「TV Series of the Week」 Ashita, Mama ga Inai #04.

『明日、ママがいない』 第4話 少女の悲しいヒミツ母親の幽霊は語る…

Ashita, Mama ga Inai #04. 「The Ghost of the Sad Secret Mother of the Girl Speaks…」

Screenwriter(s): Matsuda Saya (松田沙也)
Chief Producer: Ito Hibiki (伊藤響)
Producer(s): Fukui Yuta (福井雄太), Namba Toshiaki (難波利昭)
Director(s): Inomata Ryuichi, Naganuma Makoto, Suzuki Yuma (鈴木勇馬)
Music: Haketa Takefumi

Bit by bit, this show is losing its initial luster and seems to be falling into a slate of comfortable story-telling. We finally get coverage of Bonbi beyond her obsession with the Japanese Joripi this week, but the episode leaves a lot to be desired.

Summary:

Once again, a new batch of foster parent candidates means a new chance for our characters to move on to new lives. To Donki and our surprise, this marks the first trial of Bonbi’s, even though she’s been a resident of the Kogamo no Ie program for so long. Unlike some of the other children, Bonbi is a completely obedient child in the presence of her trial parents; but not unlike everyone else, she experiences a fit of overwhelming nostalgia during. At dinnertime, she sees her trial father scooping seconds from the rice cooker and strikes a nerve. A faint, a hospital trip and a feint later, she refuses to continue with the trial and refuses to eat. The incident had triggered memories of her real father, who was always so hard-working and eating his fill during dinnertime after a long day’s work. Bonbi isolates herself in bed and replaces her fixation with Joripi with the belief that her destitute parents are currently working their hardest so they can to be able to retrieve Bonbi from Kogamo no Ie one day. She is however denying the truth of her scenario, that her parents are long since deceased.

Earlier at the school infirmary, Piami had witnessed Ren confess to Posuto, and now sees Bonbi’s dilemma as an opportunity to antagonize Posuto and prove that she is a better friend to Bonbi than her. All the while, Maou and Locker are doing their best to support Bonbi on the side-lines. Via fairly expensive train-fare Posuto, Pachi, Locker and Kana meet with the first relative of Bonbi they could find, her aunt, who is actually the identical twin sister of her mother, identical with the sole exception of a birthmark on the face. Posuto shows just how much she cares for her friend when she outright imposes Bonbi’s aunt to adopt Bonbi, and Locker and Kana share their second intimate moment in the mixed-gender hot spring. Posuto finally realizes the connection between the rice cooker and Bonbi’s emotional breakdown, but the crew are ultimately unable to convince Bonbi’s aunt to take an active part in her life. Similarly, Piami and Donki are unsuccessful in their mission to somehow involve the Japanese Joripi in this matter. However, upon hearing about Posuto and crew’s mission, Maou obtains the aunt’s phone number from Kana to hatch his own scheme. In taking advantage of Bonbi’s excessive imagination and a simple projector, he summons the ghost of Bonbi’s mother, and Bonbi is finally granted a sense of closure while the others witness with eyes full of tears (yes, even Posuto).

Maou goes the literal extra mile and drives the girls to where the tombstones of Bonbi’s parents are located, where they give thanks to the parenthood and have their own moment of sisterhood on the shores of a beach. Piami’s contempt towards Posuto is resolved here too when Posuto expresses allegiance to the unspoken girl code of not pursuing a friend’s crush. Piami admirably asks to be punched by Posuto just like how she had been when they first met, but Posuto responds with their usual cop-out of potentially feeling gross. The children are once again embarking in the midst of the night, but this time with the “parental” supervision of Maou during the car-ride back to Kogamo no Ie. Posuto tells Maou that Bonbi knew nearly all-along that the ghost was actually her aunt and not her mother (because of the birthmark, or lack thereof), a revelation that receives his signature reaction of a tongue click. Nonetheless, Posuto thanks him, much to the awkward affability from both parties, obviously not used to this air of fondness. An atypical family indeed.

