i love the song and the show. at the beginning, i didnt think highly of it, was skeptical but i grow to like it right from episode one. Esp on the love between the two leads, family bonding and the mystery surrounding her return and what happened later on etc. It is not a dark story but a sweet one. The ending was sad but at least there's closure and meaningfulness. But one thing was I don't understand why she died so young, and I thought the guy would go earlier than her as he has the illness. She looked healthy to me so I had no clue why or what happened to her that led to her death. Can someone enlighten me?

Overall, I enjoyed this show and the lifestyle so peaceful and calm. and this is the first show where I let the credits roll till the end as the song Kizuna by Orange Range was really nice.

zappie wrote:

But one thing was I don't understand why she died so young, and I thought the guy would go earlier than her as he has the illness. She looked healthy to me so I had no clue why or what happened to her that led to her death. Can someone enlighten me?

I don't think it was mentioned clearly anywhere in the drama, the movie, or the novel. However it seems likely that Mio's health deteriorated due to a combination of the following:

1. Her car accident (severe enough to give her an out-of-body-time-traveling experience);
2. Having to take care of Takuma;
3. Carrying and giving birth to Yuji

ahh..i really want to see this drama from the beginning! i caught it on tv from the middle >.< hiroki narimiya looks kakkoi

thtl wrote:

I don't think it was mentioned clearly anywhere in the drama, the movie, or the novel. However it seems likely that Mio's health deteriorated due to a combination of the following: 1. Her car accident (severe enough to give her an out-of-body-time-traveling experience); 2. Having to take care of Takuma; 3. Carrying and giving birth to Yuji

Oh i see. Its up to us to guess. But it reminded me that am impressed with her final decision though she knows what lies in the future for her. Not many would choose that path.

zappie wrote:

Oh i see. Its up to us to guess. But it reminded me that am impressed with her final decision though she knows what lies in the future for her. Not many would choose that path.

Both this and Tada, Kimi wa Aishiteru (Heavenly Forest), which are by the same author, emphasis on sacrificing yourself for the one you love.

thtl wrote:

Both this and Tada, Kimi wa Aishiteru (Heavenly Forest), which are by the same author, emphasis on sacrificing yourself for the one you love.

And that is why despite the sadness, Heavenly Forest and this will always be highly praised by me. Both are just really sweet stories, despite the shock.

SuddenDrama wrote:

I just finished the movie. I agree that this is quite possibly the best movie I've ever seen. As for the ending, this is what I gather: Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler: When she gets hit by the car, she is transported into the future to 1 year after she actually dies. She falls in love with the future Takumi and the son she has not given birth to yet in the 6 weeks she stays with them. When returns to the past, she is determined to marry Takumi even though it will mean her life will end sooner.

Yes exactly!

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

And when you think about it, throughout the eight years that she was married and when she was a mother, she always knew that she would one day die, and that she would return for those six weeks. This was how she was able to create the book for Yuji to tell him so. What I DON'T understand, then, was why she wanted Takumi to retell their childhood story when she already knew it. It was their married selves she couldn't remember...

Anyways, I'll post my review in a sec.
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My Review: 9/10

I wasn�ft sure what it to make of this drama when I first started watching it. The starting incident was definitely unrealistic and I wasn�ft sure how to handle it. As the plot progressed, and I came to terms with the �gmiracle�h aspect of the drama, I truly started to enjoy it. Although the ending is still questionable in my mind, I thought the drama was unique, beautiful, and altogether lovely.

This was my first drama was Mimura. I found her lovely, sweet, and altogether a grand actress. She was very convincing both as a mother, and as a woman lost in herself. Her innocent face and chaste attire really worked well with the character type. Narimiya Hiroki was just�c wow. Is there any role this guy can�ft play?! I�fve never seen him in this type of role before but gosh, am I glad I have! He was brilliant and really portrayed the character to the best of his ability. Takei Akashi, and the rest of the supporting cast, were brilliantly cast and their connections with each other were convincing. The casting director was successful through and through.

From all the dramas I have seen, this one was the most beautiful. Each scene was linked with nature and each element of nature was linked closely to the plot. There were moments when the camera would capture something so beautiful my heart would just stop. Never has rain appeared so sinfully precious in a drama before.

