Karinanose

This is just all over the place

Quick preface by saying I have not read the manga.

I tried to give this movie the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes we can take movies at face value and just turn our brains off and enjoy, but this movie is messy in its execution.

The acting is all over the place. Momo the main character is carelessly thrown about with no real reason for character growth. Her goals and grievances are very haphazard. It doesn't help that her acting is not very believable. It's hard to root for her when you don't feel any sort of attachment. The crying scenes especially felt very off. Like the crying was good the emotion seemed misplaced if that makes sense?

The movie also seems to focus way more on Kairi then her. Kairi's story is decently ok but he is extremely irritating. His family acts so hilariously like typical drama family that none of it feels like it matters. The father especially feels like a completely different story is going on. Toji is extremely just there to be cool. And Sae is just a maniac with no good reason to actually hate Momo. I like both Mackenyu and Mei so it was disappointing seeing their characters so one sided. I also think the cast had really bad chemistry together. Every interaction felt extremely forced or awkward.

Each plot point just goes so quickly and there seems little build up to these characters. It's like they were just rushing to get to each plot point. Every new plot introduced just made it feel like this would of been better as series. There seems to to be a lot missing perhaps found in the manga. This hurt the pacing quite a bit as they tried to cram so much into the movie.

Not recommended at all.

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Grant me this wish God of cinema

As a lover of period pieces, I was looking forward to the setting of this movie. While the movie itself mostly takes place in the present, I found it hard to really get to grasp onto the characters struggles.

The main issue I had with was the lack of build between Yoshiko and Gou. I found that they lacked chemistry and that the story didn't actually touch too much on why they liked each other. Being the main core of this story, I couldn't help but feel disconnected from the story as their relationship was poorly put together. Gou and Terashin had much more impactful scenes together that made their relationship feel well thought out. Gou was probably the best realized as a character and his younger self had a good amount of the same characterizations. Yoshiko felt like two different characters, which makes sense in context of the story but was not really expanded. The film also does a little tongue and cheek nod about not explaining things and letting audiences figure things out themselves and I felt like this movie was that the whole way.

There was something also off about Yuta and Ayumi as well. Yuta, I'm not sure if his character was meant to be that awkward but he was really stiff in all of his line deliveries. His character kinda came off as someone with issues due to his disfunctional family. But he's just kinda there. Eventually his story plays an important part in getting things together but they don't really do much with that plot point. Ayumi also I felt didn't quite live up the daughter. I'm not sure if this was due to lack of chemistry but the cast to me didn't click as a family unit. She just didn't seem as upset in certain scenes or was really kind of phoning it in. Her most powerful scene was sitting the speech but even then it felt underwhelming. I understand that was one of the plot points but it seemed very haphazard.

The plot Itself was easy enough to follow, but there was a few odd swerves it took. I think the main issues were just the pacing and story didn't feel like it earned the emotional moments. The only scene that seemed to really get to me is when Yoshiko and Gou are reminiscing over a photo of her and when Sonoka does her final scene. The acceptance speech as well. That's when I think we truly get the movies' purpose of repentance. But I think it would of landed better off they spent a little more time on the Family dynamic.

Interestingly enough Covid came into play into this story. This movie came into theatres in 2021. So it seems it may have been unfortunately a casualty during the filming shutdowns and barriers due to social distancing. I wonder if this affected the movie's script?

I'm not sure I would recommend this movie overall.

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I just want to be a normal office lady

This is one of the silliest movies I've watched. The fact that this isn't a manga adaptation is hilarious. The movie itself goes through a typical shonen manga arc. It even explicitly tells you they based the whole story on manga arcs revolving Yanki men. I loved watching the cast, you could tell they were having fun indulging in this silly world. The movie had good comedic timing and a lot of the actors played their parts humorously. I particularly liked Shuri, Etsuko and Shiori.

The fights in the movie are silly and surprisingly mobile with their long skirts. They aren't amazing action sequences but they at least are fun to watch. It's really hard to take Mei Nagano seriously as a combatant due to her demeanor, but that's what's so fun about this production. I loved seeing this angry side of her. Alice was a hearthrob! I loved her hero like energy and style. The bosses of Tomsun were absolutely hilarious. I loved how the boss was so typical of a silly anime villain. I loved the aura of Reina and they really played that up with her speaking mannerisms.

