This review may contain spoilers
Life is the most precious thing
"Churasan" is the 34th asadora that I've finished. I confess that I was bit disappointed in this one, though I would still say that it's good. I just expected more from an asadora that was at one time extremely popular in Japan and also online among asadora fans. Anyway, expect big spoilers in this review!
Kuninaka Ryoko plays the heroine, Kohagura Eri. Even though I find Eri frustrating at times, Ryoko really plays her perfectly. There's not a second I wasn't convinced by her performance. My main issue with Eri is her excessive airheadness (or what that call her a "fool"). By the end, we're supposed to believe that she's competent nurse but she somehow thinks a pain in her stomach was a "premonition" of her father's accident? I would've fell to the floor if I hadn't been sitting. On top of that, Eri never really struggles. Don't get me wrong, she has problems but she doesn't struggle. She's just always smiling like an idiot and there's like a million people there for her fall back on when something does happen. It's not that I want the asadora heroines to struggle, but without that it feels like this series has no stakes.
Now on to the romance, which I actually really liked in the latter half but the first half... Eri and Fumiya (Kohashi Kenji) first meet when his family comes to the island she lives on in Okinawa. Before his brother Kazuya (Endo Yuya) dies, he has the pair promise to marry in the future. Eri holds on this promise tightly, eventually deciding to go Tokyo. [Btw, it takes entirely too long for her to decide to become a nurse.] They meet again, but Fumiya appears to have forgotten the promise. Eri reveals her feelings after they work at the same hospital for some time. Out of the blue, Fumiya decides later that they should get married after all. In my opinion, this is too much. This asadora is always talking about "destiny" or whatever, so why make us wait so long for something inevitable? It takes too long while also being rushed at the same time. And don't get me started with Fumiya's ambiguous relationship with fellow doctor Nishinomiya Haruka (Konishi Manami). Were they dating? Were they not? If they were, why wasn't she more angry about this situation?
"Churasan" does have some really solid supporting characters, which is a hallmark of asadoras and makes or breaks it in my opinion. Eri's grandmother Hana (Taira Tomi; also narrator) and mother Katsuko (Tanaka Yoshiko; who was great in "Oshin" too) are both outstanding. Her father Keibun (Sakai Masaaki) and older brother Keisho (Gori) have some great comedic moments, but are also really annoying. Keisho, at least, redeems himself. Her younger brother Keitatsu (Yamada Takayuki) feels like a missed opportunity to me. His journey to becoming a rock star could've been a really good story, but ended up being so surface level. His relationship with Eri's friend Shoko (Yamaguchi Ayumi) is cute though. Then there's all the people who live at the boardinghouse in Tokyo, which are like family to Eri. Of these, I think Mariya (Kanno Miho) is the obvious stand-out. Her personality, comedy, and backstory are perfectly crafted. Yoko-san (Yo Kimiko) is also a solid comedic force.
Speaking of the boardinghouse... What I really disliked is that Eri didn't leave the boardinghouse after marriage or having her son Kazuya (Suzuki Shogo). I think it's really unrealistic that she wouldn't leave in either case, considering that she and Fumiya were just renting a small room... Over time, I also started to get tired of the residents there, especially Shibata (Murata Takehiro). I thought it was weird that this grown man had a crush on eighteen/nineteen-year-old Eri anyway, but then he starts to live vicariously through her son. And THEN the asadora randomly pairs Shibata with Yoko-san, which might've not been so random but I didn't care for it anyway. Finally, in the final episode, Eri and Fumiya move to Okinawa. This is another gripe of mine as I've seen people say it's the best Okinawa asadora [There's only two others, Jun to Ai and Chimudondon, which isn't really much of a contest...], but I'd say only 40% of it takes place in Okinawa. And those are mostly scenes of Eri's parents and grandmother sitting around at home, which was probably filmed on a sound stage. This is, in actuality, a Tokyo asadora, and I just wanted more Okinawa!
These are my complicated thoughts on "Churasan." I think it's a good asadora, but focuses on comedy too much. It particularly shines in the emotional, heavy moments. Fumiya's mother Shizuko (Maya Kyoko) has some really poignant scenes from start to finish. I also love the storyline with Eri's and Fumiya's son Kazuya and the final callback to Fumiya's brother. I cried, of course. I would've preferred the asadora focus on emotion instead of the overuse of comedy. The comedy really wasn't to my taste either. I laughed at maybe half of the jokes. Anyway, I struggled with my final rating and finally decided on 8.5. It's a good score, but I can't make it any higher because of all my complaints. I will be watching the sequels because I'm too curious, but wish me luck.
