Kaseifu no Mita (2011)

To tell the truth, I've been uncertain about starting this drama and later I have seen why. It is very slow-paced and leaves an imprint of something long and lasting- that's where it captures the viewer. It tells a different tale in a realistic, brutally realistic way that shows how far a life can go. I took my time to watch it; for more than one month and I found it quite enjoyable. I recommend it because it holds a whole lot more than a drama can. A well-written story of a family and its housekeeper who cope and struggle with the world around them. Cast that slide right into their roles, and played them beautifully. It offers a big, meaty, flavorful slice of real life.

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Kaseifu no mita is a really cool family drama. I really don’t like family dramas a whole lot but this one was pretty good. A creepy, robotic, Nanny McFee character is the housekeeper who of course teaches the family valuable lessons, and unifies the family all while learning one herself.
The main reason I don’t like most family dramas is because they are really unrealistic. However this one really touches on a dark side of life. Not all smiles and happy times, this drama delves into teenage sex, infidelity, suicide, longing, angst, anger and tragedy. Looking at how a family fell apart and was unconsciously mended back together through individual choices made me want to see each episode. I wanted to know whose turn was it to get “fixed”, and how/where was it gonna happen.
Nanako Matsushima was awesome!! She was not only totally believable but she was the character, and it was played to perfection. Other outstanding actors were Shiori Kutsuna who really did bring out the troubled teenager she was playing.
What I didn’t like was the ridiculous concept that the housekeeper never getting into trouble doing what she did. If they were going to be realistic and dark they should have gone all the way. I found the youngest kid annoying (I think that’s what they were aiming for) and a lot of her parts I fast forwarded through. I really wanted one of the kids to become a yankee but ***** no spoilers here****. The grumpy grandfather never became loveable to me and for some reason I found the longing of the aunt (urara played by Aibu saki) annoying and unnecessary. Each time the kids asked Mita (housekeeper) what to do, she answered the exact same thing, that drove me crazy because they kept looking like she would say something different.
The story was great but I felt like the revelations at the end were rushed and unnatural, almost as if the writers didn’t realize it was time for the drama to end. I would have liked the drama to focus a bit more on the housekeeper throughout and not just at the last 15 minutes. Dot get me wrong the ending was still nice and sweet , but it could have been better. The story itself seemed as if midway they needed new material. Like they ran out of problems within the family to tackle so they moved to the unnecessary neighbors. Still it looked like they have this one primed for a second season and I would watch that one too. However in the next family maybe they could make the family less annoying, because in some episodes 4 whiny, selfish, nosy brats and a spinelessa, cry-baby father were too much to take. Although it doesn't suck you in, and make you a part of the family, this one is an interesting watch.

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Kaseifu No Mita takes us into a mysterious thrilling episode-by-episode transformation of a dysfunctional family well into the brink of self-destruction. Oddly enough, a hired housekeeper, a stranger of whom mystery is enigmatic, helps in some odd way to repair the rifts between the family members. Of course, happy-endings somewhat evade you. I mean, what is the fun of happy endings? Where is the drama in it? Where is the thrill? Thus, one can often cringe at the superficiality and cringiness (mind me) of several characters. Some criticize it as a melancholic display of soap opera but I would argue such claims. Isn't it the very human characteristic-- that superficiality? That indecisiveness in times of decisions? That insecurity? That melancholy? So in-fact, this drama does give an accurate portrayal of the destructive and morose capacity of the human emotion. But of course, everything is not so sad as they may appear; after-all, the human experience also shares things like happiness, joy, love, and family values. Indeed, this mysterious play on the human emotion leads to a delightful intellectual orgasm. Oh well, I give it a 10 out of 10!

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I had this drama on plan to watch for centuries but wasn't sure to see it or not.Kinda confuse.But one day I decided to watch it & I was surprised that it was such a good drama.I haven't watched many mysterious sort of dramas, but I liked it.
The thing I like best is the acting & music & the storyline.It shows that sometime life could be harsh but you could find happiness back.Even the tempo of drama is slow in first but it gets better once you start watching it & it took less than two days to complete this drama.
The thing I don't like is that you get curious to know whats next & you get addicted, just kiddin'. It is freakishly good drama.
It's a must watch.
P.S: Sometime I was like,"Gosh!!I freakishly want that housekeeper!!"

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It may be the difference of culture, but I found this drama just a bizarre and strange show, which tries to justify the problems of a dysfunctional family.

If it was just explaining why each was like that, that's fine. But the way the family treats Mita ... didn't give it to me. I was going to leave, but I jumped for the last episode just to know how it would end.

It was one of the worst dramas I've ever seen.

The performances were medium, but the plot, which could be well developed, was run in a freak way.

SPOILER
The scene in which the boy punches her several times, and then, after a round of each one bursts out her sorrows, and the night ending as a happy family ... Where NOBODY apologized to her, and continued to treat She as a servant while she still had her mouth bleeding from the teenager's punches ... was the worst part of the drama. That made me jump to the end.
END OF SPOILER.

Would re-watch: Oh Hell NOOO!

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The twists - what an unpredictable plot!

I chose to watch this series last week because it was going to leave Netflix on 14 October. Wow, what a ride! I don't know where the writer was taking me.

What I liked:
1) Acting - Top notch acting by Nanako Matsushima, Hiroki Hasegawa, Shioli Kutsuna, Taishi Nakagawa & Shuto Ayabe. I could see the emotions that they conveyed in their characters (Akari Mita, Keiichi, Yui, Kakeru & Kaito).
2) Plot - It kept me on my toes with that amount of twists and turns. Traumatic and painful family drama that were slowly unravelled. I think Keiichi, Yui and Kaito arcs were done well. I also like that the series explored different reactions to suicide.
3) Tone - I like the mystery and suspense tone of this drama. It felt very Hitchcock-ian.
4) Visuals - I don't mean to be shallow but wow what a good looking cast. In particular, Hiroki Hasegawa, Shioli Kutsuna, Taishi Nakagawa & Shuto Ayabe. I couldn't believe Taishi and Shuto were same age - Taishi looked mature for his age.

What I disliked:
1) Nosy neighbour - She was mean and liked to play victim. I hate her for not realising the impact of her words on children.
2) Yui's brat attitude - I disliked her when she abandoned her younger siblings because in the earlier episodes, she emphasised her role as the eldest sibling.
3) Mita's dangerous actions - I disliked the fact that there were hardly any implications of Mita's dangerous actions. She was only apprehended once by the police because of neighbour's complaint (which was rightly so).
4) Keiichi & mistress - OMG I felt like strangling him for priotising his mistress over his kids. He was dumped and yet he was desperate for her love & affirmation.

Favourite scene
Kaito's assignment about his mother especially when he read out loud his assignment in class.

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Iv'e notice this drama in 2013 after i have seen the Korean remake (called "The Suspicious Housekeeper" that i liked also )
The difference between them that i understand now after reading some reviews is that the Korean virsion is more Digestible and the western viewers can relate to while if you into Japanese dramas and Japanese culture you can relate to this maybe more then the K virsion.
What i feel about the Japanese tv is "Still waters run deep" , it's slow and revealing piece by piece with some kind of deep emotions that hard to understand , and maybe the view on the woman is different
The korean version is more memorable as times go by now after a couple of years i can see the empact on me.

worth a watching

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