The production had some fun cinematography, with it's comedic cuts and vibrant bright lighting. The music coming in every time a big fight happened was fun. The plot is super nonsensical and should just be ignored lol.You came here to watch ladies beat the tar out of each other and that's what you get. I thought it was so silly how a lot of fights ended with the same scars on certain characters.

Just turn your brain off and enjoy the idea.

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A drama where no one wins

Motherhood is hard to watch. Many of the characters go through such demanding circumstances that you feel generally bad all around. Though through innovative storytelling we unravel the many failings of displaced trauma. The story is told into two view points. We initially see the mother's side of what she thought happened. Then we are treated with what the daughter experienced. Now the question is, which is the correct reliable narrator?

Storywise, the grandma's offer two distinct types: the over bearing hater and the gentle enabler. What I liked about this story is that they show the issues with both these sides of motherhood. Despite Rumiko growing up with a caring mother, she developed a complex to only please her mother and others above herself. Meanwhile Rumiko's mother in law is a straight up maniac. Just constantly degrading Rumiko and coddling Ritsuko while ignoring her son's plight in his younger years. The movie scathingly shows up how neither is sustainable on a child in the long run. Rumiko's mother in law is played so convincingly harpy like it's hard not to hate her. That was impressive act. While Rumiko's mother was shown with such a gentle nurturing side. She was like a ideal mother in terms of composure and warmth, which made her final scene heart wrenching.

Erika Toda herself reminds me of Shelly Duvall. She has a gentleness that comes off as a ticking time bomb. Where her emotions are just seething slightly below the surface. There were many times I was expecting her to just explode at her daughter. During her scenes, Rumiko I felt had a really interesting way of speaking about how she was trying to keep things together. It was in her line delivery that made me felt like she had so much to say but was keeping it all in.

Sayaka is played lovingly by two different people. The younger version played a very convincing child who was scared of being reprimanded by her mother. Her eyes told so much. It was great acting on her part. Mei Nagano who plays the older Sayaka has always a slight sparkle in her eye and has played this sort of part before. It was actually somewhat funny seeing a reverse of "And so the Baton is passed," her previous movie that had a very similar idea but in a completely opposite direction. Mei plays Sayaka brilliantly. You can tell all she's thinking with every little side glance. I particularly praised the scene where Sayaka comes home to her screaming grandmother who wants hot water. Both actors in this scene rely so much on body language and emotional rage. I loved it.

The father was basically non existent in this movie.

Much like how it is in asian families, father's tend to do absolutely nothing to help their children and rely on the mothers to raise their children. He barely even had many lines and for the most part he was basically shown as uncaring and emotionless due to his own background. I was hoping they were going to allow him to speak up. The focus on his painting's emotional state in the beginning was the perfect way to allow him to have some sort of emotional control. Alas that moment never really came. even when he had his scene allowing for him to explain his actions. He rarely got a word in.

As for the guts of the movie itself, the movie is shot beautifully with vivid colors and great color coordination. Many of the outfits and sets were very well done with the older 1990s setting it seemed like the world was well executed. The music, I don't really remember much of so I can't really say anything there. For the overall plot it was very meaty and I liked being able to re-frame each scene with the differing perspectives. The ending is a little iffy and kinda abrupt. I wish they spent a little more careful time for better impact. But this is how it is in relationships in reality, they are messy and they don't clean up easily.

This movie is probably best to watch when you're in for some serious drama. Although the Mother in Law is almost comical with how mean she is lol.

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Smile, and it will attract all kinds of luck your way

Our childhoods are driven by what we learn from our parents. Some of us don't have the luxury of knowing those parents all of our lives but the ones that take their place have impact on us no matter how small a role they play in our lives. "And so the Baton was passed " is a beautiful story about how the young Mitan manages to live a good life despite her various changes in parenthood. Do we then hate the parent for their abandonment? Is there more reasoning to forgive them? Can we call our foster parents our real parents? That is what this story tries to answer.

The story is a little complex at first as there's many moving parts to Mitan's life. Rika enters Mitan's life as someone who had no aim in life. She drifted from place to place but she found a home. That stability quietly ceases as her secret concerns start to way heavily on her. Then from this place onward, Mitan is moved around to different homes as Rika tries to better seemingly her own life.

