One of the best JDramas I ever seen
The theme is difficult: a 17-year-old schoolgirl who prostitutes herself and contracts HIV, then her meeting and her love for a composer, haunted by the death of his ex-girlfriend.This story is treated masterfully, taking turns between the leads, touching, poignant, moving, revolting (multiple discriminations), also denouncing the failings of Japanese society (the father who thinks only of work, the mother at home who is bored and has an affair, the brother obsessed with exams, ...).
The actors are absolutely brilliant (they will go on to have an exceptional career afterwards) and the production is intelligent, subtle.
The only downside is the low-quality of the image itself. In 1998, we didn't have HD yet :)
I will probably watch it again because, for me, it is a masterpiece!!
This drama is in my TOP 10 JDramas , like "Second love" with the same FL.
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Le thème est difficile : une lycéenne de 17 ans qui se prostitue et contracte le VIH, puis sa rencontre, son amour pour un compositeur, hanté par la mort de son ex.
Cette histoire est traitée de main de maitre, tour à tour, touchante, poignante, émouvante, révoltante (discriminations multiples), dénonçant aussi les travers de la société japonaise (le père qui ne pense qu'au travail, la mère au foyer qui s'ennuie et n'a plus d'intérêt, le frère obsédé par les examens, ...).
Les acteurs sont absolument géniaux (ils feront par la suite une carrière exceptionnelle) et la réalisation est intelligente, subtile.
Seul bémol la qualité de l'image laisse à désirer. En 1998, on n'avait pas encore la HD :)
Je le regarderai probablement à nouveau car, pour moi, c'est un chef d’œuvre !!
Ce drama rentre dans la catégorie "ce que les dramas japonais font de mieux", au même titre que "Second love" avec la même FL.
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''One time's carelessness is all it really takes'' This was a really good drama. I never expected it to be like it was. I got it pretty well from the title of the drama that it would be a really sad one though, And I really liked the ending. Bittersweet in a good way. I'll leave this review spoilerless..
Kano Masaki is a young girl who for a long time have been a fan of the music producer Ishikawa Keigo. As a reward for remaining a true fan of Keigo she decides she deserves to be there on atleast one of his concerts. Spending money on a ticket for her and one of her friends, She looses her wallet with money and the tickets to his concert. Influence can be a bad thing, Especially if its given you by the wrong type of people. Fake friends are some of these. The nightclub downtown is a place where Masaki and her friends usually meets up, Always talking about the same thing. Money. The matter comes out into the open and Masaki decides that one night won't do her any harm. 50.000 yen for sleeping with some stranger just once, Going into the experience only expecting to slightly regret it after it has actually happened, She comes out of the experience with more than just the 50.000 yen. Far from what she ever expected could happen, She's now been given the HIV virus from just this one night she'll regret the rest of her life.
Allthough not knowing about this, Masaki-chan spends the night with Keigo shortly after the concert.. Finding out who her true friends really are, aswell as obtaining a new friend and love interest in Keigo, Her life from then on turns upside-down.
Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake is the story of a young girl who gets infected with the HIV virus from a stranger. A story filled with love and tears. An unique drama who'll give you a new way of looking at your life. It is a really good drama, I don't think it could have been any better. If you like mature dramas, Romance and Tearjerkers this drama is definately a mustwatch..
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STORYLINE: 6.5/10 – CHARACTERS: 5/10
She finds out about her diagnosis in the first episode so at this point I was questioning how interesting they were going to make to stretch 12 episodes because at this point I felt like I had watched the whole gist of the drama’s plot. The challenge to push on and not drop it was on before I even got midway the series. However more and more predictability and disappointment followed.
For instance, the unrealistic quick development of the relationship between Masaki and Keigo. Like seriously, who gets to meet their famous idol and immediately becomes the type of acquaintance with them that can just pick up the phone to chat or arrange meetings - unless they want to assume it is due to Keigo’s new fond belief in the beauty of being alive or sympathy for Masaki which totally failed. They even had me waste almost a whole two minutes watching her run (the only thing that made it bearable was the piano). Watching on I felt myself more attached to the supporting characters’ storylines such as Masaki’s mother and Isamu’s quirkiness and protective manner.
I must seem very heartless that her crying every episode had me telling her to man up by providing a life changing reason or threatening reason to why she choice this path. Truly this drama lacked the realism of capturing the struggles a person may decide to become a prostitute because the reason for her selling herself forever surfaced whenever I started to feel some sympathy.
Things do pick up for Masaki after the three year forward. And these are the episodes I enjoyed the most and my rating of the drama jumped 2 places.
ACTING:
The main actors delivery differed so I believe it right to individually rate them. Kaneshiro Takeshi is give a 7.5/10 and Fukada Kyoko 5.5/10 which may be due to the character she potrayed. I just could not connect with Masaki as I did Keigo.
