Cold Game 終わり

The 8 part drama about a futuristic holocaust where the earth has plunged to zero degrees level and the surviving people have banded together in camps in order to survive has wrapped up, and I must say what an ENTIRELY satisfying drama it was!!!

I've always loved Michiko Hada (as witnessed by my gushing here) but her role as Mother Shoko Kimura has to be her best one yet- so interesting, charismatic, and complex, it was trying to figure her out that made this show so entertaining!

As well the other actors who made up her fake family, Yuki Kousei as "son" Daiki , Rinka Kumada as "Daughter" Hina and Aiki Yasuhide as the kind hearted "Father" Takashi, all of them acted so well that you really liked them and was always hoping that they could become a "real"
 family!

Family Feud: Michiko Hada in “Cold Game”

 
When we first drop in on Shoko Kimura (Michiko Hada), she seems like most mothers: an enthusiastic go-getter parent competing in Family Day at the school with her Son Daiki (Yuki Kousei) and Daughter Hina (Rinka Kumada) along with her hapless husband Takashi (Yasuhide Aiki).

Together they ace the relay race and sweep up the grand prize: four cups of Instant ramen! It seems like a meager prize, but as we are to soon learn, this is no ordinary day at school for the participants in this competition.

We find that it is the year 2050 and, due to a huge meteor strike which knocked earth out of its orbit, the entire world has been plunged into another devastating ice age, where civilization now resides in camps across the world.

With the sky blotted out by blizzards of ice, food is scarce and rationed out to the tiniest degree. A good example is showing how the family treasures a portion of SPAM cut into fourths for lunch!!

People are placed into work based on their experience and acumen, and Shoko is currently part of the complaint center. She tries to do her best with the bosses, workers and doctors, but she and her family are hiding a secret no one knows about.

At the particular camp Kimura and her family are at, the family unit is regarded higher than the stragglers and loners who come in. Families get an entire classroom all to themselves to live in...

...while individuals and stragglers have to share cramped quarters with dozens of others.

Additionally, games where you can win prizes like food are strictly for families only, and so it is no surprise when we see  the Mikura clan behinds closed doors and find their relationship is a sham created out of necessity!
The Mother, Father, Son and Daughter have no connection at all, and once it is lights out, they create walls to seperate themselves from each other. And yet, in times of trouble, the four still seem to reach out and care about each other just like a real family, and in a toxic environment like this, they need all the help they can get!

Shards of Shoko’s past life bleeds into the narrative and we see that she has spent time in prison before the new ice age came down and her real family was torn apart.

She is determined to see them once again, and with the participation of her “family” she hopes to survive this upside down world long enough to make it!

As a huge Michiko Hada fan (whom I’ve gushed about here) I’m thrilled to see her in a lead role for a change, and what an intriguing concept they’ve created here!! When I first saw the poster and read the synopsis, I thought it was going to be a movie, so excited to find it’s a drama!! Looks to be an  interesting one!!!

Another “Happy?” Marriage

 
Much like the set up in the Rin Takanashi drama “Kekkon Aite wa Chusen De”, “Marry Me!” follows a similar storyline- The birthrate is in decline, and in an effort to control things, the government implements a new program where civil servants are paired up as marriage partners with NEETs in an effort to rehabilitate them.

Civil servant Shin Akiyasu (Toshiki Seto) doesn’t much care for being chosen as one of the programs’ test partners, but is told that his promotion is on the line and so he grudgingly accepts it.

He decides to make the best of things, but is stunned when he meets the girl, a shut-in recluse named Himari Sawamoto (Rinka Kumada) and finds she has ZERO interest in marrying him, shutting the door in his FACE!

Seems Himari’s grandmother had signed Himari up for the program without her knowledge. Granny knew her days were numbered and wanted to make sure Himari has a future. But this recluse wants nothing to do with marriage!

After the rejection, Shin thinks that’s that, but is severely reprimanded back at the office and is told to make a greater effort!

Even his friend Yoshiura (Harumi Sato, last seen my me as the back-stabbing "best friend" in "Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru") worries for Shin's future prospects!

Shin goes back and after struggling to have an audience with her, finally has a formal sit down with the introverted Himari. She tells him that it was her Grandmother who signed her up and  tells him in no uncertain terms that she doesn't want to participate in the program.

But when he beloved cat becomes ill, the hikikomori Himari is at wits end panicking in what to do. At that moment Shin drops by and, seeing the situation, guides her out into the public and gets them safely to a vet.

The cat is saved, and for the first time Himari realized how frightening it is to be alone. With Akiyasu’s kindness on her mind, she decides to try out the trail marriage, and the two are off to a fine start!

Let's see where this drama goes!