That's pretty much what this drama is about, preserving through those tough times. I would be lying if I said it was an easy watch, but overall I went through it all. I am not one of those people that watch pointless shows.
How can I sell this drama, well if you like Miyazaki Aoi and her amazing acting, music, and characters preserving through hard times, then you will probably enjoy this drama.
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No Life Is Meaningless
At a glance, "Junjo Kirari" might seem like just another story about following your dreams. The story, however, grows along with our heroine Sakurako (played by the wonderful Aoi Miyazaki) as she discovers the meaning of life itself. For this reason, the drama starts off very light and fluffy which represents childhood and adolescence. As the Second World War looms, it quickly becomes about persevering through hardships. Then the post-war section is where Sakurako finds true happiness surrounded by her love ones.This is only my second asadora. The first being "Hanako to Anne." There are a lot of similarities between the two as both follow a heroine from a poor family living in a small town who goes to Tokyo to follow her dreams. And both also cover the war. I've knocked out a half a point from "Junjo Kirari" 's score because of some story elements I didn't really like. So let's cover those first.
1) I disliked Sakurako's engagement with Saito Sensei. I'm assuming that there's not much of an age difference, but still a grown man being interested in a seventeen-year-old will always give me the ick. I'd also like to point out that they have zero chemistry together. Thankfully, this storyline doesn't go on for long.
2) Fueko's character easily becomes one of the most inconsistent characters of the series, but I have mixed feelings about it. It might be natural for a woman to change after marriage and childbirth. I'm not really sure.
3) The war weeks were already going on too long, but they just had to have Sakurako fall in love with Togo (Fueko's husband). Nothing happens of course, but I still hate it.
Now these complaints are out of the way. "Junjo Kirari" has a lot of good points. The heroine is a lovely and fun person to follow as she follows her music dreams and sacrifices for her family. Sakurako is stubborn and strong-willed, but not in annoying way. There are some great supporting characters like Tatsuhiko (Sakurako's love interest), Togo (a wandering artist), Kane (Tatsuhiko's mother), Momoko (Sakurako's sister), and others. I will say I didn't feel as attached to the side characters in this series, but I think that's just because the focus is given more to Sakurako. The music is also nice in a calming sort of way.
My final comment is that though this drama has a tragic ending, I will not lower the score for that. Sometimes tragedy is called for at the end of a drama. That does not mean our time was wasted, just that sad things happen some time. I really liked this drama and had a nice time watching it.
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I sadly felt that it was all very by the books, the challenges that the female experienced to accomplish her dreams were predictable, the mother-in-law was a typical "monster-in-law" and the male lead didn't do enough to step up and create boundaries, and the portrayal of Japan's position in WWII was the same as always.So I was very disinterested in the story, until the very end. Near the end we see a PTSD plot come to light that I was very excited to dive in, because while I watched dramas that touch on the ramifications of war, it's usually don't in a digestible way, here we see the male lead completely close off in a way that felt natural considering his experience with violence and death. The problem is how fast they wrapped this plot, especially considering how they took more time to develop the past predictable plots. I appreciate the conversation of disability and how it ended with the understanding that parents should make sure their children with disabilities can be independent, and despite being a sucker for happy endings, I liked the female lead's tragic life, because it went against the by the book aspect the asadora had from the beginning to me.
Overall, it was an average watching experience, which is why my rating is a 5.
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A very heavy watch in the end
This drama was well done from a technical point of view, and the casting, settings, music and vibe are good. It began as a very enjoyable watch, but by the end it had become much too heavy for my taste. In the later weeks tragedy piled upon tragedy, and the closing episodes were almost maudlin. The main characters were denied almost any real joy at all. It left me feeling as I did at the end of Korean drama Winter Sonata, and ranks along with that as the most distraught conclusions to any dramas I have ever watched.Was this review helpful to you?
