:: Sixtwentyseven ::

Summer seasons usually provide the best line ups of dramas and this season is particularly exciting as all the tv stations are going all up with a wide array of dramas to choose from. In fact, I'm already breaking my personal record of catching up with 8 dramas this season. Usually on average, I only catch up with 4 dramas per season. Hence, this shows the potential for this season. I shall kick off my review with this season's tearjerker, Mioka.

Mioka is the name of the main protagonist acted by Yoshitaka Yuriko who finds out that she has an incurable brain disease and has the most one year to live. She ran up to her school's rooftop where she often hanged out, intending to jump off the building to end her life. However, she is stopped by a fellow student Taichi, who himself has a fear of height but still prevented her from jumping. From that incident, love blossomed between them but the cruel fate of time is still ticking away from Mioka. Will the love between the two stand the test of time?

As you progress to watch Mioka, you can't help but compare Mioka with Ichi Ritoru no Namida, one of the most successful tearjerkers starring Sawajiri Erika. Afterall, the disease affecting Mioka seems to be very similar to the one in the latter show. However, that is where the comparisons between the two stop. In Ichi Ritoru no Namida, the storytelling is more about the struggles of the main character, and in the end how she accepted her fate and live her life to the fullest. In Mioka, the emphasis is more on love, between the two young lovers, between the family members and between friends. It tells of the gratefulness that even though I may have this disease, you're still there to love me till the end no matter in what state am I in, and for that I'm truly grateful that I exist in this world and thank you for loving me.

Even though I termed Mioka as a tearjerker, I'd say the tear content is minute as compared to Ichi Rotaru no Namida. In fact, I hardly recall shedding a tear in this drama. That is not to say this show is poor. On the contrary, the show played perfectly to the theme of gratefulness of love, and the soundtrack emphasizes on that. The theme song "Hotaru" by Fukuyama Masaharu is an excellent choice for this drama and bascially you can feel the lyrics of the song in the drama. Do give it a go for this drama, and the average 10% of the Japan population will agree with you that they enjoyed watching it as much as you do.