Reviews

My father passed away not too long ago. I started watching Buffy to pass the time when I visited my mother during a difficult time (it was streaming on Netflix, and I had really enjoyed Firefly). For those that have experienced the loss of a love one, especially a parent, this episode will be a shockingly realistic portrayal of it.

If art is the attempt to perfectly capture an emotion or an idea through a medium (whether it's music, prose, visual, etc.), then it would not be an exaggeration to say that this episode is a masterpiece. If art, and not entertainment, is the measure of quality television then I could, with certainty, say that this is the best hour of television ever produced. It may be the best thing ever filmed.

As a rather critical person, I realize how silly the praise above sounds. I think many people who haven't experienced the loss of a parent won't "get it." But those that have should come away with similar praise.

The recent trend towards more "serious" drama and the influx melodramatic korean dramas replacing the more light-hearted Japanese style, a crazy tear-jerker was bound to hit the Japanese airwaves. This drama will make even a cold-hearted person with ice water in their veins tear up. The formula is simple, really: Show innocent high school kids falling in love and dealing with happiness, love, and loss. The reason this formula has and will always work is because everyone has an affinity for the purity and idealistic quality of adolescent love. I imagine that there will be a few out there who will say that the "tragedy" aspect of the drama is pandering for sympathy. True, it seems like there are a lot Asian dramas out there in which cute, bright-eyed kids are stricken with some terminal disease (leukemia, brain cancer, acid reflux, etc.). The brilliance of Sekai no Chuushin is the presentation of this (maybe overdone) subject. Like almost everything, a measure of quality involves considering details. Sekai no Chuushin sets aside screen time in order to throw in subtle instances of humanity in order to generate a foundation for us to care for the characters before hitting us with one of the crazy, dramatic moments. Personally, I felt the beginning episodes (before we're hit with bad news about Aki) were the best ones. The acting was outstanding for a Japanese drama and the whole series was well-cast (the older Saku could've been a little more likable though). Special honors go to Takayuki Yamada for his portrayal of 17-year-old Saku. Yamada has to be one of the best dramatic actors in Japan. Overall, this is one of the best dramas to come out of Japan.