37.5°C no Namida (2015)

I was in a Japanese drama slump for a really long time. But I'm really glad that I ended up watching this drama. This is most realistic Japanese drama I have seen. I came in for Narimiya Hiroki(Gokusen, Bloody Monday 1-2), Fujiki Naohito(Cinderella Story), & Hayami Mokomichi(From 5 to 9). But the story line and Misako as Momoko was amazing.

Story: 9/10 because we don't get a sick kids daycare type of stories very often. It had so much heart to this drama. But it was also surprising dark regarding a character's past. I get into the life of Momoko as she works hard to be a real caregiver. It's a story about family, working hard & trying to find happiness in what you are doing.

Acting: 10/10 because Misako as Momoko took me by surprise. I haven't seen her in anything, but she was great as Momoko. I could relate to her in some aspects of her life. Hiroki as Asahina was amazing. He is amazing as a father. Trying to interact with his enstranged daughter no matter how much she ignores him. Momoko's family. . . let me just say. . . is evil! That's all I can say without spoiling it. The other characters were good. The children were cute to watch. Some of the children get character development & there were moments where I was crying my eyes out. Misako & Hiroki have great chemistry. There is a lot of character development.

Music: It fitted the scenes, but not as memorable. I was too invested in the story to listen to the music.

Re-watch value: 8/10 because I watched it twice & still liked it. Some of the scenes in the drama were too sad to re-watch.

Overall, if you like child actors/actress, comedy, romance, slice-of-life, the actors/actresses, dramas that have lot of heart & life lessons, then this drama is for you.

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I would say this is a typical Japanese family drama.

Raising awareness on social issues: check!
Cute kids: check!
Implied love story: check!
...etc.

I didn't read the manga, so I cannot say much about if the story is the same. I think it's a quite interesting insight into Japanese society and I loved the story for watching Momoko's interaction with the kids and their parents.
I had the feeling that most of the characters were a bit bland and stiff, they seemed to be most passionate when talking about work/ helping the families, not so much about their personal lives. In my opinion the acting of the child actors outshined all of the adults! There are some amazing talents!

I was not very satisfied with the ending, as I feel there would have been more time needed to resolve Momoko's issues with her family. Also don't watch this for romance, that is not the main point here! I think this drama is about family and what good parenting is about.

Overall a nice entertaining drama with not too much drama and a lot of cute kids^_^

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