There seems little disregard to what Mitan is feeling in this regard.Rika is played with such vigor it's hard to hate her. Throughout the movie it feels like the movie frames her in a way that we are not supposed to root for her. But it's hard not to because of the magnetic performance of Ishihara Satomi. When we are eventually clued into the full story, there's a heart crushing sense of understanding with who Rika is as a character. She's made bad decisions yes, but she was only after the best interest of Mitan. Her actions are then redefined in a more positive light adding much nuance to her character arc. These decisions still may not sit well with the audience, but that is the point.

The young actress playing Mitan does a bang up job pulling at your heart strings. We can all relate to her sadness, as I am sure we have had parents make decisions that caused us sadness in our past in some way. The young Mitan has a beautiful scene where she learns of the soothing power of the piano. When they overlayed these stories of the young Yuko in the beginning, at first it was a little confusing. I thought there was 2 stories playing before I realized what was going on. This was probably due to the odd editing in the beginning. But it made more sense after they started revealing more of the backstory.

A teenage Mitan now going by Yuko is played with heart and quiet sadness. Mei Nagano has such a soothing voice, it's really well suited for characters that are a little downtrodden. I thought her portrayal was so strong and she had so many emotional scenes of differing variety in this movie. I admired how she was able to emote sadness, happiness,heartbreak, triumph in all her different tears.I think she is well on her way to become a great actor in her mature years. She's already so strong based on things I've seen in her before. She hasn't hit her ceiling yet and you can tell she's got a lot more in her future career.

Morimiya san had a strong fatherly presence that was well balanced and felt very natural. I enjoyed their many interactions during their eating sessions. A particular scene with them cooking together is where I appreciated their chemistry. The dialogue used between them also felt very natural and had that timing you get when you've known that person for a long time.

The love interest Hayase kun doesn't play a huge role in this movie. But he's crucial to include as he's the reason a few things happen in this movie. His relationship with his parents also show the stark contrast with her own parents. To be honest, he felt somewhat simple as a character. But as the focus was on Yuko this was fine. He didn't distract from the mainline plot. I'm sure if this was a series there be a whole backstory about his single mother and lack of direction.

Once the movie's plot starts rolling in full gear, the movie is hard to put down. We are strung along with hope and faith that things turn out ok for these families. The plot plays a lot with expectations only to throw those out the window. I think that's one good thing about this film. I felt they were pushing the story in a certain direction only for them to remain steadfast and keep you engaged with the reality of things. Japan's dramatic cinema tends to have these melodramatic cliffs sometimes, but I find a lot of the ones I have consumed will include realistic moments of levity. Each time we experience a little joy, there comes a sharp hit of sadness. It makes for high notes and the low notes.

Speaking of which,I would also like to mention the moving piano pieces in the movie. The graduation sequence will probably hit everyone hard. The movie's title I felt should of been something more to do with the musical motif the film had. However in context of the actual plot the baton is more apt. I do think they sort of shoehorned in the reasoning for the name right at the beginning. But it made sense in terms of Morimiya's character trying to make up for his own failures with Yuko's upbringing.

The passing of the baton is a responsibility that is entrusted to the your next teammate. It is within this trust that we work together and pass the finish line. It is important that we strive to carry this baton with our utmost care, just like the passing of you from your parents to the world ahead.

It is in that regard that I hope this movie doesn't pass you by.

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A perfect end to end off the series

After watching the series, moving directly into a movie was the right call. In the beginning the movie felt like just a tv movie. But as soon as they started adding in elements of the investigation and more background to the main reformed criminal, it felt more like a theatrical movie. That was the distinguishing reason why you could call this a movie rather then an extended special. This distinction is important now due to so many shows going to movie endings. There was just enough extra in this that the movie felt warranted as this was a extra complicated case meant to be taken in one go.

The story was a perfect way to end this series. After the first 3 people she helped all dealt with different aspects of criminal history, this movie dealt with the most appropriate unexplored side yet. This movie dealt with the failings of the institutions meant to help those in need: The police, the orphanages, the care workers and the lawyers. Which in contrast to the series was a very smart way to go. Zenkamono came full circle showing all the things capable of creating and sustaining the cycle of victim hood. Covering the failures of the people meant to help those in need was a strong subject that needed to be addressed in a story like this and in glad that they didn't just end up going with another story created by personal issues. As mentioned earlier this is the reason why they needed the extra time to properly represent the many ways in which things can fail.

