Now Playing: Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: Adagio Sostenuto
This is a show that I can’t recommend enough.
Episode 7
Incredible. I have never experienced such a visceral reaction from a single drama before (crying doesn’t count). I honestly had to stop watching for a bit after this scene because it was actually a little draining to watch and quite terrifying, especially after hearing Yukie’s account of the time she spent with Fumiya. His November 9th journal entries sunk my heart:
November 9th. I feel really good. The sky is blue. The grass is shining green. Yukie is smiling. The well is filled with water.
November 9th. Humans are sad. They don’t know why they were born, [and] still they were born. They don’t know how to go on living, [and] still they go on living. Just like that, without knowing anything. And without knowing anything, they will die.
November 9th. I’m murderous […]
The use of sound in “Soredemo, Ikite Yuku” is very well done. I should probably say the lack of sound; a lot of dramas will play the theme over and over during some of the most important scenes, but all there is here is silence. Sometimes you have these quiet musical pieces bubbling beneath the surface of some of the more intense scenes, but it isn’t in any way intrusive. I don’t know, I guess it was just something that deserved to be called out, because it was managed really well. It shows that they’ve taken into account even what you might think are the most minuscule parts of a drama.
I’m starting to realize why this drama is as perfect as it is; the screenwriter is the same guy who wrote for “Mother” (Sakamoto Yuji). It might have been the best drama I’ve ever watched, but this one is coming very, very close. It’s like he took all the few imperfections from Mother and corrected them.
Episode 8
This episode was one that weighed heavily on my heart. Futaba and Hiroki’s relationship is one that weighs heavily on my heart, and I can’t think of enough superlatives to describe how much I love watching it develop on screen. Hiroki saying that he wanted to go away (just the two of them) broke my heart in so many ways. :(
The meeting between Mrs. Fukami and Fumiya was difficult to watch. Don’t get me wrong, it was excellent, but I got the feeling that I was peering into some intensely private and painful moment in someone’s life that I have no right to witness. Such an agonizing moment!
Also, everyone in this cast is killing it. I’m absolutely floored by the depth of their performances. Kazama Shunsuke, Eita, and Mitsushima Hikari deserve every single ounce of praise for their work in this drama.