Byakuyakou
...A Tale of Two Children Who Killed Their Own Parents...
review written by Yanie
Do you like dark, suspense, mystery, depth-meaning dramas? Dramas that provokes the audience to think about the characters' fate, to think about who's actually in the wrong, to think what if we have to experience the same thing with what the characters experienced inside the stories.
I'm a huge fan of these kind of dramas. Especially if the realization/production of the drama is made beautiful and artistic. Let's have a brief flashback of a few past well-known suspense dramas!
A Sleeping Forest [Nemureru Mori], FujiTV 1998, a story of a woman with an almost perfect life, engaged and also have a pretty good past memories except the fact that her family died due to an accident. One day she meet a mysterious man who is saying that he knows "everything" about her since her childhood. Turns out, her memories of the past that she knows is fake. Her real memories, which are actually worse than the fake one, return to her bit by bit since that man came.
Further review: http://kmdz.tripod.com/eng_dreviews5.html
Ice World [Koori no Sekai], FujiTV 1999, a story of a "cold" woman who has engaged for three times, but all of her fiancees died. An insurance investigator is investigating this case, but before he know it, he himself falls in love with this "dangerous" woman... and decided to marry her... Further review: http://kmdz.tripod.com/eng_dreviews4.html
Hypnosis [Saimin], TBS 2000, a story of a hypnotist who meet a woman who has amnesia sometimes. This woman is being chased after by someone who seem like wanting to take her life. The two falls in love, without knowing that they've actually met before during childhood. Some characters in this story who seem doesn't know much about each other... turn out have close relationships in the past.
Further review: http://kmdz.tripod.com/eng_dreviews7.html
Billion Stars From The Sky [Sorakara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi], FujiTV 2002, an example of a tragedy that shows how mean destiny is. A police detective is looking for a dangerous man, who fools women for money and can urge the woman to commit suicide by her own will. By chance, the detective's younger sister meet that dangerous man, and despite knowing all the facts about the dangerous man, she falls in love with him... and the worst fate that has never crossed their minds, awaits them...
Further review: http://kmdz.tripod.com/eng_dreviews7.html
Vessel of Sand [Suna no Utsuwa], TBS 2004, tells about a young, successful and popular genius pianist and music composer, who is engaged to a politician's daughter. One day, he killed someone from his past... and eventually his dark past that he wants to forget, is revealed by a police detective bit by bit. No matter how beautiful a vessel is made from a sand... a sand will always be a sand...
Further review: http://www.spcnet.tv/Japanese-TV-Series/Vessel-Of-Sand-review-r489.html
If you like the dramas mentioned above... then don't miss this drama, Byakuyakou!!
In January 2006, TBS has produced another dark suspense drama, adapted from a novel by Higashino Keigo. It took 6 months to get the author agreed.
"Byakuyakou", literally translated as "Midnight Sun Journey", starring Yamada Takayuki, Ayase Haruka, Takeda Tatsuya and Kashiwabara Takashi. Shibasaki Kou sung the themesong, "Kage" (Shadow), which was written by Shibasaki Kou herself, after she read the novel.
It tells the life journey of two unlucky children who kept being haunted by the darkness of their past. These two children has killed their own parents...
Kirihara Ryoji, a wealthy man's son, 11 years old, doesn't get enough love and care from his parents. His father is busy working. His mother is busy having an affair with another man.
Nishimoto Yukiho, 11 years old, living in poorness and she has no father. She has a drunkard mother, and for money, her mother doesn't mind selling her own daughter to an old man, to be undressed and to get her nude picture taken.
The two lonely children met, and become friends. The two becomes more cheerful ever since. And they started to experience first love, with each other.
But fate didn't let them be happy forever. Because, one day, Ryoji caught his own father taking pictures of nude Yukiho. Due to great anger, Ryoji accidentally stab the scissors he bring in his hand to his father's body, who died at once. Yukiho immediately think of a way to escape from this situation. She bring the scissors with her, so no one would know that Ryoji killed his own father. Yukiho said, let the police think she's the one who killed Ryoji's father.
