View source for Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu

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[[File:Sekaichuu.jpg|none|thumb|410px|Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World  (click to enlarge)]]
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==Details==
*'''Name:''' 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ / Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu
*'''Also known as:''' Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World
*'''Episodes:''' 11, 1 Special
*'''Air time:''' Friday 10:00-10:54 PM
*'''Genre:''' Love, Human drama
*'''Viewership:''' 15.9%
*'''Broadcasted by:''' TBS
*'''Broadcast period:''' 2004-Jul-02 to 2004-Sep-10
*'''Theme Song:''' [[Katachi Aru Mono]] (かたちあるもの) by [[Shibasaki Kou]] (柴咲コウ)

==Production Credits==
*'''Producer:''' [[Ishimaru Akira]]
*'''Director:''' [[Tsutsumi Yukihiko]], [[Ishii Yasuharu]], [[Hirakawa Yuuichirou]]
*'''Screenwriter :''' [[Morishita Yoshiko]]

==Cast==
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|align="left" width="270px"|[[File:Chara_yamada_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Yamada Takayuki]]<br>山田孝之<br><br>as Matsumoto Sakutaro (17)
|align="left" width="270px"|[[File:Chara_ayase_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Ayase Haruka]]<br>綾瀬はるか<br><br>as Hirose Aki (17)
|align="left" width="270px"|[[File:Chara_ogata_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Ogata Naoto]]<br>緒形直人<br><br>as Matsumoto Sakutaro (34)
|-
|[[File:Chara_sakurai_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Sakurai Sachiko]]<br>桜井幸子<br><br>as Kobayashi Aki (34)
|[[File:Chara_tanaka_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Tanaka Koutaro]]<br>田中幸太朗<br><br>as Ooki Ryunosuke (17)
|[[File:Chara_emoto_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Emoto Tasuku]]<br>柄本佑<br><br>as Nakagawa Akiyoshi (17)
|-
|[[File:Chara_motokariya_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Motokariya Yuika]]<br>本仮屋ユイカ<br><br>as Ueda Tomoyo (17)
|[[File:Chara_kaho_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Kaho]]<br>夏帆<br><br>as Matsumoto Fumiko (13)
|[[File:Chara_matsushita_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Matsushita Yuki]]<br>松下由樹<br><br>as Yatabe Toshimi (35)
|-
|[[File:Chara_takahashi_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Takahashi Katsumi]]<br>高橋克実<br><br>as Matsumoto Juichiro (47)
|[[File:Chara_miura_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Miura Tomokazu]]<br>三浦友和<br><br>as Hirose Makoto (48)
|[[File:Chara_nakadai_f.jpg|left|70px]][[Nakadai Tatsuya]]<br>仲代達矢<br><br>as Matsumoto Kentaro (70)
|-
|[[File:Chara_ooshima_f.jpg||left|70px]][[Ohshima Satoko]]<br>島さと子<br><br>as Hirose Ayako (43)
|[[File:Chara tezuka f.jpg|left|70px]][[Tezuka Satomi]]<br>手塚理美<br><br>as Hirose Makoto (48)
|[[File:NakajouTomoaya.jpg|left|55px]][[Nakajou Tomoaya]]<br>仲條友彪<br><br>as Kobayashi Kazuki (6)
|-
|[[File:Toda_Jun.jpg||left|60px]][[Toba Jun]]<br>鳥羽潤<br><br>as Junpei
|[[File:AsanoKazuyuki234.jpg|left|60px]][[Asano Kazuyuki]]<br>浅野和之<br><br>as the Doctor
|[[File:UematsuMami.jpg|left|60px]][[Uematsu Mami]]<br>植松真美<br><br>as grandpa's young lover!
|-
|[[File:AsakaYuki.jpg|left|60px]][[Asaka Yuki]]<br>浅香友紀<br><br>as 池田久美(17)
|[[File:MizunoHaruka.jpg|left|60px]][[Mizuno Haruka]]<br>水野はるか<br><br>as 黒沢千尋(17)
|[[File:TanakaKei.jpg|left|60px]][[Tanaka Kei]]<br>田中圭<br><br>
|-
|[[File:Okayama_Hajime.jpg|left|60px]][[Okayama Hajime]]<br>おかやまはじめ<br><br>as Ueda Tomoyo father<br>(ep5)
|[[File:Photo_52aya22.jpg|left|50px]][[Hirano Aya]]<br>平野文<br><br>
|[[File:AsaiErina.jpg|left|50px]][[Asai Erina]]<br>浅井江理名<br><br>
|}

==Synopsis==
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[[File:Sekairelatinoshipchart.jpg|thumb|280px|Relationship Chart  (click to enlarge)]]
[[File:Sekai_no_chuushin_de,_ai_wo_sakebu.jpg|thumb|280px|Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World<br>  (click to enlarge)]]
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"I thought I might be using a lifetime's happiness in a moment. I was that happy and she was that beautiful." A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It's 2004 and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks "I have been in a world without her for 17 years." Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has been living as if half of him died with her since then. Based on the bestselling novel that sold over 3 million copies, the past and present come together in this love story that is both pure and sad.