Kasumi plays her part very strongly in this movie. After a point you can feel that she strongly recognizes what resonates with Kayo and her motivations. The movie finally fully explains what happened to drive Kayo to be a probation officer and how it affected her growing up. In the aftermath we also learn that she became estranged from her former love interest Shinji who has become a police officer due to the same incident she experienced. The contrast between these two greatly affected how they see criminals and rehabilitation. This differing of opinion is very much a reality in this world unfortunately. How others perceive criminals after they have returned to society are at odds with common morality. It's a devastating topic to be explored.

The movie does not shy away from showing scenes of child abuse and crooked cops. These were important in the discussion of how the world can be so cruel and unjust. This allowed for the story to show both sides of the morality. Nothing is ever black and white. The same could be said about our major criminal pair. They had reasonable vengeance expectations but as the movie reiterates, all this does is create more victims in a never ending cycle. The acting for the main brothers was sorta uneven however. They felt the least compelling out of all the characters. The youngest brother was a little too overly dramatic, creating a cartoonish like quality to his character. The main brother also was fairly mute with little body language I found, so it was hard to gauge his acting capability. He did deliver on his final scene however. This didn't overall affect how they were portrayed as abused humans. I just thought they needed a little balance.

Midori makes a return and finishes up her arc with Kayo in a beautiful way. I thought it was sweet that Midori is there to witness Kayo repent for her own crime of stealing a library book in the end. Showing Midori that Kayo isn't some perfect person either. That's just something that stuck with me.

Great overall movie where you don't need to watch the series necessarily but it definitely be more impactful understanding Midori's scenes.

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Are we bound by our past mistakes?

Zenkamono deals with heavy subject matter. The main stories are split into 3 separate stories with some overlap. Each one takes a look at how difficult it is for criminals to reintegrate into society after crime.

Arimura is the most aggressive that I've ever seen her. She's also at the weakest I've ever seen her in a role. I respected that aspect about her character. It's really explosive sometimes. Sometimes almost comical. She goes through the most extremes I've seen her in terms of character personality.

The first story I felt was the most powerful. Midori and Kato have an amazing chemistry together. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions and banter. Midori's character arc had an amazing setup and back story with a great payoff. I thought the inclusion of the her childhood trauma and friendships were a good addition to the layers of her character. I felt bad for her circumstances and thought her case was nuanced. I think the strength of this show is how it factors in reasonings for their crimes and how sometimes doing something for the right reasons in their minds lead to the crimes. Midori also added a good balance to restore faith in Kayo every time they interacted.

The second story I thought at first was somewhat odd. Kazu was introduced as a quiet fellow but then when they through in the other layer of his lust, I was surprised. This segment's actor had such amazing body language. He felt awkward and scary. I've met people in real life who have had his posture and mannerisms and it was exquisitely done. The framing of this one was very unexpected and was a good morality question. When we don't agree with someone's morality are we still able to help them? I thought this was an important question to ask in this series. When the end of his story began with the confrontation of his lust and his effect on the other victim, I thought this was some powerful drama. It forces you to understand perspectives on both sides of this story.

The third story was great too! The reframing of the criminal into a victim themselves is something that is a very real occurrence. Allowing Tamiko's character to make poor judgements due to her disposition was a smart way to show the human side of criminals. These people aren't perfect and they themselves know what they did was wrong. But they cannot be shunned from help because of this. Everyone deserves a second chance. Tamiko's fraility and dependence was well communicated in Kotone's acting and body language. They also did excellent work on her makeup to make her look sickly.

The drama on this show is done very well with respect to the subject matter. I would if looked to have seen more in the logistical side of how probation is done. But I think for the human side it was focused well. The cinematography was crisp and movie quality. I can see why they opted for a movie sequel with the series. Enjoyable watch with a little room for more.

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A quiet little side quest

For the most part this series is a slice of life show. It doesn't really have any stakes but it does ask some questions about life. It's not deep questions but they are things that sometimes we think about on our days off.

