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2008.08.04
1 Litre of Tears
Working in a Japanese company with a lot of people loving Japanese stuff, I am often enticed by my co-workers, female and male alike, to start watching j-drama (or Japanese drama series). According to them, j-dramas are nothing like the typical Filipino teleseryes. The stories are well-written, have light plots and have definite endings, unlike their Pinoy counterparts that go on and on until the ratings starts to dwindle.
So last weekend, I planned to have a DVD marathon of a j-drama I chanced upon at Roda’s former room. She must have left it there before she left for Japan. The title of the drama is 1 Litre of Tears. And to confirm what my officemates have said, the drama was indeed well-written and has a definite ending. The **** with them, though, for claiming that j-dramas have light plots! And the **** with me for believing despite the show’s title! Or maybe I’m just plain unlucky for picking such title for my first j-drama; for there was nothing light on the plot. Instead, it was a heavy drama.
1 Litre of Tears is a j-drama roughly based on a book, a memoir actually, of the same title. The memoir was taken from the diary entries of Kitou Aya, a patient diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia at the age of 15 and struggled with the illness until she died at the age of 25. Aya started writing in her diary at the age of 14 up until that time when her illness no longer permitted her to write.
Primarily based on the book, the j-drama version establishes Ikeuchi Aya (Erika Sawajiri), a 15-year old freshman, as the young girl plagued slowly by the illness. It chronicles the life of Aya from a young girl full of dreams until all those dreams were threatened to be taken away by her illness. But while threatened, Aya never gave up on her dreams, just as she never gave up on her life no matter how discouraging the situations sometimes became. Her family, composed of Shioka (Hiroko Yakushimaru) and Mizuo (Takanori Jinnai), her parents, and Ako (Riko Narumi) and Hiroki (Yumi Sanada), her siblings, also showed toughness, despite the fact that they were there plainly helpless watching a loved one slowly succumbing to a dreaded illness. The same were true with her friends, Haruto (Ryou Nishikido) and Mari (Saori Koyde), who continuously supported her on her condition while all the others around her were starting to despise her.In a gist, 1 Litre of Tears is a story about the importance of life and of fulfilling ones dreams no matter what the obstacles are. In the memoir (which I hope I will be able to read if there is any English translation of it), it was said that Aya emphasized how life, in itself, is very important. The j-drama, on the other hand, shows Aya fulfilling her dream of being able to help others despite being paralyzed by her illness. It showed that not even death can conquer a person’s desire to be of help and an inspiration to others.
So, was I able to finish watching the drama during that weekend? I sure was able to, but not as fast as I planned it to be. I never would have survived watching it episode per episode for 11 straight hours! No, my tears would have dried up fast and something else would have flown on its behalf! And yes, the j-drama did make me cry… like a child… with all the muscles in my face probably getting worked up! Hehe. And despite that, I am not ashamed. The j-drama really made me cry.
Well, that’s all for my kind-of-a review for the j-drama 1 Litre of Tears. Any suggestions of what j-drama I should watch next? Or maybe you would want to share with me your favorite? Well, the comments section is all for you. I’m hoping, though, that your suggestions for my next j-drama marathon would be, well, lighter than this one. Please!!! Ahehe :p
00:23 Posted in Now Showing | Permalink | Comments (6) | Email this | Tags: j-drama, japanese, tv series
Comments
I didn't finish watching this JDrama but I am still looking forward. I commend you to watch Nobuta wo Produce.
Posted by: AlRitch | 2008.08.05
Thanks Alritch for the suggestion. I'll try to have a copy of that for my next DVD marathon :D You're a friend of Sir Nep, right?
Posted by: amiel | 2008.08.06
hiyee!!! Sir Adonis, jobelle po ito;) I recommend Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. ;) I watched that twice already. I just love it. btw, its a love story :p
Posted by: jobelle | 2008.08.16
Jobelle!!! Long time no hear :p Thanks for the comment and the suggestion. Uhmmm, kanino ako pwede manghiram ng copy? Hehe ;)
Posted by: amiel | 2008.08.17
Sir sakin!!!! ako ang may Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. Pero di un light drama wag kang makikinig kay jobelle hehe un ay love story na malungkot at crush nia lang ung bida hehe.
Sir kung gusto nio ng light lang... My boss my hero. Laugh trip un. pero kung gusto mo ung mejo napapaisip pa hmmmm liar game hehehe. kung gusto mo mejo suspense ng onti siguro ung security police. kung gusto mo ng love story .... proposal daisakusen hehe.
pde na ba kong j-drama guru :))
Posted by: gian | 2008.08.25
naks!!! ang daming alam! cge, pahiram ako ng kahit ano, bahala ka na kung ano ipapahiram mo... anyway, j-drama guru ka naman... i'll trust your suggestions ;p
Posted by: amiel | 2008.08.25
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