I don't know why this Kurosawa movie doesn't get more love but it certainly touched my heart: One Wonderful Sunday. It's a story of love, hope, and survival in the midst of poverty, despair, and frustration in postwar Japan. There is a scene between the leads that could be likely to bother some viewers but I think that it has to be understood as a sign of the times (IMO: we need to accept that can't change the past, so we should just be willing to learn from it) and a dramatic moment that expresses the feelings of the characters. There is also a breaking of the fourth wall (when the character speaks directly to the audience watching) that I actually loved but many viewers detested when the film premiered. It's a movie that I've seen more than once, and I know that I would still respond to that wall breaking again.
When I decided to give this show a re-watch, it was because I admired the work of the lead actress; she really gave her very best and I admired that, despite some cringe-y moments in the script. But I noticed something I had not realized before as I was reading about the drama before re-watching: the characters are based on real people and the storyline was taken from an essay about their relationship. There is a real Oshima Miyuki who is married to an equally real Suzuki Osamu, and they both make their living in the entertainment industry; she as a seiyu, he as a scriptwriter. I thought that was really amazing, and it gave me a different appreciation for this drama. I still don't care for the humiliation that was written in for Miyuki but I have to assume that it was written with love because the screenwriter was indeed Suzuki Osamu himself. I don't know why I didn't notice this before, and I thought it was worth sharing for others who might not have seen this information either.
So wait, in the ending (after the lyrics credits), he finds a kitten and kitten runs to her... so is she's human…
I'm very late answering but I wanted to say that, yes, it is Mao in the final scene after the song lyrics. When you look carefully, you will see that she is wearing her wedding ring on her necklace chain. She had placed it there when she promised Kosuke that she wouldn't lose it again. Kosuke still had the scratch scars on his hand (we see them when he is in the bar at New Years), so I think that this is a sign that he never really forgot her either.
Has anyone mentioned I'm Sorry I Love You? (and also the J remake Gomen Aishiteru) Heartwreckers! I am very much a HE person but I have to admit that I liked Beautiful Life (even though I could guess what would happen at the end) because it has one of the most unusual kiss scenes ever. If you were to ask me which drama kiss scene I remember most, Beautiful Life would top the list.
https://www.tokyohive.com/article/2021/07/actor-nakano-taiga-tests-positive-for-covid-19