For someone to enjoy this, there's a small prerequisite that you already enjoy Kasumi Arimura. This is a fictionalized version of herself, but I could see some of her genuine personality show in many of the scenes. Each episode talks about something interesting. From hidden family drama to health check ups and even opening a jar of kaya jam! i found that each episode was uneven in quality but that was mainly due to the different directors involved. Kore-eda himself directed a episode, which had all of his usual trappings. I found the last two episodes the most enjoyable personally. The story of the young child whose seemingly living with a single parent and the baseball episode was the most eloquently presented in speech and direction I thought. The 2nd episode was a great take down of societal issues in Japan. The third was somewhat odd but it felt very cozy due to the setting. Episode 4 touched on some interesting aspects of celebrity status but it also veered into such a weird space. The Jam episode was also lightly comical but ended with a surprising amount of alienation and solitude. The couple episode was also a little uneven with the themes of inadequacy and relationships. I thought this one was paced very strangely. Therefore I really only enjoyed maybe half the episodes out of the 8.

As for the filming styles, since there was a mix of directors each one felt uniquely distinct in the type of blocking, framing and lighting. The baseball episode felt the most cinematic out of all of the episodes to me. The little girl episode felt the most charming and metaphorical. Episode 1 with Kore-eda had his usual flourishes with long lingering scenes of family activities and careful hand gestures. The health episode I shall warn some that the sounds it creates may make some people uncomfortable. As the sound of ultrasonic gel can be heard smearing around kasumi's stomach for long points in the episode lol. The music was cute. I liked the main title song and ending song. I also enjoyed the little bts polaroids at the end.

It's a nice little distraction of a show honestly.

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Time to consider

Sometimes as we go through life we wonder, is this the right path? What if we had time to consider our choices? Would we ultimately be happy?I think this is what the film is trying to explore.

In this quiet little area we have many stories playing out with people stuck in decisions that they aren't too happy about, while a panicked staff try to quell their needs. While the chaos is going on, we get little glimpses of intrusive thoughts in each character. The most astounding one is; if you had the chance to experience death, would you take it? This movie brings up a couple of morale qualms in the midst of the comedy. Questions of morality and what we say can have negative effects that carry on and stick with someone. I thought that was the most interesting thing about this film. Being in a time loop is somewhat like how peopled dwell on the same moment over and over in their mind and that can lead to violence sometimes. But overtime we tend to let those moments pass. They will always be a memory there to us, but time heals.

Another impressive thing was the camera and staging! When they moved through so many narrow hallways and created immaculate mirroring it was very impressive. Many times I wondered how they were gonna deviate or try to one up the last sequence. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Despite these things, there are a couple of negatives. Some characters don't really get any sort of closure. Like the owner and main host. A bit into the movie, I randomly started to hate Mikoto because of her shelfisness.But then I realized that was because of her inability to want to change and move forward. The climax of the movie is really silly. But I suppose that's just Japan for you. The ending is a little unsatisfying but I think that's just a fact of life lol

Either then that though movie is a fun time waster.

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Do we have to share blood to be family?

A strong performance from Kore-eda on the meaning of family. In this story of personal growth and lament we see a overly strict father find his family's worth. The idea of a child being switched at birth is fairly common in Asia drama, so I wasn't too keen on seeing it again. But thankfully this plot wasn't too hard on the emotions.

I can honestly say I didn't like father character at all. So bravo to the actor lol. Even in the end, I didn't like how it turned out for him. Ryota goes for very minuit changes so it's hard to really feel strongly in my opinion about his change of heart. The actor rightfully showed diverse ways to ignore his other actors on screen, making him to be really dislikable lol. He barely looked at people as he talked and I was livid.

But that's what so great about his portrayal. The other actors all felt more akin to "proper" parents. His wife Midori showed a very docile wife burdened by years of servitude. I appreciated that they called out traditional motherhood issues in Japanese society very subtly. She had a warmth to her child rearing but a tinge of fear because of Ryota's demands. The scene where she confronts him over his love of Keita was the best scene in the movie.


The other two parents felt more loving and caring about their children despite the way Ryota felt. Even though Yudai was seen as a money grubbing sleezebag, he felt like he cared much more about his children then Ryota ever did. The difference in interactions with both families really spoke to that. In a way I felt a little sad about Keita's upbringing because it seemed so strict and structured. But hopefully we see a glimpse of the family changing to better support allowing to live out his childhood. Yukari I thought felt very matronly and had a real repertoire with the children actors. She felt really sincere and positive.

