Ohisama

Everything the first reviewer said and more. I'm only a third of the way thru Ohisama, but already I've lost about half my body weight in tears. Sad tears, happy tears. Hell, I'll cry if Yuki Yagi stubs her toe. Is it me? Am I at a time in my life when I'm more prone to these type of tearjerkers? I'm a heterosexual man in my sixties, who has gotten hooked on Japanese film and television and who, without subtitles, would be desperately searching the vast American wasteland of television, for anything that even remotely comes close to being as good as Ohisama.

So...how did I get here? Indirectly, because of one of Japan's finest character actors, Mikako Tabe, who from Kimi Ni Todoke led me to Deka Wanko and a guest appearance by Yuki Yagi, which led me to Flowershop Without Roses and finally to Ohisama. Are we clear on that? Mostly random chance and a little help from Google, has changed my viewing habits. Happily so.

Now, I'm not going to waste your time trying to give a detailed review. The first reviewer did an eloquent and spot on job reviewing Ohisama. Let me just say that this character driven drama's trip through a period of time in the life of Yoko and her friends and family, who are engulfed in a mesmerizing and chaotic period of Japan's history, is well worth the time watching. And as usual, I'm again impressed with the quality of acting that comes from Japan. In fact, the acting is so good, that you tend to overlook any flaws that may occur while creating serialized television, because you care about the characters. You want them to flourish, to succeed, to realize their dreams. You want them to overcome those obstacles in their way and find the happiness that all people deserve, but few ever really find.