2008 May 21 « Think Beyond !

Beautiful Life

Already watched it in 2003, but i forget if the actor is kimutaku.. so i watch it again in 2008 and the story is good and unforgettable.. the music from B’z also very2 good..

The Korean drama series “Life is Beautiful” (인생은 아름다워) is also known under the title “Beautiful Life”.

Beautiful Life

Details

Title: ビューティフルライフ
Title (English): Beautiful Life
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Romance, human drama
Episodes: 11
Viewership ratings: 31.86
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2000-Jan-16 to 2000-Mar-26
Air time: Sunday 21:00
Theme song: Konya Tsuki no Mieru oka ni by B’z

Synopsis

Kyoko, a young woman with an unhindered spirit despite being
physically bound to a wheelchair due to illness, and Shuji, a stylish
and popular fashion magazine hairstylist, are brought together in a
fateful traffic incident. Despite their confrontational meeting, they
soon find themselves falling in love, with Shuji drawn to her courage
and enthusiasm and Kyoko attracted to his ability to look beyond her
physical limitations and into her heart. However, Kyoko’s protective
older brother and her worsening condition begin to test the bounds of
their love for each other and threaten to end their beautiful life
together.

Cast

Kimura Takuya as Okishima Shuji (Hairstylist at Hot Lip)
Tokiwa Takako as Machida Kyoko (Librarian)
Watabe Atsuro as Machida Masao (Kyoko’s brother)
Mizuno Miki as Tamura Sachie (Kyoko’s colleague & friend)
Ikeuchi Hiroyuki as Okabe Takumi (Hairstylist at Hot Lip, Shuji’s friend)
Hara Chiaki as Ozawa Mayumi (Hairstylist at Hot Lip, Shuji’s ex-girlfriend)
Nishikawa Takanori as Kawamura Satoru (Hairstylist at Hot Lip)
Matoba Koji as Miyama Kouzou (Volunteer)
Moro Morooka as Tsuchiya (Owner of Hot Lip)
Koyuki as Nakajima Satsuki (Shuji’s ex-girlfriend)
Omori Akemi as Machida Kuniko (Kyoko’s mother)
Kawarazaki Kenzo as Machida Yoshio (Kyoko’s father)
Katagiri Hairi

Production Credits

Screenwriter: Kitagawa Eriko
Producers: Shono Jiro, Ueda Hiroki
Directors: Shono Jiro, Doi Nobuhiro
Music: Mizoguchi Hajime

Episode Ratings

Ep 01: 31.5%
Ep 02: 28.4%
Ep 03: 28.6%
Ep 04: 30.6%
Ep 05: 31.6%
Ep 06: 31.0%
Ep 07: 32.1%
Ep 08: 29.7%
Ep 09: 32.5%
Ep 10: 32.9%
Ep 11: 41.3%

Review by geoffropuff

geoffropuff says: See it

When I first started watching this show, I thought to myself, “a
guy who styles hair and a handicapped librarian, BOOOOORING”. However,
being the drama fiend that I am, I toughed out the first few episodes,
and found that I couldn’t stop watching.

Kimura Takuya gives another one of his very convincing
performances, possibly because this role is similar to all his other
roles of the guy who keeps to himself, but in actuality, is a nice guy,
blah, blah. He has a subtle coolness to his character, but is able to
open up to the girl he cares about.

This is the first show that I’ve seen Takako Tokiwa in, and
after seeing others, I can say that this is my favorite of her roles.
She has a smile that can light up the room, and she does a very good
job playing a handicapped person who doesn’t want to be treated
abnormally because of her handicap. If that didn’t make sense, then I’m
very sorry but that’s the best way I can say it.

At some points, this show was a bit slow for the average drama
watcher. However, I found that these “slow” points were just developing
the characters to an extent that the viewer can really feel their
happiness and pain. I could really feel for the character of Takumi
when he acts the way he does. I won’t go into detail as I don’t want to
spoil it for anyone.

The ending theme song “Konya Tsuki no Mieru oka ni” by B’z is a
good one. I don’t know why it fits this show, but at the end of an
episode, I would sit and listen to the ending theme because I enjoyed
listening to it.

I’m a sap for romantic comedies, love stories, or whatever, so
I really enjoyed this show. If you’re into this sort of thing, I’d
definitely recommend this show. If you’re not, I’d still recommend it.
Maybe your girlfriend might like it.