This drama definitely gets my vote, and I can�ft wait to watch the movie.
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Wyn-chan. If you like this drama, possibly the movie too after you watched it. Try Yomigaeri - another movie with a somewhat metaphysical plot but was really all about love.

thtl wrote:

Wyn-chan. If you like this drama, possibly the movie too after you watched it. Try Yomigaeri - another movie with a somewhat metaphysical plot but was really all about love.

O! With Takeuchi Yuko! I've added this drama to my wish list. Arigato! I love stories that unfold like this. Slowly, but deeply, until the point of realization.
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Wynter wrote:

This was my first drama was Mimura. I found her lovely, sweet, and altogether a grand actress. She was very convincing both as a mother, and as a woman lost in herself. Her innocent face and chaste attire really worked well with the character type.

I agree Mimura was so beautiful in this drama. Her performance just blew me away. The scenes she had with the kid especially in the last episode brought tears to my eyes, that hasn't happen since I watched game 7 of the 02 world series. Oh and the guy who played the principle in Gokusen was really good in this too.

MikeNolan wrote:

I agree Mimura was so beautiful in this drama. Her performance just blew me away. The scenes she had with the kid especially in the last episode brought tears to my eyes, that hasn't happen since I watched game 7 of the 02 world series. Oh and the guy who played the principle in Gokusen was really good in this too.

Yes he was! He always seems to have funky/unique hair in all his roles.
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***SPOILER***
***SPOILER***
***SPOILER***
***SPOILER***

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

In the last episode, the explanation of how she reappeared was that she was in an accident while trying to catch up to Takumi and that when she regained consciousness, she had forgotten all of her memories and was in the forest. The whole hospital ordeal just confused the hell out of me. Did she have a vision while in the coma that put her in the future? Did she fully recall her past when she was reciting this monologue?

Anyways, one of the fun things of this movie was listening for more Pink Lady songs. UFO, Chameleon Army, and SOS were the ones I noticed. Any more?


mod edit: spoiler tags added.

spoiler tags added.

Noobs: It also helps to read the Posting Guidelines.

85db.louder wrote:

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler: In the last episode, the explanation of how she reappeared was that she was in an accident while trying to catch up to Takumi and that when she regained consciousness, she had forgotten all of her memories and was in the forest. The whole hospital ordeal just confused the hell out of me. Did she have a vision while in the coma that put her in the future? Did she fully recall her past when she was reciting this monologue?

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

Mio had an out-of-body experience which took her to the future, one year after her death. As far as the future Takumi was concerned the memory-lost Mio was real, back from the dead for whatever reason. The Mio, however, was actually the maiden who has yet to marry Takumi. That's why in Mio's letter/note (depending on whatever it was the movie/drama/novel version) she said she lost her virginity twice to the same man, Takumi. When Mio regained consciousness in the hospital she was back in the timeline where she was not yet married, and decided to seek out Takumi and throw herself at him because of this out-ot-body experience.

The whole thing is not so confusing if you accept certain paranormal concepts.

thtl wrote:

The whole thing is not so confusing if you accept certain paranormal concepts.

Thanks for the explanation. As I posted the question, I was on my 5th viewing of the last part. I was starting to get it, but now it all makes sense.

Okay, file this under "Don't Always Trust Your First Impressions"

I watched this several years ago when they broadcast it here which was probably just shortly after it was first broadcast in Japan.

I didn't much care for it at the time. But with most of the new stuff out now mostly crap, I decided to give this another look and boy am I glad I did! What the hell was I thinking the first time?!!? This is a great drama!! Granted there are some things you have to buy into:

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

The whole time travel/out of body experience Mimura has while in the coma

But if you can wrap your head around that, this is really good. It's one of those dramas where they explain everything in the last ten minutes so it does require some patience and ALL the actors give great performances, I would highly recommend this!

gaijinmark wrote:

Okay, file this under "Don't Always Trust Your First Impressions" I watched this several years ago when they broadcast it here which was probably just shortly after it was first broadcast in Japan. I didn't much care for it at the time. But with most of the new stuff out now mostly crap, I decided to give this another look and boy am I glad I did! What the hell was I thinking the first time?!!? This is a great drama!! Granted there are some things you have to buy into: Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler: The whole time travel/out of body experience Mimura has while in the coma But if you can wrap your head around that, this is really good. It's one of those dramas where they explain everything in the last ten minutes so it does require some patience and ALL the actors give great performances, I would highly recommend this!

I'm glad you enjoyed this! I really made me a fan of Mimura.

I watched the movie afterwards, and although it has Yuko in it, I just couldn't enjoy it.
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