Review:

So once more, we see that Posuto is unable to mend all the delicate situations herself, though this time the consequence is nowhere as grave as a girl mutilating her own legs. Regardless, there does seem to be something worth exploring in that Posuto’s exalted character is continually being brought back down to Earth, on a ground level with the others so that she too can experience the bulk of emotions going on with this chaotic family. And it goes without saying, that she isn’t a brave character because she’s immune to all the emotional instability that the other characters submit to, but because she indubitably undergoes the same psychopathy but is still able to face them headstrong. Posuto has been established as a very keen person since episode one, and I can only associate that attribute with the fact that she truly cares about the wellbeing of the others. So when it was revealed that she had already knew about the status of Bonbi’s characters, it was no surprise. Additionally so, in willfully taking over Bonbi’s trial, she actively opened herself to a barrage of judgment from others, as shown when Kana confronted her about playing detective and when Piami, arguably her best friend, saw her actions as a heartless move. On the other hand, Donki is always there to tell the others that maybe such isn’t the case, that they shouldn’t be making brash accusations and actions in the heat of their emotions and really see people for what they really are. Her benevolence is what allows her to innocently ask Maou things like, “Can’t we simply contact her parents? Even though it’s not likely, surely, there’s still a chance.” These questions are of course the straightforward solutions to things that everyone else would normally overlook while confined in their own worries, but nonetheless have the ability to shape a child’s future. It seems that Donki realizes this not just because of her tarnished relationship with her mother, but also because she is a damn nice girl. Obviously, it’s hard to say she was raised that way, given the insensitivity of her mother, so what can we attest it to other than an oh-so-admirable attribute of the individual. In that sense, the dynamic duo of Donki and Posuto is definitely persisting and doing wonders for the kindling hearth that is Kogamo no Ie.

This episode was pretty strong on the main cast, which made me realize that even when the limelight is on the four girls, the style of writing in this show still manages to split them up in a sense. To my subtle disappointment, with the exception of the short-lasting moments of closure at the end of each episode, the girls don’t really experience the kind of friendship dependency as I would’ve expected from the conclusion of the series premiere. If anything, Posuto receives the bulk of the growth, while the others kind of just fill-in with their respective arcs and occasional purposes. According to the preview, it looks like next week will be Piami’s turn for full coverage, leaving five episodes left. It’ll be interesting to see if Posuto herself will get the back-story treatment, seeing as how she was purportedly abandoned since birth, a fairly lacking upbringing. But hey, the ins and outs of drama television writing say that anything is possible, even if it does turn out to be a contradictory plot hole. I’m going to hold onto my hopes for Ashita, Mama ga Inai that it doesn’t disappoint to that extent.

「TV Series of the Week」 Ashita, Mama ga Inai #03.

明日、ママがいない 第3話 「ウサギの赤い涙。親のいる子も寂しい？」

Ashita, Mama ga Inai #03. 「A Rabbit’s Red Tears. A Child with Parents Is Still Lonely?」

Screenwriter(s): Matsuda Saya (松田沙也)
Chief Producer: Ito Hibiki (伊藤響)
Producer(s): Fukui Yuta (福井雄太), Namba Toshiaki (難波利昭)
Director(s): Inomata Ryuichi, Naganuma Makoto, Suzuki Yuma (鈴木勇馬)
Music: Haketa Takefumi

For the episode with the viewership highest rating thus far, the writing sure took a pretty noticeable slump, I thought. That’s what I wanted to assuredly say, that is, until the last ten minutes or so of the episode, which wrapped things up quite beautifully.

You know, for a bunch of orphans with not so much as a cell phone for emergency situations, these kids sure do go out in the middle of the night a whole damn lot. This week’s happenings take the cake when one child ends up at a hostess bar (though I guess that’s out of her own volition) and the other takes a handicap girl in a wheelchair to an abandoned park so that she can become even more vulnerable by falling face first into a sandbox over and over again. It seems that a standard structure has been established in terms of an episode-by-episode basis, in which Maou introduces the files on couples looking to adopt and whatever details the children notice is what indicates just what is going to ensue for the rest of the episode’s duration. And for this week, Otsubone finally gets her long, sought-after chance for adoption when one such couple is not explicitly interested in age nor gender, but rather, astrological sign, Sagittarius in particular, which lands Otsubone and Posuto as the leads for this episode of unadulterated misadventures.

Synopsis:

Surprisingly enough, the aforementioned couple actually already have a daughter, and it was the superstitious mother’s plan to arrange an astrologically compatible child for that daughter, Azusa, so that she could have some form of familial interaction while her parents were far-off working on their careers. The handicapped Azusa however isn’t so willing to accept a substitution for her parents and takes out unbridled resentment, that should rightfully be aimed towards her parents, onto Posuto and Otsubone. Otsubone acts accordingly and gives up on this trial, especially after discovering that she will be inheriting no money she could use to surgically repair her scarred eye. But she jumps from the frying pan into the fire after she is kicked out of Kogamo no Ie because of her decision and subsequently retreats to her mother (revealing that she actually has a mother at the same time), who works as a bar hostess. Meanwhile, Posuto also acts in accordance to her character by taking on the challenge of mending Azusa’s heart, in her classic spark-plug manner. Azusa soon warms up to Posuto (who wouldn’t?) after almost being killed by her and is finally able to stand again through a therapeutic procedure designed by an adolescent child involving face-planting into a sandbox. Concurrently, Piami and Bonbi bond through their corresponding rejections from dream boy and dream parents respectively, while Donki braves up to confront Maou about his attraction towards the bentou lady and his treatment towards Otsubone (and essentially everyone else at the home).