But to see her drunkard mother who doesn't care a bit about Yukiho, her evil mind starts to work. She tried to make the police to think that her mother is the murderer. And she made it, the police suspected her mother right away. To end everything, one day, Yukiho decided to commit a double suicide with her mother by switching on the gas. But in the end, only her mother died, and Yukiho was saved. She was taken to an orphanage, and she got adopted by a rich widower in another town.
Yukiho left a letter for Ryoji, and gave him a message, that now their status are the victim's son and the murderer's daughter, so it will be very weird if they're seen together. So the best way is to pretend that they don't know each other. Till the day of the case's expired date comes. 15 years later, the year 2006. Waiting for the day where they can hold hands again under the sun.
(note: FYI, the law in Japan, is that if a murder case is unsolved for 15 years, the case will expire. If the murderer was found after the 15th year, they cannot be prosecuted anymore.
Seven years has passed since the incident. It'll be soon their highschool graduation. For 7 years, Ryoji kept thinking about Yukiho and wanting to meet her. He always wait for Yukiho to come on the train station, but she never appear. Yukiho also often get on the train that passes her hometown so she can see Ryoji. Finally, one day, they meet again...
Although they passed through these 7 years fine, another trouble surfaced. A new witness, and also some of their friends knows about their background. So they have to cooperate to get rid of these people. They also have to meet secretly.
Although Yamada Takayuki's acting is not as good as Kimura Takuya or Nakai Masahiro... yet, although Ayase Haruka's acting is not as good as Matsushima Nanako or Fukatsu Eri... yet. But watching the storyline itself is enjoyable and intriguing already! These young actor and actress' acting performances were pretty good, although not really "wow".
Yamada Takayuki played the weak Ryoji, in a good way. Ryoji is the type who gets easily-worried, always feel unsafe, and often feels that its better if they hand themselves in, of course Yukiho totally against his idea.
Although Ryoji sometimes give his idea about the crime they're gonna do, but Yukiho is the one to decide, she's the mastermind and she controls the plan. Most of the time, Ryoji doesn't know what to do when he got a bad situation, and he'll end up calling Yukiho to ask her advice on what he should do.
But this changes as time passes. As he matured, he become calmer, make wise decision and can think of a way out himself without Yukiho's help. Between the two, I like Ryoji's character's development better.
But actually the most interesting character is Yukiho. This girl really has an evil mind. It's hard to guess what's on her mind. She's stubborn and selfish. Her bad and dark past made her always having mean thoughts. And she's willing to do anything to get a better life, to correct her bad past. Her past had also made her hating and angry to God. Yukiho had one crushed and broke all the statues, cross and the window inside the church, while screaming angrily and cried while she let out all of her anger and sadness.
Yukiho is willing to do anything to get a better life, including to sacrifice Ryoji's life happiness. Yup, so do not think that Ryoji and Yukiho's love story is the pure kind one like Saku and Aki in SekaChu^^ Yukiho's love to Ryoji is quite questionable. Due to her selfishness, its hard to guess her thoughts. To Yukiho, although she loves Ryoji, but he always remind her of her bad past. So she might love and hate Ryoji at the same time. And for her, it's okay to sacrifice his happiness, coz she thought she had also sacrificed by being labeled as "the murderer's daughter". At one point, I really hated this character and really think she's the antagonist character^^
Seem like she was thinking, "You deserve to borne all of my suffering... coz you used to have a good life, while I suffered... so it's your turn now!"... something like that^^ Since Ryoji loves Yukiho so much, he just do what she told him to do.
I've never watched a tainted love story like this before. Maybe Yukiho was also in a dilemma... she loves him, but she also need to "use" him. Not sure who's right, maybe both are right, only the author knows...
When this novel was published in 1999, it was announced that the contents won't be suited to be adapted as a dorama or movie. Children kill their own parents, Yukiho's character who is an anti-God and with evil mind, and also a tainted love story. What a package!^^ I really felt depressed on each episode, and felt scared with human being's selfishness. Make sure you are in a good mood when you watch this^^
Oh yeah, just like other dark suspense dramas, the background musics are excellent! The themesong by Shibasaki Kou was also awesome.
More screencaps!!
I promise I'll become stronger, and then I'll do my best to protect you with all my strength...
"What are you doing?", "Stalking you..."
"Okaeri!!", "Tadaima..."
Takashi Kashiwabara as Kazunari Shinozuka
