Haru ni Nattara~ When Spring Comes

Nao and Noritake Kinashi in Haru ni Nattara

 Over breakfast one morning, a single father and his daughter announce that they have huge, shocking news for the other. On the count of three they both say what it is, and both are indeed shocked by the news they hear: Daughter has announced that she has been seeing a guy for a year and intends to MARRY in three months…while father has news of a more startling sort: the news that he has stage4 pancreatic cancer and has three months to LIVE!

Father Masahiko Shiina (Noritake Kinashi), a peppy salesman by day, has only learned of his cancer by chance- a sore hip led to the discovery of the slow-moving cancer, sadly by the time the Docs have found it, it has metastasized to other parts of his body  and is a long shot for survival. Having seen what the cancer can do to other friends and with little chance of success, Masahiko opts out of treatment and hopes to spend his last few months peacefully. 

Daughter Hitomi (Nao) is a young midwife working at a maternity clinic in town, under the watchful eye of Sugimura (Satomi Kobayashi)  she has moved on to treating patients of her own and is secure and happy in her job and life. 

Her fiance is a schleppy man named Kawakami (Gaku Hamada) , an older and if, truth be told, not that funny guy working as a comedian. The two have secretly been gearing up for their wedding, but not only does her father’s illness throw a huge wrench in their plans…. he’s ENTIRELY AGAINST Hitomi marrying the Kawakami!!!

Even Hitomi's friends Minako (Ai Mikami) and Keigo (Tatsuya Fukazawa), whom she delightedly tells one afternoon, aren't too sure about this union, especially Keigo, who's long harbored secret feelings for Hitomi...

  The situation causes terrific arguments at home: Hitomi wants Father to begin treatments and accept her fiance, while Dad only wants to live out his life in peace…and WITHOUT his daughter marrying tht good-for-nothing comedian shlub!

While the two try and work out the differences between them and come to some kind of arrangement, there is a matter of bucket lists. Daughter Hitomi has a list of all the things she wants to do before getting married. And father has crafted a similar list of things he wants to do before he passes. And in the coming episodes we will see the Father and Daughter try to come to terms while at the same time fulfilling their list wishes!

I will say that on paper, the premise of this drama sounds like a depressing melodrama, but far from it, this show is full of life, great characters, wonderful dialog and, as you would expect from someone like Nao, completely believable and lovable characters!

Ready to see where this one goes~!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

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!!!

Latest Medical Drama Series: "Great Gift"

 Takashi Sorimachi plays forensic doctor Fujimaki, who stumbles upon a deadly strain of bacteria and is then blackmailed into weaponizing it as an invisible and nigh-undetectable agent to covertly murder people. With his wife hospitalized and at the mercy of the Hospital’s whims, he must do as they say and go along with their wishes. the only standing in his way is the alert medic Kurume (Haru) who, besides being keenly aware of his situation, is the only one who can urge his conscience into doing what’s right.

An interesting enough premise, but BOY, this medical drama has ALL the things I hate about them: Corrupt Hospital Heads, Greedy and Needy Politicians, Arrogant, Entitled Patients, Guilt-tripping family…