New Fall J-Drama: Yu'ube no Curry, Asu no Pan Ep.1

Although people may get the idea that this is a comedy, it is not that funny.  It gives us serious look at our lives such as feeling sad after being left behind by a loved one, having difficulties smiling, wanting not to go forward, etc.  It has funny moments, too.  Very nice combination of sad and funny moments.  This drama has a nice atmosphere.   

Our main lady, Tetsuko (played by Naka Ri'isa) is a widow.  Her husband, Kazuki (played by Hoshino Gen) died 7 years ago.  She lives with Kazuki's father, Rentarou (played by Kaga Takeshi).  People think it's strange that Tetsuko still lives with him.  Tetsuko knows that, but she wonders,

"Everybody tells me to go forward.  But is it wrong to remain in the same place?  I don't want to go forward yet."


Rentarou also knows Tetsuko should leave him and start her new life.  He tells her, but her answer was,

"I'll be beside you at your final moments.  I promised that to Kazuki."

A neighbor of Tetsuko and Rentarou, MuMuMu (played by Mimura) was a cabin attendant. She quit her job, and now stays at home, and isolates herself from society.   MuMuMu and Kazuki grew up together.  MuMuMu and Tetsuko have something in common.  They both have hard time smiling.

Looking at MuMuMu, her dad, Kazumasa (played by Ogura Ichirou) thinks he is a failure, being unable to bring up her daughter right.

Every day, Tetsuko and Rentarou take turns eating dried-and-hard rice (the rice offered to Kazuki the day before).  They do that "in order to remember people must eat to live however sad they are."

Tetsuko's colleague, Iwai (played by Mizobata Junpei) asks her to marry him.  Tetsuko tells her she has no intention to marry.  She tells him that she hates families.  She gets upset when she sees a happy family in a restaurant.  They look very unreal to her because they are ignoring the fact that everybody dies.

This drama is based on a novel with the same title written by Kizara Izumi.  In fact, Kizara Izumi is not one person but a husband-and-wife pair.  They wrote scripts for "Suika," "Nobuta wo Produce," "Q10," etc.

My reaction:
I love this drama.  It's sad, but everybody is trying hard in his/her own way to live.  I hope Tetsuko will gradually find a way to live with Kazuki's death without feeling hurt so much.  I also hope MuMuMu will find peace in her heart.
   
I will definitely continue watching this drama.