Beautiful Life (2000)

To be loved like this! I'm trying to imagine it! This was truly a heart-warming story as it explores the relationship between a man and a woman handicapped by her illness. The romance between Kyoko and Shuji will remain deep in my heart for awhile. Kimura Takuya has now been added to my list of favorite Japanese actors. He so wonderfully portrays Shuji who unselfishly loves and cares for Kyoko regardless of the objections of her brother who only wants her to be happy. Takako Tokiwa as Kyoko, this was my first time seeing her but guess what, she is making her way on my list too! This is not a story for everyone but anyone who appreciates a good drama will recognize the beauty in this. Excellent!!

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One of my first J dramas and I watched it many years after it first came out. Hadn't watched anything by Takuya Kimura before so this was a nice surprise.... he was, I think, at his prime then, so anything that he did was right - he could do no wrong!

Therefore, he gave the role a certain spunk and coolness that not many male actors could possibly do, even today. He gave hairdressing glamour and style! Of course, the ending was a teeny weeny bit far-fetched...but it was probably something that finished off the story and gave it the fantasy ending that made the drama the success it was at the time. Watch it!

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Loved it.
An amazing story about life and love.
Kimura Takuya was great as Shuji, and all the characters were adorable.
First couple of episodes were a bit ridiculous and I was constantly annoyed by Kyoko pushing Shuji away and ignoring him. However, the last 5 or so episodes were lovely. I loved the relationship between Kyoko and Shuji and how he cared for her so much.
The scene in which Shuji does her makeup in the last episode was a bit over the top, I must say, but him finally breaking down and crying was definitely needed.
I loved the ending, it was absolutely perfect!

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How can a series be so Painfully Beautiful? That's how I describe this series.
Takuya Kimura really did a good job in portraying a hairdresser.
(Trivia: He actually studied Hairdressing for this drama and is a licensed hairdresser)

Yes, I have a love-hate relationship with the Female protagonist for the fact that she's so pessimist, it's to a fault. Yes, I understand she's a person with disability, due to her illness, but she seemed to think that everyone is doing something good for her because of that. Isn't that a bit too much? Can't anybody be just nice, sweet or even fall in love with you, because you are you and not because you have a life threatening illness?

Be ready to weep in the last two episodes. I actually did not expect that cause it was feel good the first few episodes. It was really painfully beautiful. It broke my heart, really.

Original review can be found here: https://elijahmaliksmom.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/beautiful-life-jdorama/

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Some thoughts while watching the last episode...

"It's strange. The fear's receding."

"Receding?"

"Like waves receding."

—Kyoko to Shuji in episode 11

I'm obsessed with how when Shuji finds out Kyko is dying he basically makes a decision never to cry, and how his decision because he knows and feels that there's nothing he can do for her (i.e. he can't save her life), even as everything he then goes on to do is for her and her happiness in her last days of living; the one thing he feels he can do is "be strong" for her—and as messed up as that sounds it's actually something Kyoko appreciates because she feels (and even tells him) she can say anything to him—he can take her fear and her sadness and not run away from them, or from her. But she's also told him that she can hear his heart crying. And so it's like she appreciates the effort he's making to do the only thing he feels he can do for her and for his love for her.

You know how in Eriko Kitagawa's Long Vacation (1996, while this drama is from 2000) it's like this sustained moment of arrested development for Sena and Hayama—this period in their lives of waiting and hoping and nothing going the way they want, and so they act like it's a vacation from life until things start working out again? There's some of that going on here, in how Kyoko and Shuji go and hide out from her being sick: they live together and try to lead regular lives as if her death isn't impending. But in actuality, they're running away/not dealing head on with the situation right in front of them is like in fact how they intentionally decide to deal with it. What Kyoko says about fear receding like a wave, it's like when you're surfing and when you're under water and a wave comes at you—you're not supposed to fight it, but just go under it... The idea that when life gets difficult the thing to do is not to fight against it, but to go through it, to sustain the injury and go through it.

These "pause" moments in life is something Kitagawa returns to again and again, I think, bcause it's the same moment she explores in Orange Days (2004), right at the end of college when Kai's no longer a student and he's on the brink of having to become like a contributing member of society and he has to decide what that will look like for him. Kitagawa's interested in those liminal spaces. In Beautiful life it's the time before a death you know is coming, in Long Vacation it's the time after some success that was supposed to lead to brighter things but didn't, and in Orange Days it's the time before having to become a working adult.

*I wrote these thoughts down before finishing the episode, when we then see Shuji open the salon he and Kyoko dreamed of running together, and he goes surfing, and the show ends with a shot of him facing the waves. It's so cool how Kitagawa laid it all out so well, without being overt about it.

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One of the few dramas I have re-watched and still enjoyed even more each time.

I am typically not a fan of love stories, and I cannot really relate to the experiences of the characters. All I can say is watching this drama makes me believe in the beauty of love and devotion to a partner. I love the chemistry between the two lead characters and towards the ending of the story, you will be emotionally and mentally impacted by the beauty of the plot. I did not want to say too much about this drama other than it is a must watch and it made me a fan of Kimura Takuya, who I have watched basically everything he has ever performed. For me this is totally a masterpiece for the role that he plays. Just thinking of the story right now brings tears to my eyes. It is so beautiful.

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