Posuto’s growing friendship with Azusa converges with Otsubone’s existential crisis when the two share a meaningful conversation on the phone. Posuto convinces Otsubone to stop lying to herself and uses the same speech and sentiments of sisterhood that Azusa had professed to her, but emotionally cripples (no pun intended) an over-hearing Azusa. Locker interrupts the phone call and retrieves Otsubone from the hotel her mother sent her to as well as from a pretty damn dangerous scenario, bringing her back in time for dinner and also in time for Locker to get a peck on the cheek from Kana standing-by in front of the Kogamo no Ie household.

Review:

I was nearly all but convinced that Posuto had stolen the limelight of the show, not just from the main cast but also from Donki as the apparent lead. But after this episode, I’ve begun to view the two girls of the Kogamo no Ie household as a dynamic duo of sorts. Wherein Posuto’s toughened and indomitable demeanor is compelling enough to stir the hearts of others, Donki’s innate compassion and altruism allows her to add a new light of understanding amongst everyone. Together, the pair are mending the brutality of the Kogamo no Ie household one episode at a time. And there’s nothing like the classic family dinner trope, wherein one family member awaits the return of the rest in order to have a fully satisfying meal, to define this new atmosphere. Someone crying at the deliciousness of the love behind the food more so than the actual food will never not be an endearing thing. And of course, bonus points go to the subsequent pillow talk between the two “sisters” Donki and Posuto. The manner in which they now talk to each other is a complete evolution from the first episode, and it’s additionally meaningful because these two haven’t quite interacted with each other in the past two episodes yet can still sense each others’ growth.

I would have to say that the weakest point in this show’s writing is the continued usage of very one-dimensionally corrupt side-characters who seem to only serve the purpose of being defeated by the good intentions of the main cast. This week was certainly different with Azusa (being instead a victim of bad parents) to which the writer(s) devoted an arguably excessive amount of screen-time. She was explicitly used as a comparative older sister figure to Otsubone, so one may question why not just script the same themes and motifs of the episode without the need of a newly introduced character that would only be there for one episode? If there is any justification, the answer might just be in the final moments of the episode, in which, for the first time, the placing of the ending theme just didn’t seem right mood-wise, at all. After showing her parents that she can stand on her own two feet, Azusa inadvertently convinces them that she is ready to hear news of their divorce. This announcement of course couldn’t come at any worse a time. The poor girl loses all hope thereafter and regresses her therapeutic progress by stabbing her own legs with a broken vase. This also marks the first time that Posuto has unsuccessfully played the role of the savior, leaving her defeated self with nothing to do but chasing the departing ambulance down the street until she runs out of breath. There, the episode cuts, leaving a pretty bleak impression. In retrospect, perhaps it was too early to say that a standard episode structure has been established as this occurrence suggests a definite change in the tone of the series, if nothing else. It’s still hard to determine exactly how the series will end. The children have definitely gotten many chances to leave the Kogamo no Ie household, but none other than side-characters have fully taken that path. As of now, the most likely ending seems to be the unification of this unconventional family, including Maou, into an official family; but at the same time, it seems like too obvious of an outcome. I for one am hoping it maintains this up-in-the-air effect as to not make us too comfortable with any formulaic and or predictable proceedings. What made me fall in love with this series in its premiere was the creative premise and the engaging writing that has yet to be out-shined by any succeeding episodes. I want to maintain that image as long as possible and, of course, all the way to the end if possible.

 

「TV Series of the Week」 Ashita, Mama ga Inai #02.

『明日、ママがいない』 第2話 9歳の母性本能。いたいけな少年を救え

Ashita, Mama ga Inai #02. 「Maternal Instinct of a 9-year-old. Save the innocent boy」

Screenwriter(s): Matsuda Saya (松田沙也)
Chief Producer: Ito Hibiki (伊藤響)
Producer(s): Fukui Yuta (福井雄太), Namba Toshiaki (難波利昭)
Director(s): Inomata Ryuichi, Naganuma Makoto, Suzuki Yuma (鈴木勇馬)
Music: Haketa Takefumi

