is the Namiya General Store, and though they do not know it, once upon a time it was famous not only for its goods and wares, but the kind and humorous advice given by the Owner, Mr. Namiya (Nishida Toshiyuki). If fact, the place and his advice became something of a small sensation in the area at the time!

 

Namiya has long since passed on and the general store shuttered for years. But from time to time, troubled individuals will still drops letters asking for advice into the mail slot, in hopes of getting some kind of divine guidance in their problematic lives.

As the three teens hunker down in the dusty old store, they contemplate their options…when a letter clinks down from the mail slot, startling them all. But after checking outside, it seems this letter came from out of thin air. And upon reading the letter, they realize it is a letter that had actually been sent some 30 years past! 

How can this be happening? The boys do not know, but without anything else to do while they wait out the night, one of the lads decides to answer the letter and place it in the mail crate out back, where the writers always picked up their messages.

Through this magical, impossible connection, the boys answer letters from a faraway time, and as we do, we see how their crude but sincere advice shapes those that ask for it, as well as those around them.

There is  Katsuro Matsuoka, (Kento Hayashi), a struggling musician torn between taking over his Father’s (Kaoru Kobayashi) fish business…or leaving the family and little sister (Asami Himeka) behind and pursuing his career.

There is Seri Mizuhara (Mugi Kadowaki),  a former orphan herself who rises from despair to become a world famous vocalist…

An orphaned young woman named Eiko (Rio Yamashita) who becomes suicidal when she discovers that she is a child from an illicit relationship and a mother who seemingly tried to kill both of them in a car crash (which only she survived)..

A woman named Harumi Tamura (Machiko Ono) balancing life working an office job by day and  cabaclub hostess by night, while all the time caring for her elderly parents . She hopes to gamble on quitting her office job and working full-time as a hostess and investing in a (seemingly  shady) business venture with one of her clients.

With all of these individuals, their lives are guided by the words of the mysterious advice-givers, and we see by the fateful outcomes, for better or worse, just how everyone, in one way or another, is truly connected to each other.

“The book was better” is a oft used trope, and I can’t deny that a lot of the time I was disappointed by the exclusion of certain scenes or passages from the novel, however, for its cinematic time restrictions, I think this movie hits all the high points and captures the spirit and hopefulness of the book perfectly fine, and had me bawling my eyes out by the end as well!

I've already long sung my praises of Keigo Higashino ,and as he's one of the most celebrated writers in Japan, my opinion hardly matters, but I'm just amazed at how many wonderful novels, short stories, television series and movies he's made that have all become huge favorites of mine. Here's hoping to MORE of his work getting translated! There's still so MUCH out there and I'm eager to read 'em ALL!!!

Notes on Reversal Orchestra

While not a massive tour de force of originality, the music themed Reversal Orchestra DID have its charming moments, mostly by adorable actress Mugi Kadowaki as the clumsy but sweet violinist Hatsune Tanioka as she takes on coming out of self imposed retirement and dealing with a cantankerous boss/conductor, the blunt Asahi Tokiwa, played by Kei Tanaka!

I mentioned before that I fully expected the drama to be padded with the "member problem of the week" stories and holy heck I was right, but it was the growing connection between Tanioka and Tokiwa that made for a great watch- Who knew that watching them having a conversation in a car or arguing on the way home could be so much fun!

There's this one scene where Tanioka is having the most adorable meltdown where I first thought, "I should be making clips of these moments"! unfortunately, the scene is a bit of a spoiler, so I won't post it here. However there were a couple of other scenes in that same episode that gave off the same vibe that I CAN, like this one where the two have been shown the new promotional goods for the orchestra, including hand lotion with their faces on the bottle.

Not one to shy away from free hand cream, Hatsune takes one and it's cute to watch her use it as the two bicker about random nothingness! You can see how they've grown as partners as Hatsune is downright playful against the grumpy Tokiwa!

Another really cute thing is that whenever Tokiwa acts snippy to her, Hatsune kicks her foot in frustration, and when he softens his tone and she thinks he's becoming nice, when he reverts back to his stodgy self, she kicks the floor again, LOL! But there's a smile of her face so she knows his gruffness is all for play.

It's these little moments like this that made the drama ultimately worth checking out!

Mugi and the Gang in “Reversal Orchestra”

 “Reversal Orchestra”, the story of a recluse former prodigy violinist named Hatsune Tanioka (Mugi Kadowaki) who, for unknown reasons, left the stage 10 years ago and never returned. 

She now ekes out a life as a mere OL in the Public Office, careful to keep her famous past hidden, even when when asked if she knows or cares for classical music. 

She is content living a quiet life with her sister Kanna (Yuri Tsunematsu), though she still teaches violin to young students on the sly. And though she won't admit it, Hatsune still enjoys playing for herself when there's no one around.

 

In the meantime, a famous conductor named Asahi Tokiwa (Kei Tanaka) performing in Germany, is brought back to Japan by his father (Namase Katsuhisa), the town's Mayor, with the request/order of taking over as conductor of the city’s orchestra and whipping them into shape for a grand opening of a brand new Symphony Hall he is in charge of.

"Do this favor for your Father!"

Agreeing at last to his Father's demands, Tokiwa meets the Orchestra. But he is severely  unimpressed with the musicians he is suddenly saddled with, citing them as lazy and unprofessional. But he hears promise in their playing and knows that with a proper group leader, they can, perhaps, become something.

The slapdash Orchestra discovering the plans for the new Orchestra Hall: Kumi Taiuchi, Mari Hamada, Loic Garnier, Ryota Bando, Mitsuru Hirata, et al looking on. Will they be invited to appear at such a residence?

Tokiwa needs to find that special spark that will ignite this team of motley players, and hope comes his way when, judging an amateur violin competition, he is impressed by a young student and discovers her teacher is the elusive Hatsune Tanioka!! Judging by how well her student plays, he knows Tanioka still has the touch to make his dream orchestra a REALITY!

"Hey, this girl is pretty good!"

"Her teacher is Hatsune Tanioka??"

But first he will have to convince her, and as we spend time with them, we find out the reason Hatsune has left the profession all those years ago, and why it is impossible for her to return…or is it? 

Hoping her love of music will bring her back, Tokiwa is betting his future on her!

You all know how much I adore Mugi Kadowaki, ever since first seeing her as the shy ghost in “Omukae Death”, she has been stealing my heart with her eccentric roles of introverted teens and psychopathic predators to everything in between, but even I’M amazed at how quickly her star has been rising! She is slowly but surely becoming a A-list headlining actress, and I for one am ecstatic to see it!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com