Boku no ita jikan - The hours of my life

Source: http://alare-chan.tumblr.com/

Right after watching Tokyo Bandwagon, I hopped onto another Tabe Mikako-starring drama, Boku no ita jikan. Great to know that Tabe san is getting more air time in dramas and playing female lead roles as she is a good yet underrated actress in Japan. Tabe san is adorable but I guess she falls in the same category as Inoue Mao, where though they look pretty enough to be on telly, their looks aren't as outstanding and commanding as actresses like Ayase Haruka and Kitagawa Keiko.

I was especially drawn to this drama for the Miura Haruma - Tabe Mikako pairing, and to a lesser extent, for Saito Takumi. Saito caught my attention in last season's drama, Miss Pilot, also starring Horikita Maki and Aibu Saki. Uniforms indeed do wonders to a person's look and Saito Takumi looked more dashing than usual in his pilot get-up in the previous drama. Okay and back to the Miura and Tabe san pairing, as mentioned in the earlier Tokyo Bandwagon write-up, I liked their chemistry (well at least their on screen love was more believable than the Kamenashi-Tabe one) and was looking forward to seeing them together in action again. If I had to use one word to describe their on screen chemistry, it'll be comfortable. There is that naturalness in how they interact and look at each other. It isn't the sort where there is high sexual tension in the air, but that of two friends eventually realizing that perhaps, they could make it work as a couple.

Source: See Alare-chan's tumblr. It's wonderfully filled with Tabe san and Miura Haruma. 

Miura Haruma plays a tragic hero here. I guess you could use that term as the drama revolves around Miura's character, Sawada Takuto, - how he learns of his sickness, comes to terms with it and faces it head on. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable, neuro-degenerative disease where one progressively loses muscle ability in the most basic of life functions - speaking, swallowing and even breathing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyotrophic_lateral_sclerosis)

The plot sounds vaguely familiar to another Fuji TV drama - 1 litre of tears. However some checking up on wikipedia revealed the disease featured in one litre was that of spinocerebellar degeneration - another incurable disease where the "cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write or eat". The effects of the two diseases are the same and both seemed to be of the degeneration of neurons. So exactly what differentiates them??!?

1 litre of tears - a Japanese drama classic.

On the topic of 1 litre, I wouldn't go as far as saying that 1 litre of tears was life-changing, but there were many life lessons gained just by watching one of my favourite drama. Seeing how someone with multiple physical disabilities yet bravely trudging on in life and doing her best to live each day like a dignified person, should be one of the biggest slap across the faces of an able-bodied persons who feel like life is not worth the effort. So I'm kinda hoping that Boku no ita jikan will be able to have that same wake-up call effect for tv viewers and myself. I like Japanese dramas for inspiring life lessons such as these and it is why I always preferred Japanese dramas to any other Asian dramas (besides the fact that there's usually only 10 - 12 episodes).

So far Boku no ita jikan has been interesting enough for me to wait in eager anticipation for episode after episode. The development of the love story between the two leads is of good pacing and there are healthy doses of air time given to the supporting characters for viewers to get to know them as well. I especially liked the sub-plot of sibling rivalry between Miura's character and his younger brother. The parents are really inexcusable when they so blatantly favour one child over the other; just because the favoured child seemed to be more promising in achieving what they deemed a great future as a doctor. What nonsense!! Some parents really need to self-reflect and see how their words and non-verbals can tear down a child and/or create a monster with a better-than-thou attitude. Anyhow, back to Miura's character, I thought it was very insightful of the screenwriter(s) to show how Takuto built himself a "frivolous" character with a happy go lucky persona to cope with the sense of loss of parents' love and disappointment.  Wanna see how the revelation of Sawada Takuto's sickness changes the family dynamics.

While waiting for subsequent episodes of Boku no ita jikan (it's currently at ep 5 in Japan), I shall indulge a little more in pictures of Miura ans Tabe san together.

Love their chemistry

Miura and Tabe san in Kimi ni todoke. Loving their chemistry, still.