26 December 2012

遅咲きのヒマワリ Osozaki no Himawari


Title: 遅咲きのヒマワリ Osozaki no Himawari
English Title: Late-Blooming Sunflower
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2012
Episode: 10
Cast:
  • 生田斗真 Ikuta Tōma
  • 真木よう子 Maki Yoko
  • 桐谷健太 Kiritani Kenta
  • 国仲涼子 Kuninaka Ryoko
  • 香椎由宇 Kashī Yu
  • 木村文乃 Kimura Fumino
  • 田口淳之介 Taguchi Junnosuke
  • 柄本佑 Emoto Tasuku
  • 矢柴俊博 Yashiba Toshihiro
  • 松重豊 Matsushige Yutaka
  • 大塚ちひろOtsuka Chihiro



SYNOPSIS
Mongol800 - あなた に Anata ni
遅咲きのヒマワリ Osozaki no Himawari (Soundtrack) - あなた に Anata ni
Kodaira Jotaro went to Tokyo for his college education but he couldn't find any full-time employment after graduation so he works a lot of part-time jobs to make ends meet. When Jotaro was fired from his temporary job, his long-term girlfriend broke up with him.

With dwindling savings, Jotaro finds an online website that is recruiting volunteers for the revitalization of Shimanto City in Kochi Prefecture as additional staff members of the local government under contract for three years. Although initially reluctant to move to a small town, Jotaro jumps at the opportunity to have a job for the next three years.

Originally from Shimanto City, Jikaido Kahori graduated with a medical degree from a prestigious university in Tokyo and she pursues a career in medical research. Kahori's superior at work ordered her to go back to her hometown and assigned her to work at the local central hospital for a few years to gain experience in practicing medicine.



REVIEW
Osozaki no Himawari is about several young people who live their lives while dealing with society's pressures and family expectations. I think it's interesting that the characters are at different ages and stages in their lives, but they are all uncertain and insecure.

Kodaira Jotaro: I wonder what is lying ahead of me? There's a place that only I can reach. There's a view that only I can see. Back then, I believed this.

Kodaira Jotaro: The answers aren't easy to find... What are we living for? Where should we live? Where should we try to go from here?

To be honest, I think we'll always wonder... if we made the right choices in our lives, if we are really going somewhere, if we really know what we are doing.

Morishita Ayaka: Are you afraid now to be responsible if people here live or die? But when it's time for humans to die, they do just that.

I adore that the drama's cast members sang one of the theme songs and I think it's wonderful that the drama's opening sequence is a sort of music video. It really makes me smile whenever I see the opening sequence, I don't really know why.




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遅咲きのヒマワリ Osozaki no Himawari