LIKED: i like the fact that the creators shown bravery by addressing the possible consequence of prostitution (unprotected sex) and value of life (health) at a time I assume the world was very much hush-hush unlike now.
DISLIKED: I disliked the series for the reason the choose for her prostitution.
CONCLUSION:
You should definitely watch this drama if you enjoy dramas with the genres such as MISUNDERSTANDING – SICKNESS – LIFE APPRECIATION – LOVE – MUSICIAN – CRYING – FAMILY – DEPRESSION – HOPE – HAPPINESS… And the following genres I believe I just missed out on feeling EMOTIONAL – SYMPATHY– JOY
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The story was very interesting and heartbreaking.
The acting was very good. I am a huge fan of Takeshi Kaneshiro and he delivers very well in this drama. The character Masaki was believable in her strength to still do her best despite the situation she got herself in. She was very inspiring.
The music was impeccable, simply beautiful. I can't emphasize enough how well the music is integrated into the drama.
As for re-watch value, I'm not too sure if I'll rewatch this any time soon due to the genre of the drama.
Overall, it was a beautiful story with an amazing soundtrack. I would recommend it to people who are specifically looking for sad dramas.
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This drama was not easy to watch since it really explored rather sad topics like HIV,AIDS,prostitution,divorce, infidelity,death and abortion.Masaki is a young girl lost in her life with a family that live their own lives and friends who does same things over and over.Not to mention how usual it is that Tokyo high-schoolers sells their bodies for things they want.(i can imagine how normal this was in the 90s).Masaki refuses to believe that this is all to her life and i love how she questions it.But she is truly passionate when it comes to listening to the lyrics Keigo has composed,in which she feels the pain and loneliness Keigo suffers.Keigo is a irresistible force who finds the means of living when he meets the carefree Masaki.I love how he stayed true to her as a friend,then later lover and then as a husband. It was so bittersweet watching how these two tried to overcome all the obstacles and refused to leave each other to the bitter end.
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A story about running out of time
This drama is quite harrowing and angsty, so much angst. The love story, although beautiful, was not enjoyable for me because of all the angst and the looming extra character in the story namely, HIV/AIDS.Masaki's rebellious and wilful teenage antics led to her contracting the HIV virus, her behaviour after her diagnosis is very trying, annoying and frustrating; this can be attributed to her young age but I think she never improved as a person, even after life threatening experiences she just never seemed to learn from her mistakes and experience, her outlook never improved. This is the biggest negative of the drama, it's more than just the bad, whiny performance of Fukada Kyoko, she was also just very badly written.
Masaki's question that she asks in episode 1 is " is there anything you shouldn't do for something you really want to obtain?" This right here, sums her up perfectly.
The brightest and most enjoyable part of the story is Keigo, played by Kaneshiro Takeshi; his acting is just brilliant. He embodied Keigo's initial detachment and subsequent emotional struggle beautifully and with so much feeling and fervour. I did find myself pitying him more than I pitied the female lead which is testament to his great acting as well as the stilted nature of the female lead's trajectory.
The handling of the AIDS issue was somewhat clumsy at times. The social ostracization and family stress was well depicted, but show failed to handle the intricate details well, especially pertaining to physical intimacy between the leads.
Overall, I did enjoy watching this drama, however the sticky points were too much for me to ignore.
Music is ok.
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First of all, this drama was made in 1998. I am shocked I could watch a decent resolution of it considering it was from 1998. Overall, I liked this drama. Very compelling and interesting story. It made me think and challenged the decisions I would have made (differently) in many situations. I thought it did a good job of portraying the impulsive emotional state of a teenager (and in this case stupid: prostitution for a concert ticket.) [This is not a spoiler since it is described in the drama description. } As an adult, she drove me crazy, but it was realistic in many cases. I did think, though, that there were often times in this where the sharing of he illness by her was overly dramatic and unrealistic....and thoughtless. It seems like the storyteller was on a soapbox and not in the shoes of a 17-year old at times....not to the jeopardy of the overall story though. What was surprising was how the male lead bent toward her judgement countless times in situations where the average person would not. It was interesting to watch and anxiety-provoking as well. They are both very lucky how anumber of their decisions resulted.
I am not familiar with the male lead, Kaneshiro Takeshi, as an actor but will seek out more of his work. He makes movies now more than dramas...the last drama he made (at least listed here on MDL) is in 2002. But he has made movies almost every year, his last being This is Not What I Expected... and has one coming out in 2018: Day of the Beast.
This drama is tagged as a Tragedy, which is franky expected, but it is still a decent ending, so don't let that prevent you from watching. Finally, the music rating....i don't even remember the music so I couldn't rate it one way or another so I gave a 5.