Many of the scenes I feel drew attention to lifelines and growth. From the dad working as an architect to the artificial forest that housed many wildlife. The powerlines seen connecting area to area in one car scene I felt were like the red string of fate that connects people. All the little things in this movie were guiding principles of family.

It reminded us that things connect and grow no matter where they begin. The idea of family not connected by blood but by heart is a reoccurring theme in his movies. Not to mention also generational trauma passed down from father to son. The pushing of hobbies onto Keita at the behest of his father and the attempt to live up to Ryota's standards all felt very familiar to any child.

The traditional family structure VS the non traditional being explored in small details was great in this movie. I thought it was no better showcased then to both families reaction to Keita's injury. Or how both fathers reacted to fixing toys. Yudai allowing his children to watch and see the process of fixing rather then Ryota trying to hide his lack of skill and telling Ryuusei to buy another with his mother. There was a real subtleness in how this depicted their care style.

I think this movie will probably be more geared towards people who have children already. It will probably resonate more with them. However people who have family issues with their parents may find a little something to think about it.

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A wish is all you need

Kore-eda has this magical sense of life's inertia. This movie really isn't about anything and yet it's message is beautiful.

A story about life as a young children who carry small burdens. The movie touches on family dynamics and its effects on children. We have the brothers with differing views on how they saw their parents relationship. We have a young Megumi who is trying to pursue a dream in which her mother doesn't approve. We have gambling problems, body problems and companionship. In a way the story was about the affect parental negligence has on children. Though nothing is explicitly expressed, Kore-eda's films usually deal with family structure and nuiance. Each child represented very real problems children can face and their resilience against adversity.

I thought the way the movie ended with Koichi not wanting to make a wish spoke volumes about him understanding the feelings of everyone around him. I felt for the most part of the movie he was a little selfish. But I think through all the help he received, he realized that everyone deserves their wishes to come true. His wish would of interfered with that. The montage of everything they went through to get to this point was beautifully done.

The kurukan cake I felt was also a metaphor for adulthood. Something so plain and unassuming like life but having a slight sweetness, spoke about life's little wins. A life that goes by day to day but there's hints of good. During the course of the movie we experienced these little wins and courage thriving on in your young protagonists.

As usual many of the shots in the movie linger on the inate beauty of the everyday. We have all these micro interactions such as; a hand being placed on a shoulder, the mixing of ingredients, the dusting of a table. Each one is nothing in the grand scheme of things but the focus on them is what makes his movies special. It's the little things that matter to Kore-eda. These small gestures all make up our daily lives, subconsciously affecting how we see the world.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite of his works, but it was an enjoyable 2 hours and a nice way to turn off your mind for a while.

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Family is whoever is there now

I wish I could explain thoroughly how this movie makes you feel.

The movie's highlight and message is a wonderful message. Family is something that we acquire and doesn't necessarily need to be blood related. I think this resonated beautifully in the movie. We have many different characters come together all due to the strong performance of Miyazawa Rie. Her character is the glue that holds these characters together. I thought her beautiful but quiet strength was a real highlight of the movie. It never strayed into melodramatic territory. Although that one gut punch scene with her and Azumi, that was hard. The movie has a bunch of different types of emotional scenes that will affect people differently but I found it all to be similar to a coming of age story.

Futaba's character was so well balanced. I think once you learn about her own backstory it makes her struggle through the movie so much more powerful. There was a grace about how she carried herself but a slight playfulness. Not to mention her slightly brash nature. I thought she was a well rounded character. I do wonder how they would balance with her young costar. The young Azumi was expertly played by Sugisaki Hana. Her scenes showed a lot of vulnerability and strength. I think most of us can relate to her growing pains. We experience through Azumi: Bullying, anxiety and emotional distress caused by school and then the weight of her loved ones diagnosis. Her eternal struggle to emote her feelings and the opposing force of her mother pushing her to act, It was all very moving. I enjoyed her progression in the movie into her own person.