==Awards==
*'''33rd International Emmy Awards:''' [http://www.iemmys.tv/index.html  Nominee for Best Asian Drama]
*'''8th Nikkan Sports Drama Award:''' Best Drama ranked 3rd
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Drama
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Casting
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Actor: [[Yamada Takayuki]]
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Supporting: Actress: [[Ayase Haruka]]
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Theme Song: [[Shibasaki Kou]]
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Newcomer: [[Tanaka Koutaro]]
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Screenwriter: [[Morishita Yoshiko]]
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Director: [[Tsutsumi Yukihiko]], [[Ishii Yasuharu]], [[Hirakawa Yuuichirou]]
*'''42nd Television Acadamy Awards:''' Best Theme Clip

==Trivia==
*Based on best selling novel
*[[Ayase Haruka]] was selected from 723 girls from the audition.
*[[Ayase Haruka]] shaved her hair bald and went on a strict diet to lose weight.
*[[Matsumoto Rio]] was considered to play Hirose Aki

==Review @ JFan==
An Unforgettable Lost Love...

This was a popular novel and movie before it became a drama. You're going to have to forgive me this time, because I am writing this having never read the novel or seen the movie. I'm sorry that I can't make any interesting comparisons or tell you what they changed and what is the same. I am going to judge the drama on its own.

[[File:Sekai3.jpg|280px|thumb|Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu]]

Matsumoto Sakutarou is an unmarried middle-aged man who has some type of job at a hospital (don't worry, it's not another hospital drama). It seems that he might have some health problems as he collapses at the beginning of the first episode. He's never been able to fall in love since high school, because he can never forget the girl he loved. Now, he lives only to keep her memory alive and he carries a vial of her ashes in his pocket wherever he goes.

The drama keeps flashing between the present, and back to the 80's when Sakutarou ([[Yamada Takayuki]]) is in high school and falling in love with Hirose Aki. Their romance begins when their class is attending a funeral for a teacher and Aki is giving a speech in the rain. Saku uses his umbrella to cover Aki as she is giving her speech.

She begins to like him a lot after that. Saku begins listening to her favorite radio program, and even writes in a letter which is actually a story based on Aki, except that he adds in the detail that she has leukemia. He wins a Walkman cassette player for his letter, but Aki becomes furious with him for basing the letter on her, and especially adding in the part about the disease. For her birthday, Saku records an apology to her and gives it to her with the Walkman. She forgives him, and they begin exchanging an audio diary every day from that day on. The narration from the middle-aged version of Saku pops in and tells us that it was her last birthday.

[[File:Sekai2.jpg|left|280px|thumb|Yamada Takayuk & Ayase Haruka]]

All this time, Aki's father is opposed to her having a boyfriend because she is a senior in high school and needs to be preparing for her exams. She is also helping to organize the school's production of Romeo and Juliet, but they haven't yet decided who will play Romeo and Juliet.

The country setting is made to look very pleasant and tranquil, as in most dramas that take place in the countryside. Name always hangs out with his classmates Ryuunosuke and Akiyoshi at a small stand that sells takoyaki. And they drink coke out of those cool bottles that they used to use in the 80's. Ryuunosuke looks older than Saku and has a punk appearance with his slick hair. He's always offering love advice to Saku because he seems older than him (though he actually isn't). Akiyoshi is a kind of pathetic guy who lives in a temple. He wants to find a girl and marry her right away before his father forces him to become a Buddhist monk. In the first episode, he likes Aki too, but he gives up when he realizes that she likes Saku.

Saku's grandfather runs a small photo shop in town, and he is always begging Saku to come over and spend time with him. In the second episode, he tells the story of a girl he loved during the war before he married Saku's grandmother. He gets Saku to help him steal some of her ashes from her grave, so that when he dies they can be mixed together with his own so that they may be together in the afterlife.

The events of the story are given a lot of weight by the fact that we know Aki is going to die. The title means "Shout Love at the Center of the World". It's a very passionate drama about love that never dies, even decades after one of the two has passed away. It may not sound so interesting from the description above, but somehow the way it is presented is very good. There was a lot of commercial hype surrounding this title before it starting airing, and it lives up to the hype in my opinion.

I should probably see the movie too, but the drama on its own is quite good so far.