I’m starting to accept Ashita, Mama ga Inai as a drama in the full sense of the word. Just by paying a modicum of attention to how the background music is timed or how the child actors are seemingly instructed to act out certain scenes, it becomes pretty clear that the sinister bastards behind this show are utilizing every chance they get to breach the viewers’ emotional exteriors and have us tear-bound. And I have to say, it works wonders for someone as sensitive and imaginative as myself. At the very least, I definitely prefer shedding a tear or a dozen for the cruel harshness of life that these kids experience than for the typical romantic-comedy. Yes, that’s my defense. A sad excuse of one, but I’m sticking to it. Though this second episode doesn’t quite live up to the impact of the premiere, it does satisfactorily delve into all the right components of the show. In my opinion,  there are three really special things about this series so far: fairly exceptional screenwriting from Matsuda Saya, phenomenal acting from Mana Ashida, and the aforementioned premise about orphaned children that sort of just attracts universal empathy. This episode’s broadcast delivered a great fifty minutes of all three.

Summary:

Continuing from last episode’s events, the children of Kogamo no Ie receive a new batch of prospective parents (definitely an ironic way to word it). Maki, now known as Donki, and Pachi take the lead with their trials while the other three of our main cast attend the birthday party of the previously introduced Sasazuka Ren, whom Piami has a flat-out crush on. Both Donki and Pachi struggle as they realize kind and cruel treatment alike awaken past memories of their real parent(s). Pachi’s trial mother tries to force him to move on from his traumatic childhood by ridding him of his treasured shampoo bottle that bears the nostalgic scent of his birth mother. In response to his subsequent misbehavior, she forces him to take a hot bath, inadvertently emulating the conditions of when Pachi was found by staff of the Child Consultation Center abandoned and in a bout of dehydration. After she wrecks the birthday party in true spark-plug fashion, Posuto’s motherly instinct kicks in and she realizes something must definitely be wrong with Pachi. She breaks into the home of the trial parents by traversing balconies and breaking-in a glass-door with a brick and her fist, then proceeds to show a desperate wannabe mother how true care-taking is done. A hospital scene later, as the wistful ending theme plays, Pachi makes his homecoming into the open arms of an unconventional yet ever-so-loving family in an orphanage he can rightfully call home.

Review:

There are some excellent character interactions and developments going on all though-out here, the first of course being the dynamic between Posuto and Pachi. The previous episode had established their mother-son relationship quite candidly, but the transgressions of this week demonstrated that that alone does not stop them from simply being two children who are only a few years apart in age. Posuto spies on Pachi’s first meeting with his trial parents because of her genuine concern; but after seeing him legitimately happy with them, she can’t help but feel unneeded. (This in turn allows her to attend Ren’s birthday party with Piami and Bonbi and to re-confirm her motherly authority with another group.) As a result, later on at the orphanage, Posuto and Pachi have a minor falling out that naturally distances their relationship, wherein Posuto thinks Pachi is better off without her and Pachi feels much too abandoned to confide in Posuto with as much ease as he did before. But of course, when things get serious, this makeshift family does not fail each other, and the two are soon reconciled, now closer than ever.

Meanwhile, the show’s supposed protagonist, Donki, is all off on her own, that is if you don’t count the two adults who could possibly become her new parents. The couple may have tried too hard to make a first impression on Donki when they decided to take her to an amusement park, where she is ambushed by the euphoria of the occasion and is rendered helpless to a stream of tears. Donki sees the reflection of her walking with a loving (loving used loosely, since a lot of couples in this show have proved to be quite dysfunctional) husband and wife and just completely breaks down. The two are completely baffled at her reaction to receiving a balloon; but for the viewers, it should be fairly understandable that the girl is just not ready to move onto a life of being lovingly doted upon after the incident from episode one.

In the adult world, overlord of Kogami no Ie, who the children simply call Maou, continues to develop a true affection for the children. Also noteworthy are his with-lasting interactions with Locker, whom he seems to be most amiable with, at least to the point where he can talk about women and romances in his presence.

Piami also gets a considerable amount of development, especially  during Ren’s birthday party. It is revealed that she used to be a “princess” overindulged by her father before whatever incident that caused her abandonment. Forthrightly, she really is her best when Posuto is there to snap her out of that princess mode of swooning over boys and being self-conscious around flocks of contemptuous girls. Piami is someone who has essentially fallen from grace and her personality has reflected that since episode one when Donki first met her. It’s hard to tell how much she’s accepted that herself because she only seems to think about finding rich parents and re-obtaining the luxury of a piano to play, a goal that is actually quite admirable in and of itself. At the very least, she doesn’t seem to be as obsessed with the holy grail of parents, “Joripi,” as Bonbi is. And in speaking of Bonbi, it’s a shame that as one of the four main characters, she is still being side-lined and portrayed as nothing more than a comic relief and running gag. While I admit that she’s my least favorite of the main cast, it’s past due time for her to have some kind of insightful experience.