Ayuko, the little sister played a nice roll in the dynamic of the family as an outsider. I felt her story needed some more plot as she was somewhat just there. I understood her character was meant to be like that but I needed more for her to truly resonate in the story. What we did get of her in the story was heartbreaking. Joe Odagiri's character, how should I put this? He isn't really around, but simultaneously has an effect on all the characters without even doing anything do to his character's progression. I would of liked more exposition on his character's reasons for coming back or why he did what he did. I think that's why we had carefree but distraught Takumi introduced. In a way it mirrored Kazuhiro and that was important for Futaba's acceptance of Kazuhiro in the end.

The cinematography was quiet and well framed. Body language played a part in any scene were the four of them were together. There was a particular scene with Ayuko after her big emotional scene that I thought was a simple yet affective shot involving a simple light pillar and her eyes. It was a clever way of showing a silver lining to hardships. The scene with Azumi and Kimie was also a scene stealer. It was probably my favorite scene in the entire movie. The soundtrack was nothing notable however the ambient piano allowed the movie to have a light an airy atmosphere.

Despite the movie's feeling of loss, I think the movie somehow maintained a sense of hope. I felt like it never allowed things to linger and every setback came with a win. I think it's message is important to people to consider. We don't always know how long we have on this earth, so we want to be able to know those we leave behind will be ok. Our family we create, they help you stay grounded and support you as your base.

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A Unwavering love for the world

A story that ultimately is more sugar then cake.

For a story such as this, you would expect it to go heavy into the drama territory. However it turns into a light hearted affair.
The criminal past story doesn't actually play too much into the story as heavily as one would think. I thought they would have major drama because of this. But instead it turns into a more positive spin. I think for that it deserves praise. Japan is hghly stigmatized when it comes to topics like this. It was refreshing seeing them tackle it with positivity. Mind you the crime wasn't actually that bad. In fact it was somewhat noble.

I enjoyed my time with these characters. It was a little hard to root for the relationship between Momoko and Manato, only because I felt the relationship was sorta abrupt to start but I can see the sentiment of having it be linked to their shared experiences and connection to those that are hurting. In a way Manato sees Momoko's inner turmoil despite her cheerful exterior. I believe that was their true link. She had so much she took on but now she has someone that can help her. Their shared experiences with having others affected by their actions is their bond. It's a unique link. One thing though is Manato's actor was my least liked character by the end of this only because the acting was kinda one sided. Comparatively the other characters felt like they had more range and sides to them. Momoko's actor blew it out of the water as usual with all the emotions. I liked seeing this side of her range. She was spunky and ferocious with a side of love.

The side characters are all so sweet and caring. It was one of the most supportive casts I've seen in terms of actual caring. Hinako is hilarious with her soliloquies. Satoshi was energetic and kind. Her brothers were very caring and had such a positivity brought on by their sister's raising of them. Her coworkers were all supportive and not catty. And the grand hero of them all, The security guard is the best actor haha.

For the cinematography, It was nothing special. Sometimes the scenes seemed to be too blown out with the white balance especially in outdoor scenes. I'm not sure if that was just the quality of the episodes I was watching. I led a few of small framing moments they had with the decoration scenes in the store. The score is cute. The main theme songs are much more enjoyable then the chaotic everyday themes. The main theme song "Brand New Planet," I'm not so sure I enjoyed it's inclusion. It was definitely put in as a positive theme despite some of the lyrics. Japan is known for this type of happy sounding melancholy. I just found it jarring ending dramatic scenes with the way the song presents itself.

I wondered where exactly they were heading with the plot. I have to say the "climax" scene I think was a little silly. But I think the director meant well. The series has a lot of abrupt starts and ends. But it tied together all at the end, with special little nods. I think it's mostly due to the drama's length of only 9 episodes. The scenes when they discuss emotional impacts and societal pressures really were well done. They were very down to earth and well phrased. I enjoyed when Momoko and Takako interacted . They had a very poignant scene about death that was heartfelt. The drama is silly at times. a little too much for my taste but it was good palate cleanser after heavier emotional scenes. It's a very odd tempo in this show. It goes from super happy to "damn.." so quickly.

I would probably recommend this show if you want a shot of reprieve from heavy dramas. If you just want to smile about the world this is the one to go to.

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When someone dies, are they really gone?

Well well that was a visually pleasing ride.

