Sekai Chuushin De, Ai Wo Sakebu

Just finished watching a series called "Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu" (Crying out Love, In the Center of the World). It's the story about Saku, as he remembers the love he shared with Aki 17 years ago, and how he lost her to leukemia.

Of all the Japanese doramas I've seen, I think I'd have to put this at the very top of the list. I can't remember any other series where the ending was just as good as the rest of the series. It was just... WOW.

It was supposed to last me a week or two, as I had intended to watch an episode a day... But I just couldn't rip myself away from the TV... sigh. (o_o)

I'd say that it was a very powerful and touching drama. It really makes you think twice about life and death, more so than anything else I've seen (and I've seen quite a few tear-jerking dramas where someone has to die in the end, like "Summer Snow" and "Beautiful Life"). The story was very moving/emotional, and sometimes eve philosophical too, but they kept the message simple. They stuck to the plot line and there was no filler material in the 10-ish hours.

The plot was predictable. Heck, they kept making references to how the ending will turn out... but it was how the story unfolded that kept me hooked. Plus, it was like a car accident on the freeway -- you know it's horrible, but you just can't get yourself to look away. I thought that everything was executed beautifully in the drama... from the dialog to the cinematography. I loved the shots of Ayer's Rock and the ocean. Anyway, I can't believe it's only ranked #18 on the jdorama top 50 list. It must be extremely underrated since it only came out a year ago.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good series.

More Info:
From jdorama.com
From wikipedia