Hopefully you all get lots of chocolates, brownies, hugs, cuddles and kisses from your special ones and family.
I'm back with a vintage review here but before you skip over this post with disinterest, let me just tell you that it's a fine, fine series with high ratings that doesn't disappoint, unlike the crap shows that saturate japanese tv nowadays.
Taiyou wa Shizumanai 太陽は沈まない , or The Sun Never Sets, runs from April to June 2000, more than 10 years ago, and tells the story about a son who suspects that his mother's death is not due to overworking as he was told by doctors, but rather a result of malpractice during an emergency surgery.
Hideaki Takizawa, more affectionately known to fans (me!me!me!) as Tackey or Takky/Takki, plays Nao Masaki, a high school junior who gets in trouble at his kendo club and is embarrassed by his mother's eager-to-please, sunshine personality.
During his summer kendo camp, Nao gets suspended for mischief and on the way back to Tokyo with his mom, he meets a girl, Ami Isetani, who seems to have a crush on him and gives them a ride to the station. They part ways at the station and Nao continues his cold war with his mom for a week.
At the end of that week, one day, his mother collapses and dies at a hospital. Doctors tell the Masaki family that Teruko Masaki's death is caused by overworking. Shiro Masaki, Nao's father, injured his arm years ago and ended up opening an okonomiyaki shop which is mainly run by Teruko until her death.
She leaves behind her young children - Yuko, Nao and seven year-old Runa. Friends, neighbors, customers and even Nao's friends loved her for her friendliness and caring nature. They all show up at the funeral with tearful faces and words get around about Teruko's cause of death and they blame it on Teruko's husband.
Nao, in contrast, seems uncommonly cold compared to the mourners but that is only because the fact that his mother is dead hasn't sunk into him yet. His narrative voice of the story keeps on repeating the date of his mom's death, as if reminiscing and still unable to believe that it is all happening.
At the crematorium, Nao finds a burned scalpel amongst his mother's ashes and begins to doubt everything he knows about the cause of death. He calls up the hospital but they deny any mistake and even suggest that someone else must have put it near the body before she was cremated.
Desperate, Nao rushes to the police in anger but they are unable and unwilling to help him because there is too little information at hand to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, his father drowns his own sadness with drinks and sister Yuko tells Nao to avoid creating a mess of the matter at the time being because the family wants to send off his mother in peace.
As reality sinks in for Nao, Ami calls and asks about going to his okonomiyaki shop to taste his mother's cooking and that is when Nao's emotions finally spills out and he breaks down in tears, inconsolable.
He cries alone in a corner and muffles his sobs while holding on the his mom's apron and broken heels. His heartache witnessed by no one but himself.
The opening theme - Nao.
The ending theme - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John
Thoughts:
- Tackey was only eighteen years old when he filmed this but his acting skill was already beyond many of today's japanese young actors. In fact, this is the very reason why he is my absolute favorite Japanese actor. I won't argue that he's the best, but he's definitely made to act, just like his adoring senior Takuya Kimura whose eyes emote immensely even in silence. I am biased but the fact that Tackey is a good actor still stands. It doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous as hell too. In case you are wondering if I listen to his songs, the answer is no. I don't like T&T's songs. I love Tackey as actor.
- The theme songs for this drama are winners! So fitting, heart-wrenching and beautiful. This reminds me of another Tackey's drama, Taiyou no Kisetsu - Season of the Sun, which has a similarly dark tone to its plot and amazing OST. They don't make shows like they used to anymore. sigh. So if you plan to watch jdramas, remember to watch Tackey's and Takuya Kimura's! You will NOT be disappointed.
- Although this is a vintage review, the series hasn't entirely been subbed yet since it's such an old drama. Currently, takki.us has subbed it up to episode 9 only and therefore this can still be counted as an 'ongoing' series, yeah? I don't speak fluent Japanese so I need subbed episodes, you see.
- I took a lot of screencaps as the episode/series deserves it. If you notice, they are not in 16:9 hd size so it gives extra space to make collages. hahahaha.
Stay tuned for this!
- I heart Tackey.
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