35-Sai no Shojo (2020)

An outstanding drama, that only better as the series progresses.

Before I begin my review, let me first briefly summarise the plot for you. Basically, the story revolves around a girl named Nozomi who got in an accident at the age of 10 and had been in a coma since then. However, 25 years later on her 35th Birthday, she miraculously regains her consciousness only to realise that she is no longer 10 and the world is neither how it used to be nor she hoped it would be. And hence, she begins her long journey towards adulthood with the help of her family and a childhood friend.

Although, this form of time-travel troupe is nothing unique but what made it truly stand out was the way the show dealt with the theme of "growing up". Unlike other similar dramas out there, this one is neither cute nor fluffy instead it is quite realistic in the sense, the main character first starts of as a child trapped in the body of a 35 year old then progresses on to become a middle schooler, then a high schooler and finally, transforms into a beautiful woman. Next, I loved the portrayal of the family, the individual family members and their relationship with one another partly because unlike the typical families we are used to seeing in dramas, this family is a bit different - they are imperfect yet somehow perfect. Lastly, can we all take a minute and appreciate how good Shibasaki Ko's acting as Imamura Nozomi was. What I admired most was that she even got the small hidden details right, such as the way kids cry or even the way they talk and refer to themselves in third person. Honestly, I doubt anyone else could have played this role better than her. She was simply phenomenal.

Now, as we all know nothing in this world comes without a flaw and even though, there aren't any major drawbacks in this drama, there certainly are scenes that could have been done better. For example, I wasn't a big fan of the way the mother's character died. While the death of her character wasn't surprising it was definitely a bit abrupt. Furthermore, I'm still not too sure how I feel about Nozomi's job, Mana's award and Tatsuya's job, I felt as if it all happened so quickly that it made the last 10 mins seem rather unconvincing. It further made it seem as if the directors rushed to give everyone a happy ending which was a bit unnecessary, at least in my view. Aside from that, everything else was just perfect be it the rest of the cast's acting, cinematography and even the OST. The OST of this series was probably the best I have ever heard in a J-Drama. I don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon.

Finally, I would like to recommend this drama to those who are looking for something simple yet gripping and that too without any unnecessary cringe or exaggeration. Seriously, do check it out, I'm sure you won't regret it.

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A modern fairytale rooted in reality

Despite some little flaws, this drama was like a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed it a lot.
It talks about growth and sorrow in a way which is both symbolical and realistic: family, love, self improvement, compassion and forgiveness are all part of the story...it feels like watching a fairy tale in real life, in fact I loved all the references to the book "Momo" by Michael Ende!
All the actors did a good job; Shibasaki Ko and Sakaguchi Kentaro were absolutely brilliant, they seemed deeply involved with their characters!
I hope that a lot of people will decide to watch it! :)

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