1 Litre of Tears
This entry might change the very way some of you think of me...but quite frankly, I don't really care. I finished watching a Japanese drama called "1 Litre of Tears" last week, and I've been meaning to write this entry for awhile. Honestly, I've only seen a handful of J-drama's in the past, but this one easily ranks as my favorite drama of all time (tied with Densha Otoko, I suppose). If there's one J-drama that you must watch, make it this one. Seriously...as depressing as it was, the drama was life altering for me (as cheesy as it may sound).
Originally, I wanted to watch this drama because one of my favorite J-idol's were in it: Erika Sawajiri. Here are some pics of her:
She's a real cutie, huh? =D So like I said, I didn't have any high expectations before watching this drama-- I only wanted to watch it for Erika. However, this drama absolutely blew me away. Here's a brief synopsis that I took from d-addicts:
This beautifully moving drama is based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed entitled “One Litre of Tears" has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone.
and another one:
15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler. However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a terrible disease where the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?
Aya's only wish was “to live." By carefully depicting Aya's earnest desire to live, and the love of her family, friends, and lover, the drama, “One Litre of Tears" wishes to deliver her simple but strong message: “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing." ---Fuji TV
The fact that this drama is based on a true story made it that much more meaningful. And as you may have guessed, it was painful to see my favorite idol act the part, since everything felt so 'real'. This is what I liked the most about the drama-- it's not like your typical drama where there are cheesy jokes and cliché plot twists all around. Everything from the character interaction to the acting felt real to me. I almost felt like I was right beside Aya, and felt the pain she was going through every episode.
Now I'm going to warn you; this drama does not have a happy ending. It's very painful to watch at times (in fact, it's probably the saddest drama I've ever seen), because you really feel Aya's pain. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried my eyes out during the last few episodes. I think every episode made me teary eyed. I'm usually not one to cry during a drama or a movie...hell; I can watch Titanic with a straight face.
I'm glad to have seen a drama like this, because you take a lot of things from it. For one, I've began to appreciate my life a lot more. Even the little things such as walking, being able to talk, having a healthy family and friends. I am now more grateful of everything that I have in my life. I think this drama is a must watch for anyone. There's just so much to take from it...and we can all feel Aya's pain. This girl was a truly a remarkable person; and seeing her stay strong gives me motivation to live on, even during the hardest of times. I feel that it's a necessity to tell everyone about this drama, because it was life altering for me. I now wake up every morning, thankful for being alive, and for being able to have all the simple things in life.
For those that are interested in downloading it, jpopsuki has subtitled episodes that you can download through bit torrent (still being well seeded). Here's the link:
http://mullemeck.serveftp.org/jps_beta/index.php?page=browse&search=1+litre+of+tears
Watch it, live it, spread the word. After you're done, feel free to post your thoughts in this entry! Make this the official 1 Litre of Tears discussion entry.
Originally, I wanted to watch this drama because one of my favorite J-idol's were in it: Erika Sawajiri. Here are some pics of her:
She's a real cutie, huh? =D So like I said, I didn't have any high expectations before watching this drama-- I only wanted to watch it for Erika. However, this drama absolutely blew me away. Here's a brief synopsis that I took from d-addicts:
This beautifully moving drama is based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed entitled “One Litre of Tears" has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone.
and another one:
15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler. However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a terrible disease where the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?
Aya's only wish was “to live." By carefully depicting Aya's earnest desire to live, and the love of her family, friends, and lover, the drama, “One Litre of Tears" wishes to deliver her simple but strong message: “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing." ---Fuji TV
The fact that this drama is based on a true story made it that much more meaningful. And as you may have guessed, it was painful to see my favorite idol act the part, since everything felt so 'real'. This is what I liked the most about the drama-- it's not like your typical drama where there are cheesy jokes and cliché plot twists all around. Everything from the character interaction to the acting felt real to me. I almost felt like I was right beside Aya, and felt the pain she was going through every episode.
Now I'm going to warn you; this drama does not have a happy ending. It's very painful to watch at times (in fact, it's probably the saddest drama I've ever seen), because you really feel Aya's pain. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried my eyes out during the last few episodes. I think every episode made me teary eyed. I'm usually not one to cry during a drama or a movie...hell; I can watch Titanic with a straight face.
I'm glad to have seen a drama like this, because you take a lot of things from it. For one, I've began to appreciate my life a lot more. Even the little things such as walking, being able to talk, having a healthy family and friends. I am now more grateful of everything that I have in my life. I think this drama is a must watch for anyone. There's just so much to take from it...and we can all feel Aya's pain. This girl was a truly a remarkable person; and seeing her stay strong gives me motivation to live on, even during the hardest of times. I feel that it's a necessity to tell everyone about this drama, because it was life altering for me. I now wake up every morning, thankful for being alive, and for being able to have all the simple things in life.
For those that are interested in downloading it, jpopsuki has subtitled episodes that you can download through bit torrent (still being well seeded). Here's the link:
http://mullemeck.serveftp.org/jps_beta/index.php?page=browse&search=1+litre+of+tears
Watch it, live it, spread the word. After you're done, feel free to post your thoughts in this entry! Make this the official 1 Litre of Tears discussion entry.