Kuninaka Ryoko plays the heroine, Kohagura Eri. Even though I find Eri frustrating at times, Ryoko really plays her perfectly. There's not a second I wasn't convinced by her performance. My main issue with Eri is her excessive airheadness (or what that call her a "fool"). By the end, we're supposed to believe that she's competent nurse but she somehow thinks a pain in her stomach was a "premonition" of her father's accident? I would've fell to the floor if I hadn't been sitting. On top of that, Eri never really struggles. Don't get me wrong, she has problems but she doesn't struggle. She's just always smiling like an idiot and there's like a million people there for her fall back on when something does happen. It's not that I want the asadora heroines to struggle, but without that it feels like this series has no stakes.
Now on to the romance, which I actually really liked in the latter half but the first half... Eri and Fumiya (Kohashi Kenji) first meet when his family comes to the island she lives on in Okinawa. Before his brother Kazuya (Endo Yuya) dies, he has the pair promise to marry in the future. Eri holds on this promise tightly, eventually deciding to go Tokyo. [Btw, it takes entirely too long for her to decide to become a nurse.] They meet again, but Fumiya appears to have forgotten the promise. Eri reveals her feelings after they work at the same hospital for some time. Out of the blue, Fumiya decides later that they should get married after all. In my opinion, this is too much. This asadora is always talking about "destiny" or whatever, so why make us wait so long for something inevitable? It takes too long while also being rushed at the same time. And don't get me started with Fumiya's ambiguous relationship with fellow doctor Nishinomiya Haruka (Konishi Manami). Were they dating? Were they not? If they were, why wasn't she more angry about this situation?
"Churasan" does have some really solid supporting characters, which is a hallmark of asadoras and makes or breaks it in my opinion. Eri's grandmother Hana (Taira Tomi; also narrator) and mother Katsuko (Tanaka Yoshiko; who was great in "Oshin" too) are both outstanding. Her father Keibun (Sakai Masaaki) and older brother Keisho (Gori) have some great comedic moments, but are also really annoying. Keisho, at least, redeems himself. Her younger brother Keitatsu (Yamada Takayuki) feels like a missed opportunity to me. His journey to becoming a rock star could've been a really good story, but ended up being so surface level. His relationship with Eri's friend Shoko (Yamaguchi Ayumi) is cute though. Then there's all the people who live at the boardinghouse in Tokyo, which are like family to Eri. Of these, I think Mariya (Kanno Miho) is the obvious stand-out. Her personality, comedy, and backstory are perfectly crafted. Yoko-san (Yo Kimiko) is also a solid comedic force.
Speaking of the boardinghouse... What I really disliked is that Eri didn't leave the boardinghouse after marriage or having her son Kazuya (Suzuki Shogo). I think it's really unrealistic that she wouldn't leave in either case, considering that she and Fumiya were just renting a small room... Over time, I also started to get tired of the residents there, especially Shibata (Murata Takehiro). I thought it was weird that this grown man had a crush on eighteen/nineteen-year-old Eri anyway, but then he starts to live vicariously through her son. And THEN the asadora randomly pairs Shibata with Yoko-san, which might've not been so random but I didn't care for it anyway. Finally, in the final episode, Eri and Fumiya move to Okinawa. This is another gripe of mine as I've seen people say it's the best Okinawa asadora [There's only two others, Jun to Ai and Chimudondon, which isn't really much of a contest...], but I'd say only 40% of it takes place in Okinawa. And those are mostly scenes of Eri's parents and grandmother sitting around at home, which was probably filmed on a sound stage. This is, in actuality, a Tokyo asadora, and I just wanted more Okinawa!
These are my complicated thoughts on "Churasan." I think it's a good asadora, but focuses on comedy too much. It particularly shines in the emotional, heavy moments. Fumiya's mother Shizuko (Maya Kyoko) has some really poignant scenes from start to finish. I also love the storyline with Eri's and Fumiya's son Kazuya and the final callback to Fumiya's brother. I cried, of course. I would've preferred the asadora focus on emotion instead of the overuse of comedy. The comedy really wasn't to my taste either. I laughed at maybe half of the jokes. Anyway, I struggled with my final rating and finally decided on 8.5. It's a good score, but I can't make it any higher because of all my complaints. I will be watching the sequels because I'm too curious, but wish me luck.
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