That Was Seiran Kobayashi

 More from the "How Time Flies" department when I discovered that the runaway teenage girl in an episode of "Ishiko to Haneo" from a few weeks back was none other than Seiran Kobayashi, an actress I noted years ago for her cute appearances in both Youkame no Semi (as the daughter of Dan Rei):

...and in Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku as Yuko Takeuchi's daughter!

When i first saw her name in the credits, my first thought was "Was there a little kid in this episode?"before realizing it had been YEARS since I'd seen her and she was now playing more appropriate high schooler roles!

above: with Rin Kataoka

Good to see she's till making it here in the biz!

Another Youkami No Semi

Dan Rei and Kobayashi Seiran in Youkami No Semi

As a fan of both Mao Inoue and Hiromi Nagasaku, I really wanted to get the 2011 movie “Rebirth” (Youkami No Semi) starring the two actresses, and was delighted when I found it available subtitled on the d-addicts forum! When I finally watched it, however, I was confused to find that this was a 2009 TV version of the story that had come out years before the Mao Inoue Movie version. I really wanted to see the movie version, so for the time being, I put the drama in a folder and promptly forgot all about it.

  For years it sat there until just the other day I was organizing my folders and came across the drama again. Upon discovering it, I realized that in the time I’d acquired it, I still had not seen the Mao Inoue/Hiromi Nagasaku version, and decided I’d just watch this drama version for now.

Youkami No Semi 2011 Movie and Youkami No Semi 2009 TV Drama

 Well, I watched it over the weekend, and I have to say, I have no idea how good the movie version is, but MAN, this DRAMA version ended up being one of the BEST freaking shows I’ve seen in YEARS! I’m not kidding- Youkami No Semi was so awesome, so emotional, and so SOUL-CRUSHINGLY HEARTBREAKING, it has become one of my favorite dramas of ALL TIME!

Youkami No Semi (The Cicada’s Eighth Day) tells the story of a woman named Kiwako having an affair with a married man from work. When she tells him she is pregnant with his child, he persuades her to abort it, so he has time to leave his wife properly, promising they can have another child when he is free. Because of troubles during the operation, however, Kiwako learns she can no longer have children, but is satisfied knowing she will be with the man she loves. When the man finds out his wife is ALSO pregnant, he abandons Kiwako. Distraught, she abducts THEIR baby and escapes into the night, leaving the town to raise the little girl as her own...

 A grim story for sure, but the second act of the drama brightens as it tells the story of the life Kiwako and the child she names Kaoru live, running from town to town, always one step ahead of the law. Kaoru, of course, knows nothing of the crime, and grows up as a happy child surrounded by love and warmth from this woman she believes is her mother.

 This could have been boring, but I’m telling you, the scenes with the mother and daughter just living life and loving each other was so, sooooo sweet, and it help that Dan Rei as Kiwako and Kobayashi Seiran as Kaoru are so fantastic in their roles. Whenever you see the two of them interacting, it is so heartwarming , you can truly feel the love they have for each other. Little Kaoru is so adorable, I already noted how cute child actress Seiran Kobayashi was when she played the role of Takeuchi Yuko’s daughter Umi in Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku, but the chemistry she has with Dan Rei is off the charts, they are loveable. 

  So sweet, actually bittersweet, because, of course, you know that this story isn’t going to end with a great big happy ending for any of them. Throughout the drama as the story is told, we see the people in their current lives, and it has not been bright for any of them- 
Teenage Kaoru (Kitano Kie) is at odds with her real mother (played by Yuka Itaya) and has just found that like her substitute mother of old, is pregnant with a married man’s child. Kiwako herself is in jail but spends her days writing letters to Kaoru that she will never send. What is the future for everyone involved?

Ah man, I loved this drama so much, that right now I am actually kind of averse to watching the movie version because to me this will always be the “true” one. Though I love Mao Inoue and Hiromi Nagasaku, I just can’t imagine Kiwako and Kaoru as anyone else than the ones in the drama version. So Good.

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Notes From "Natsu No Koi Wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku"

Halfway through the Matsumoto Jun/Takeuchi Yuko drama"Natsu No Koi Wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku" (Summer Love Shines In Rainbow Colors) and I just have to say how unbelievably adorable that little girl playing Yuko's daughter Umi is, She's so cute you just want to hug her to pieces!

Kobayashi Seiran

And speaking of cute of the OTHER kind, Who's this pouty and sassy "Mirei Kiritani" that's been playing that hot-ass actress Miyase Sakura? Yummy!

Kiritani Mirei

 Funny, when she was first introduced, I immediately thought of Seki Megumi, but upon closer inspection decided she wasn't quite all that. But as the episodes went on and they softened/expanded her character, I began to enjoy her scenes more and more!