Acting
In 1943, as Japan's WWII effort falters, a vice-admiral proposes training squadrons of "volunteer" flyers to crash their armed planes into Allied warships. Yarn follows the lives of kamikaze pilots, as remembered by an aging Kyushu restaurateur who cherishes their memory. Honoring the dead and multiple military anthems may stir the soul of some Japanese, but elsewhere auds will make a one-way trip for exits. Battle scenes are well-executed and script delivers some memorable scenes, but overall competent helming and thesping are powerless over writer-cum-Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishiara's repetitive storytelling. A post-war postscript adds considerable length to an already over-extended narrative. Tech credits are good quality.
Hatanaka Kosaku is a talented boxer who turned pro at the age of 19, winning his debut match with a first round KO. He is talented, but he has no guts. His uncontrollable appetite is an even bigger problem. He can't put himself in the right weight class, he runs out of energy because of hunger, and he gets knocked out while his eyes are set on food at the ringside. However, Kosaku's life changed when he met Sister Angela, a novice nun in the convent near his boxing gym. She became the source of his power, and Kosaku fights only to win her heart.
Based on the manga "Daisuki!! Yuzu no Kosodate Nikki (I Love You! Yuzu's Parenting Diary)" by Mizuho Aimoto, this Japanese TV drama focuses on a woman named Yuzu Fukuhara, who, despite her adult age, has a condition that affects her mental age. After her boyfriend dies saving a child from being hit by a vehicle, Yuzu finds out that she is pregnant with his child. Despite her condition, she shows determination to be a mother and eventually has a daughter named Himawari. The show focuses on Yuzu and her family as Yuzu goes against the odds regarding her mental condition so she can be a good mother to Himawari.
