Dondo Bare (2007)

A place to go back home to

"Dondo Hare" is the seventh asadora that I've completed. I first chose it at random since it was one of several asadoras I currently have downloaded on my computer. I was also curious about watching a "modern" asadora (i.e. one taking place around the time it aired). I then noticed that the lead actress appears in "Natsuzora," which is the 100th asadora and references older asadoras. That's when I really committed to watching it (I'll be watching "Dandan," "Chiritotechin," and "Manpuku" next for the same reasons). "Dondo Hare" was a surprisingly easy watch, excepting a couple of the storylines. I was really able to just breeze through it.

The drama follows Natsumi (played by Higa Manami) as she trains to become a proprietress for a traditional Japanese inn, called Kagamiya, which her fiancé Masaki (Uchida Asahi) decides to take over. Masaki's aunt Tamaki (Miyamoto Nobuko) is the current proprietress and wants her son Shinichi (Azuma Mikihisa) to take over instead. However, the head proprietress and Masaki's grandmother Katsuno (Kusabue Mitsuko) thinks Masaki would be better suited for the role. This family conflict pushes the plot forward for the majority of the drama.

The first two weeks of "Dondo Hare" set up the drama well. I really liked the weeks that follow since it had a slice of life vibe as every week had different guest for Natsumi to help. The tone shifts, however, when Natsumi's meddling causes her to quit her training and return back home. Of course, she goes back to the inn but the tone never returns to that slice-of-life vibe. From then, there seems to be a series of neverending problems for Natsumi or the inn. At one point, the poor girl has two "rivals" [one for Masaki's affections, one for the position of young proprietress] to contend with. The drama's best feature is its sense of family and I wish it had focused on that instead of just throwing one problem after another at them.

Natsumi is a good heroine and her characterization helps the drama when the writing gets weaker. Her naivete may be a tad annoying at sometimes, but (like the drama says) her ability to "believe" in people is also her strong point. She seems like the typical hard-working, bright smile heroine at first. Natsumi, however, is not just that and shows a wide-range of genuine emotion. Her and Masaki's relationship could've been stronger. Since they were engaged before the story starts, it feels that the writers phoned them in just a bit and it would've been nice to see more of them falling in love. Instead Natsumi's relationships with Katsuno and Tamaki are much more interesting and nuanced. I also just want to add that I liked all of the supporting characters. Everyone at the inn felt like a family.

Now in conclusion, I recommend "Dondo Hare." It's not the best asadora, of course. But it's a fun, easy watch. I got tired of the constant troubles towards the end, but Natsumi makes these times easier to get through. The final week of episodes could've had more happiness, instead of hastily trying to wrap up the final conflict. The very final episode, however, was worth it. I definitely cried T_T At the end, I felt just as attached to Kagamiya as all of the characters. It felt like (as the drama says) a place to go home to.

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