Story: I think the coffee being a large part of the story makes sense thematically. Coffee is an acquired taste that to some can taste very bitter. But some people have the ability to be able to discern those bitter flavors. It's a learned skill to understand the positives of the acidic and bitter flavours. Finding the positives in an otherwise negative like Yusuke said. Not to mention the circular motion you use to pour drip coffee for a perfect cup. This is another nod to Yusuke speaking about how the world is a circle and you eventually everyone ends up together again. The apples representing longevity speak to the movies message about the courage to live on no matter how many seasons pass.

Another thing that was enjoyable for me was the reinterpreted dialogue . I like that they came back to lines to really tug on your heart. As the story progresses it gets muddy in a good way. You can't really root for anyone here. It's actually so hard. You just want them all to be happy somehow. There just needed some creamer and sugar to really make this special.

Characters:
Saeko is immediately likeable with her struggles at the forefront. Kasumi always chooses to play characters who are gentle but will lock in and berate you when need be. It's a trait I look forward to in all her roles. Not to mention how her decisions are made with just her eyes. With expression and long dialogue cues, Kasumi is the star of the show.

Yusuke's consistent laughter felt a little fake, so it was hard to like him at first. I think they needed to build this character a little more to make the overall feeling more intense. I think this is one of the reasons why I didn't feel too strongly about the plot.

Naruse's character starts out kind of bland and boring but he opens up as the series goes on as it's one of the plot points lol. Although he says he changed personalities but it doesn't feel like it at all lol. He's at his best when he's conflicted. I think his character got better midway due to the various imposing forces on his mind but it didn't sit well with how sometime his dialogue was just “ah“

Miki, Nauruse's wife, seems to just all of a sudden be worried about change without much happening. It seemed kind of sudden. I felt that needed more time before her reacting. I can understand if you are seeing little changes and start to worry about your SO. But the initial worried reaction she had didn't feel deserved yet. You feel so bad for her though throughout the story. And also half the time you wonder where she is lol

Cinematography:
The show has movie quality shots.
I like how they chose Hawaii to film the initial episode. Not only is it beautiful, but to me it's meant to be a little insight into the feelings of the characters. A vast endless gorgeous world yet it feels a little lonely and isolated. There was a mirror like shot on the beach in the first episode that showed this sentiment. Throughout the episodes they go back to this feeling a lot with these scenic shots. It really establishes the mood of the series. There's also great balance of night and day sequences. I cannot stress how good the lighting is in so many shots.

Set design and music:
I enjoyed all the sets. I just wanted to mention how lived in they looked. The cafes, coffee plant and both homes were very picturesque with so much set dressing. Each set didn't feel barren, they were brimming with life. I loved the piano motifs in the movie. I'm sure many of you will now feel nostalgic hearing Jackson's fives "I want you back. " I enjoyed the theme song too.

Overall a decent series but I think some of the characters needed more scenes or dialogue to flesh out their motivations and impact.

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A subject that should be understood by all

When we initially get a glimpse into the lives of Haruko and Mikio, all seems well.. but then the cracks start to form. This is a perfect visual of what depression is. What we do and see on the surface is not always what we are screaming on the inside.

The very realistic depiction of depression in this movie is fantastic. Mikio suffers daily and consistently but without knowing why. He has a good wife and mundane job that slowly is eating away at him. The catalyst can be said to be the stress of work, but the movie immediately dispels this. Which is what is special about this movie. It seems the writers really understood the many things that break a person. In Japan's society depression and suicide are really pressing matters. The society tends to focus on the group good rather then the individual's needs in Japan and things like depression are known well but stigmatized.
We see this in how others tend to brush off his depression in the movie and think he's just being lazy.

Haruko's constant struggle to make her husband feel better is heartfelt and realistic. When we go through all the stages of support and love, we get a clear image of how much she cares for her husband. Mikio's actor Sasaki plays his role with such conviction. There was a real sense of emptiness in a few scenes and a real sincerity to how he approached the feeling of depression. Both of them worked so well together in all their scenes. I enjoyed the small moments of their relationship like the cooking, sleeping or caring for animals. It added a lot to their relationship. The church scene was beautiful. The side characters also allowed for growth with the interactions they had so it was overall a good cast.

The music played it's part well. The piano and violins added much feeling to the scenes. There was a sense of loss and defeat in all the little music segments.

The movie ended off on a really fantastic note. It's not always perfect but neither is life.

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