1 Litre of Tears/1 Litre no Namida

Synopsis:

This is based on the true story of a Japanese girl named Kito Aya who was diagnosed with a disease called Spinocerebellar Degeneration when she was 15 years old. Initially, the purpose of diary was to keep track the disease progression. However, as the disease worsened and she lost the abilities to function, the diary became a proof of her life until her death at 25 years old. The story encompasses how Aya dealed with the disease and how the love and support from her family carried her through.

The special is set 6 months after Aya's death. Aya's sister is a now a nurse-in-training and she joined the neurology department where she met Haruto Asou, Aya's ex-boyfriend. She noticed how he still seemed troubled and unable to accept things after Aya's death. Now he is in charge of a 14 year-old-girl who is having the same disease as Aya. The special is mostly recap on Aya's life as told by Asou to the 14 year-old-girl.

My opinion:

A few friends recommended this to me and many friends had very good feedback about this dorama. I bought the DVD a few years back but only managed to watch it during my last holiday. I was initially a bit skeptical because I hate it when producers add something to a supposedly real-life-story just to make things interesting. Aya's boyfriend in the dorama is purely fictional. In addition, I thought the first few episodes were rather slow, boring, and nothing extraordinary. However, after the disease started to show its fang, the show was just too demanding for my tear ducts.

I agree with my friends. This is not only a good or great show, this is excellent. Not to disappoint, Aya's boyfriend fictional character is an addition to make the whole story more humane and more poignant. I am glad that it is not just a plot to make things messy. And more importantly, the character remains believable. So that is a nice addition. Overall, the plot seems believable. People can find some of the things which happen also happen in their own life. So nothing is over-dramatised here and that makes all the touching things remain that way.

It is great that the producers are not fully in money-making mode but to fully respect the original Aya and her life story. It is a nice touch that at the end of every episode, some photographs of real Aya were shown. And apparently, they consult medical practitioners regarding the medical aspects mentioned in the dorama.

Real life Aya Kito

The casts also gave a stellar performance. Two thumbs up for Erika Sawajiri who played as Aya. I am amazed that she never won any award for the show. After all she manage to show a wide range of emotion throughout the series: from a bubbly healthy girl at the start of the disease to a vulnerable girl struggling to accept her conditions and finally to a dying girl who finally embrace her life. I am sure it is certainly not easy to portray the motor disabilities and speech impairment. Nishikido Ryo (as the boyfriend) is good too. Actually I never really like him but I think he plays his character well. Aya's family members are also amazing. The acting is belivable and it is easy to feel as if they were a real family struggling together to support Aya. I think that just depicts the traditional values of Japanese families from the 1980s.

Of course I don't think the series is perfect. I am just wondering what happened to Aya's ex-classmates in the end. Wouldn't they feel ashamed or something? And for those few who supported her, did they just end contact like that? I also have a big question regarding her roommate in the school for disabled. What happened to her in the end?

The special was rather disappointing because it is just a recap afterall. I actually watched it because a promise of "new scenes". The "new" scene with Aya is only at the end, though. So that is quite disappointing. I also wonder how come her brother just 'disappeared' completely. Afterall, they still show Aya's youngest sister becoming a high school student. Anyway, I think the special allows Aya's sister to "shine" a bit. Haha.. She was so bitchy at the start of the show. Then it came to her sense to be a responsible daughter and sister in the middle of the show. In the special, she has matured further.

My afterthoughts:

Treasure your family more than your friends. Many years ago, I disagree with my parents on this. Looks like they are correct and I am wrong. No matter in what shit you are in, your family members are the only ones who will bail you out. Friends are just~~ useless, a gathering of a group of people happen to be on the same circumstances. In her school, Aya still has some friends who support her (including her fictional boyfriend), although most of them are fake friends anyway. Just imagine that perhaps in her real life, she really has nobody to support her at school. It really took a great courage from her to survive that all. And not condemning any of them, it is sad that it is human nature to be selfish, self-centred bastards, especially in fast-paced modern world. Just like the words of some of Aya's friends "Can't we just wait for additional 5-10mins for her to reach the class?"

The drama also reminds me what ultimately is the most important things that matter in life. In the pursuit of career and material needs, I tend to forget that ultimately, God's greatest gifts are good health and good family. I should be grateful as I have these. Other things will be a bonus from God. After all what's the point of having everything but not health and loved ones?

I decided to write this before I watch the movie version. That one seems to be true-r to the original story because there is no "boyfriend" character. Lets see how it fares compared to the dorama version. Btw, the girl who played as Aya in the movie version actually also played in the TV series as Aya's roomate in the disability school.