Last and probably also least, there is some minor showtime for Mizusawa Kana, the female agent from the Yokohama Child Consultation Center, who reveals her past as an orphan, and Otsubone, who continues to be the butt of the jokes from even the children nearly a decade younger than her. Her scenario is something that I find truly unfortunate and it’s a bit sad that it’s taken so lightly by even the other children who share her misfortune. Though if the preview is anything to go by, her back-story will be elaborated upon next time.

「TV Series of the Week」 Ashita, Mama ga Inai #01. (Series Premiere)

Ashita, Mama ga Inai #01. 「The little girl who lost love. I wasn’t abandoned by Mother, it was I who abandoned her」

Screenwriter(s): Matsuda Saya (松田沙也)
Chief Producer: Ito Hibiki (伊藤響)
Producer(s): Fukui Yuta (福井雄太), Namba Toshiaki (難波利昭)
Director(s): Inomata Ryuichi, Naganuma Makoto, Suzuki Yuma (鈴木勇馬)
Music: Haketa Takefumi

Ashita, Mama ga Inai isn’t the first drama series I’ve watched, but I’ve resolutely decided that it will be the first one I watch from beginning to end. I stumbled upon this wonderful childrens’ story of growth, acceptance and free will on Tumblr, ironically not so much an unadulterated place itself. The photo-set that caught my interest was a series of ten GIFs depicting the scene whereinosuto (played by Mana Ashida) delivers a wholly heartfelt speech that also garners the complementary conceptual symmetry of explaining the whole title of the series, translated literally to Tomorrow, Mama Won’t Be Here (and is one of a few striking moments in the first episode that had me tear-bound). Sure enough, a small girl crying on my dashboard evoked the same response as a small girl crying in real life would, and the show effectively welcomed me into the world of Japanese drama series. (Though I suppose it’s worth noting that Jun to Ai would have had this merit had I been able to find subtitles for it. My sensei would show clips from this asadora in class and that intrigued me enough to watch it for fun.) Needless to say, after an underwhelming exposure of romcom series recommended to me by female classmates back in high school and a four year time-skip, I was blown away by the presentation of Ashita, Mama ga Inai. It was nothing quite like any live-action series I have seen before and to me, an hour minimum long run-time finally made sense when actual plot and character progression where occurring in lieu of humdrum romantic-comedic stereotypism. Duly noted, there were elements that ensured your awareness that you were, in fact, watching a drama, whether that be some melodramatic tidbits in the writing or the noticeable cuts in shots that were presumably utilized to apply eye-drops to the actresses for that signature effect. But if you take a step back and settle back into your seat, one that isn’t a pretentious, high and almighty throne, then you can really see the show as quite the phenomenal spectacle playing on-screen. The cinematography, a cut above what you would expect of any given TV series; the set design fantastic and imaginative, especially for the “Kogamo no Ie” orphanage that the main cast lives in; the soundtrack superb and arguably the main contribution to the overall mood of the series as well as the mood of each individual scene (also, do check out the theme song, Dare ka Watashi wo by Kotoringo, it’s a wistful, pensive and soothing musical delight), the story strong in its premise and even more so in its  depth of writing; and lastly, its acting, while no Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild, nevertheless exquisite in performance – of course, the highest distinction belonging to nine year old actress Mana Ashida for her representation of the highly dynamic characters Posuto, who displays an eloquence with intermediate grammar and more importantly touching expressions of aggression, maturity, self-confidence, anxiety and affability all within the first episode. It’s almost hard to imagine children of their age being so developed not just as characters in written form but also as people in genuine form, but the context of the story is equal parts severe and well-disposed that the possibility is ultimately left hinging on your judgment. It breaks your heart that there are children experiencing this life-style in real life and it melts your heart that this is how they might overcome it. Either way, this show will damage your heart. As this is in no way a culture that I am familiar with, I wouldn’t be justified in saying that Ashita, Mama ga Inai is a gem of a series in this season; but judging from an immediate and rather controversial reception to its premiere, I think it’s safe to say it’s definitely making its mark as something special. It’s a dignified program that freely intersperses high-end drama with charming comedy to present a narrative that is profoundly attentive to both the cruel and mirthful natures of life. And it’s exponentially emotional when the characters experiencing this spectrum are precious and adorable children. God damn it, why.

*As a side-note: I am actually considering writing a review for every episode of this, which is amazing even myself. That is a feat I have yet to do even for any anime series, and in a very strange sense, this speaks volumes for the exceptional response that this premiere episode got from me.