Sumika Sumire (2016)

I was pleasantly surprised by this drama. Given the premise - an older woman being given her younger body back - I thought it would be more on the humorous side. In reality, it ended up being a very light, but incredibly sweet drama. It was nicely paced and very easy to watch.

It's really great to see a drama that touches upon the subject of age. Often times, especially in places like Japan, a woman's value is determined by trivial things such as her age (saying women past 30 are undesirable, their lives are defined by whether or not they eventually end up with someone during their 20's, etc etc.), but that is not the case in Sumika Sumire.

Sumi-chan is encouraged to enjoy her newfound youth. Never once is she portrayed as weird/gross for trying to live her new life, even though she is, technically, a 65-year old woman. She is met with plenty of love and encouragement from almost all of the other characters. And In the end, she changes not only her own life, but the ones of those around her as well.

Overall, it is a very sweet, light-hearted, and positive story. I like to think that Sumire, in its own way, is trying to tell people that if you're unhappy with your life, it's not always too late to try and change it. I mean, obviously, you're not going to magically end up with a younger body or go back in time or something. But, to me, the message is still pretty clear: you're never too old or too far gone to find happiness. Everyone deserves a second chance at life, and even if you feel hopeless, it's never too late to try.

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okay I have to say that the concept of the drama is pretty unusual and kinda refreshing to see older lead, although I had a major problem during this and I don't know if I'm the only one, which is I didn't like how she was falling for someone as her grandson age.. now don't get me wrong I don't mind the age gap but I think this could be a bit too much..
and also I could get pass through that if things in the end wasn't as it was!
for me I wished if they changed that a bit.. and I couldn't get why did they made her older than the manga?

but other than that the drama is pretty innocent and sweet, it's very light and enjoyable to watch
I liked all the cast they're all awesome specially Rei >

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The main character here is a truly nice person who had it in her fate to never really enjoy herself on the personal side. She had to work hard since childhood. Studying was her dream. Then a miracle allows this super kind lady to re-live her younger days with more allowance for having some fun, for falling in love. She still keeps some innocence in the love field as she never actually as much as entered it... And so as this small fairy-tale begins, one wishes her the best.

I liked the cast. The older actress looks gentle and kind and the younger is beautiful with cute smile. The cute guy is not far away, either. He is someone she briefly met when still old, not daring to dream. Now she is allowed to like him. First few episodes I was rather annoyed we still needed to deal with the "magical cat" who allowed Sumire to become young: that turned into a middle aged guy with eye makeup and black nail polish, who stayed in the heroine's house (and her story) which I did not find necessary. But I appreciated it when this character was able to bring more conclusion and then even an explanation why he was portrayed by middle-aged guy:)

See, I found Kiritani Mirei quite a decent actress, actually doing better job than Oikawa Mitsuhiro. I could tell she most probably spent some time with Matsuzaka Keiko and learned her facial expressions.

But what I honestly appreciated most about this drama were the characters. Each character had a meaning in the story and each was portrayed exquisitely including the small roles. Like Akimoto Sayaka, she was perfect and without her the character would not worked this much. The guy portraying the main love interest who got to date our young/old lady also could not been chosen better, his style of behavior could not be more compatible. And what I appreciated the most was the character of the main heroine. She knew GRATITUDE, not just attitude like all them leading ladies:) I really loved her and not just for being pretty, this time.

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Original concept

Lovely, lovely show! The two main actresses did a wonderful job playing Sumika, especially the young woman. She portrayed the feeling and mannerisms of having a 65-year-old inside her body. This was also enhanced by the script, saying things that an older woman would say, as well as being dressed in a more matronly manner. She was able to teach the younger generation about manners and caring for one another. The love story was just precious, I smiled throughout the whole things. Very happy ending. My only complaint would be the production value/sound quality, which made this seem like a much older show than it was.

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