Tsuma, Shogakusei ni Naru (2022)

Kudos to the child actress

I picked this without much thought at first because usually I like to watch Japanese slice-of-life dramas with some supernatural or fantasy elements in them, but didn’t expect to like this as much as I did and am surprised that there are so few reviews written about it.

What I liked about this drama:

Firstly, yes, the Japanese are good at making slice-of-life dramas. I believe this genre is their FORTE. They are able to make ordinary, everyday happenings interesting and very ordinary conversations touching.

Secondly, this drama touches my heart. It shows a family being torn apart by death of a family member, one who is always full of life, of good cheer, keeps the entire house proper, does the housework for the family 365 days a year, cooks all meals for the family, yes, sounds all mundane stuff, but the reality is that when this person is no longer around, the whole family simply collapses. The entire world becomes gloomy and dark for the remaining family members who simply live their lives like zombies day in, day out, year after year. And then, out of a sudden, one day, when they are given a second chance, that is, when the supposedly dead family member comes back (in the body of an elementary school kid), the family gains newfound cherish and happiness….but alas…this second chance is taken away again…..

This drama executed all the above very well. The emotions of the main leads were just right, the words said were appropriate and simply able to strike a chord.

Thirdly, the female lead. The elementary school kid who acted as the wife whose spirit had gone into this school kid’s body. This drama’s title is ‘my wife became an elementary school kid’, so obviously they had to find an elementary school girl to act as the wife and wow, I think they found a really suitable child actress. I am not familiar with Japanese child actresses, but this particular actress really acted convincingly as a 40-plus year-old woman, although she was merely a 10-year-old girl in real. It is not easy for a girl as young as her to act like a mature adult woman, but her mannerisms, body language, vibe, right down to her facial expressions and speaking, were all convincing enough in this drama. Kudos to this actress! I think her exceptional acting was the key to the success of this drama because 98% of everything in the drama was about her and her family.

Overall, the pacing was good, neither too fast nor too slow, there was never a dull moment I could remember, even when what they were doing or talking about were just ordinary everyday stuff.

I have to specially mention the OST. The drama was not filmed in the 80s or 90s, but somehow, there was a nostalgic feel to the music which was soothing to the ears.

As with most Japanese dramas I have watched, loose ends were tied properly at the end, closures were properly made, goodbyes and words of gratitude were properly said, leaving no regrets and nothing hanging in mid-air or unsettled. The ending gave a sense of satisfaction and positivity towards the future.

It reminded us that even if our loved ones were to leave us one day, we should still face life positively and live it to its fullest.

Negative comments? I did think hard, if I really have to comment, it will be that the stories of side characters were not developed much, BUT they were not irritating and did not at all worsen the main storyline. This is perhaps the characteristic of most Japanese dramas, short and focused (on only the main story and the main leads), but really, other than that, I cannot find anything negative worth commenting because EVEN IF there are, the positive ones above far surpass any negative ones.

I highly recommend this drama if you like heart-warming Japanese slice-of-life, family dramas with a supernatural element, but I have to mention that the supernatural element in this drama is not the focus and does not play a huge part at all.

There are numerous such Japanese dramas out there, but this is definitely one of them I did not regret watching.

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