Source: [http://j-fan.com/drama/drama.cgi?action=viewrev&season=Summer_2004&show=sekai_no_chuushin_de,_ai_o_sakebu JFan]

==Related Articles==
===TBS Highlights===
Crying out Love, in the Center of the World was a huge multimedia success, performing well as a book, TV program, and DVD. It gave rise to a new word in Japanese, formed by abbreviating the first part of the title: Sekachu ("in the center of the world?). Since its theatrical release on May 8, 2004, it has for over 18 consecutive weeks. In a 123-day period, it has drawn 6.2 million filmgoers, and box-office receipts have totaled 8.3 billion yen. It is the fifth-most successful live-action film in Japanese cinema history.

With associated publishing ventures (sales of over 1 million comics, 470,000 copies of the novelized version, and 40,000 DVDs about the making of the film, issued before its first screening), Sekachu has become a model for mixed-media projects building on a movie format and moving beyond it. The original novel has sold over 3 million copies since the movie was released. Although the first edition in 2001 sold only 8,000 copies, it is now the highest-selling novel ever in Japan. A serialization as a drama on the TBS network was very successful. Sekachu is also being launched in South Korea. It scheduled to open across that nation as early as October 2004, and is being remade in a South Korean version.

Source: [http://www.tbs.co.jp/tbsannual/sekachu.html TBS]
[[File:Sekai_no_chuushin_de,_ai_wo_sakebu22.jpg|thumb|280px|Crying out for love, in the Centre of the World<br>   (click to enlarge)]]
===On The Box: What to Watch===
Sekai no Chushin de, Ai o Sakebu begins Friday, July 2 at 10 p.m. on the TBS
network. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, this tale of
youthful romance and innocence, is set in 1987.

This early preview is necessary because the producer has announced that the
short, first scene in the first episode will be a key to understanding the
overall story. The not-to-be-missed opening scene is filmed in Australia,
the first of three scenic guest appearances the continent will make in this
drama.

Heroine Aki ([[Ayase Haruka]]) is cute, smart, popular and good at sports. She
has it all until she is diagnosed with leukemia. [[Yamada Takayuki]] stars as
17-year old Sakutaro Matsumoto, who falls in love with her. ([[Ogata Naoto]]
plays Matsumoto at age 34.) Matsumoto is invited back to the old hometown by
his high school teacher because the school, so full of memories, is about to
be demolished.

Extracts from The Daily Yomiuri Jun 25, 2004

===Up for Emmy Awards===
"Sekai no Chuushin de Ai wo Sakebu" is up and running for an Emmy award as it is one of the nominees for Best Asian/African drama. The award ceremony will be held on 21 Nov in New York. Aug 20th, 2005

Source: [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/hochi/geinou/aug/o20050819_60.htm Yomiuri]

==Episode Ratings==
*'''Ep01'''：2004-07-02 18.5 ％　　
*'''Ep02'''：2004-07-09 15.7 ％
*'''Ep03'''：2004-07-16 15.2 ％　　
*'''Ep04'''：2004-07-23 13.9 ％
*'''Ep05'''：2004-07-30 16.5 ％　　
*'''Ep06'''：2004-08-06 15.0 ％
*'''Ep07'''：2004-08-13 14.5 ％　　
*'''Ep08'''：2004-08-20 15.4 ％
*'''Ep09'''：2004-08-27 15.9 ％　　
*'''Ep10'''：2004-09-03 15.2 ％
*'''Ep11'''：2004-09-10 19.1 ％　　
*'''Special''': 2004-09-17 15.3 ％
*'''Average'''： 15.9 ％

==Soundtrack Listing==
# 君のいない世界
# 朔と亜紀
# 君を乗せて
# ぼくの悩み
# 愛とは
# ひだまり
# Highway Moon
# 始まり
# 朔と亜紀 part2
# じっちゃんの部屋では
# 予感
# 遠いささやき
# どこへも行かない
# 遠い日のメロディ
# 1987年、夏
# 祈るより他に…
# Searching for the gate of eden
# 君のいない世界　part2
# かたちあるもの (Instrumental For TV)
# 空の果てへ

==External Links==
*[http://www.tbs.co.jp/sekai-ai TBS Official Site]
*[http://www.jdorama.com/viewtopic.5355.htm Discussion @ JDorama.com]
*[http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18937 Discussion @ D-Addicts.com]
*[http://yamada19.tripod.com/drama_sekai.html Fan Page & Gallery]
*[http://jdorama.com/drama.828.htm Jdorama.com] Click vote top left hand corner!
*[http://over-time.idv.tw/drama/dramashow_common.php?num=845&mnum=341 Dorama.info]
*[http://www.universal-music.co.jp/ost/sekatyu/index.html OST Official Page]

==Pictures==
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[[File:Sekai22.jpg|900px|thumb|center|click to enlarge]]
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[[Category:JDrama]]
[[Category:JDrama2004]]
[[Category:TBS]]