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A girl prostitutes herself to buy concert tickets and then has a one night stand with a famous composer she idolizes. Later, she learns she has HIV. The story follows her maturation as a woman, the blossoming of her romance, and the progression of her disease.
Tough issues are addressed without being trivialized or romanticized. All aspects of her disease are handled maturely and rationally. The show plays out more as a general coming of age romance than a tear jerker. Highlights include an admirably strong female lead and strong chemistry with a gorgeous guy.
I watched it for the cathartically painful plotline, but came away impressed with how sweet a love story it was.
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I decided to watch Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake because I was in the mood to watch an old Japanese drama. I like watching 90’s dramas because it reminds of my childhood when technology hadn’t taken over our lives and life was so much simpler. Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake is also my first drama where the lead character is battling AIDS. I have seen tonnes of drama characters dealing with all kinds of fatal ailments but never seen someone fighting AIDS. This dorama teaches a lot about the much-dreaded disease. Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake is a heavily flawed drama but is still beautiful watch. Keep reading to know why I am saying so.Good Weights
I enjoyed watching Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake because…
…it gets rid of the stigma around AIDS. The word AIDS and even HIV +ve is enough to scare anyone. Despite knowing that AIDS does not spread through touch or by sharing food and drinks people still isolate an HIV patient. This drama very beautifully breaks the stigma and shows two men love and support a girl infected with the HIV virus. The drama also shows how love is beyond social norms or even medical conditions. Keigo deeply cares about Masaki and even her disease does not deter him from loving her. I think this drama is a very good way of spreading awareness about HIV and AIDS.
…it shows how your family will always stand by you even in the most difficult situation. This is what I love about Japanese doramas. They do not focus on just one relationship and always show different relationships in a normal person’s life.
…last episode was a tearjerker. I don’t really like emotional dramas but the last episode was so moving I cried buckets of tears. [[Spoiler Alert]] Though I knew what the ending would be I did not like that they had Masaki die on her wedding day. It was a little cruel to so show something like that. [[Spoiler Alert]]
Bad Weights
I did NOT LIKE Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake because…
…there was a lot of sprinting. If you have watched a few Japanese dramas you will know that Japanese heroes are fixated with running. They run all the time. Keigo runs when he is excited, sad, angry and sometimes even without any urgent reason. He runs at home, on the roads, over a bridge, inside a hospital and just about everywhere. It’s a little tiring to see him run all the time.
…Masaki is an extremely exasperating character. She does everything a person should not do. But then she is 17-years old so isn’t that how we all are at that age? But I hate the fact that she does not show any remorse. I understand there is no use crying over what happened and it is the best to move on but the lack of regret is something that disturbed me.
…[[Spoiler Alert]] Keigo sleeps with her despite knowing that she is infected with the HIV virus. Ok, sleeping with her is not an issue but not using protection is. I understand that deep down in his heart Keigo wishes to end his life and does not mind being affected by the HIV virus which will eventually lead him to what he wants but is getting the young girl pregnant in such a condition a good thing? I think it was very irresponsible of Keigo as it was not the correct way of showing his love. But then again, the drama had to be concluded in a certain way so all that happened was required so, fine. [[Spoiler Alert]]
Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake is about loving someone without any expectations or bias. It is about how teenage rebellion can go wrong thereby altering the entire course of life. But every dark cloud has a silver lining and for Masaki, Keigo was her reason to smile and live life.
Originally posted on AlphaGirlReviews.com.
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Absolutely loved the FL, loved the person she grew to become, loved how her relationship with her parents developed, and loved the actress, she led the narrative brilliantly, but there's two key issues:1. The age gaps, both with the characters and the actors: Fukada Kyoko was 16 years old when she filmed this drama, and that's very important because the FL, who is also 16 years old, has multiple sexual relationships with adult men, which means the teen actress was put in situations where she had to kiss these men and film intimate scenes.
And within the narrative, the age gap between the characters was also never a problem, at no point the men are questioned or criticized for having sex with a minor, quite the opposite, even the man who pays for teen prostitutes and who gave the FL HIV is eventually portrayed as a good guy at heart.
This is probably a matter of time period, this is a 90s drama after all and it seems like people just didn't care about protecting kids back in the day, not like we're perfect now, but I genuinely think a drama like this would get a lot of backlash today. Regardless, I think it's important to note this aspect of the cast/story and how problematic it is, just because a story is old doesn't mean we have to shut down conversations about what's appropriate and what isn't.
2. The ending: If the goal was to kill the FL, there were so many ways to do it well, and show how horrific AIDS was prior to all the medication we currently have, that allows people living with HIV to have full, happy and healthy lives, the English series It's A Sin is a perfect example of a well-done HIV/AIDS storyline. Instead, I think the goal of the writers was to shock the audience, and that made the ending be very rushed, very random and very poor, so I wasn't sad for the FL and her loved ones, I was just dumfounded.
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