Difference between revisions of "Wataru Seken wa oni Bakari"
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==Synopsis== | ==Synopsis== | ||
| − | + | ''Wataru'' is based on the life of '''Okakura Daikichi''' ([[Fujioka Takuya]]), a father of five daughters. Daikichi owns '''Okakura''', a 5-star Japanese restaurant most people can only dream of dining. | |
| + | |||
| + | The formatting of ''Wataru'' is very much like an American daytime drama (called a "''soap opera''") in that 1) there is no end in sight, and 2) there are about a dozen or so different storylines going on in just a single season. For an average Japanese drama fan who is used to the usual 12-episode dramas, he would probably be turned off by ''Wataru'' because of its length and massive confusion with the different storylines. Virtually all of the story lines deal with Daikichi and his daughters's families. So there is consistency to all the mayhem that occurs in this drama. The storylines are based on each of the five daughters' lives, ranging from bitchy mother-in-laws, the kids, their husbands, and so forth. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The second oldest daugther is '''Kojima Satsuki''' ([[Izumi Pinko]]). She is married to '''Isamu''' ([[Kadono Takuzo]]), who's family runs '''Koraku''', a typical Japanese ramen restaurant. Satsuki and Isamu have two kids, '''Ai''' and '''Shin''' ([[Yoshimura Sayaka]] and [[Kazuki Enari]]). Isamu's mother, '''Kimi''' ([[Akagi Harue]]) lives with the Kojima family (their home is upstairs, in the same building as Koraku). Satsuki's biggest problem is having to deal with her mother-in-law, Kimi. Because Satsuki has to work all day at Koraku and tend to her immediate family, she has no time for herself, or even for her four other sisters and her father. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The other sisters include (oldest to youngest) '''Noda Yajoi''' ([[Nagayama Aiko]]), '''Nonoshita Kuniko''' ([[Azuma Terumi]]), '''Okakura Yoko''' ([[Nomura Mami]]), and '''Honma Nagako''' ([[Fujita Tomoko]]). | ||
| + | |||
| + | In earlier seasons, the focus among the five daughters were about even. In later seasons (Season 3 and up), I'd say about 50-percent of Wataru is focused on the Kojima family. I find their situation, along with Nagako's, to be the most interesting. | ||
| + | |||
| + | If you like family dramas, and have patience to watch for one year, ''Wataru'' is a MUST watch. In Japan, ''Wataru'' is HEAVILY marketed via merchandise -- from plastic figurines to Koraku-brand instant ramen. | ||
| + | |||
| + | As of this writing, there are seven completed seasons. Luckily for us Hawaiians, English subtitles have been provided by [http://www.jnproductions.com/ JN Productions], and aired on [http://www.kikutv.com/ KIKU-TV]. We're right now waiting up on Season 7.<br/> | ||
| + | --- written by groink (last update 2004-07-05) | ||
==Production & Cast== | ==Production & Cast== | ||
| Line 542: | Line 555: | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| + | *KIKU-TV airs the series as '''Making It Through'''. | ||
| − | ==Further | + | ==Further Reading== |
* Valaskivi, Katja: ''Wataru seken wa oni bakari. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in a Japanese television drama''. University of Jyväskylä 1995. ISBN 951-34-0644-X | * Valaskivi, Katja: ''Wataru seken wa oni bakari. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in a Japanese television drama''. University of Jyväskylä 1995. ISBN 951-34-0644-X | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
| + | *[http://www.kikutv.com/shows/index.html KIKU-TV Show Listing (look for '''Making It Through''')] | ||
| + | *[http://www.tbs.co.jp/oni/ Official TBS Web Page for ''Wataru''] | ||
[[Category:JDrama]] | [[Category:JDrama]] | ||
Revision as of 04:43, 5 July 2005
Contents
Details
- Title: 渡る世間?鬼??り / Wataru Seiken wa Oni Bakari
- Also Known As: Making It Through
- Seasons: 7 (as of 2005-07-04)
- Genre: Family
- Broadcasted by: TBS
- Theme Song:
- Original Soundtrack: Wataru Seiken wa Oni Bakari OST
Synopsis
Wataru is based on the life of Okakura Daikichi (Fujioka Takuya), a father of five daughters. Daikichi owns Okakura, a 5-star Japanese restaurant most people can only dream of dining.
The formatting of Wataru is very much like an American daytime drama (called a "soap opera") in that 1) there is no end in sight, and 2) there are about a dozen or so different storylines going on in just a single season. For an average Japanese drama fan who is used to the usual 12-episode dramas, he would probably be turned off by Wataru because of its length and massive confusion with the different storylines. Virtually all of the story lines deal with Daikichi and his daughters's families. So there is consistency to all the mayhem that occurs in this drama. The storylines are based on each of the five daughters' lives, ranging from bitchy mother-in-laws, the kids, their husbands, and so forth.
The second oldest daugther is Kojima Satsuki (Izumi Pinko). She is married to Isamu (Kadono Takuzo), who's family runs Koraku, a typical Japanese ramen restaurant. Satsuki and Isamu have two kids, Ai and Shin (Yoshimura Sayaka and Kazuki Enari). Isamu's mother, Kimi (Akagi Harue) lives with the Kojima family (their home is upstairs, in the same building as Koraku). Satsuki's biggest problem is having to deal with her mother-in-law, Kimi. Because Satsuki has to work all day at Koraku and tend to her immediate family, she has no time for herself, or even for her four other sisters and her father.
The other sisters include (oldest to youngest) Noda Yajoi (Nagayama Aiko), Nonoshita Kuniko (Azuma Terumi), Okakura Yoko (Nomura Mami), and Honma Nagako (Fujita Tomoko).
In earlier seasons, the focus among the five daughters were about even. In later seasons (Season 3 and up), I'd say about 50-percent of Wataru is focused on the Kojima family. I find their situation, along with Nagako's, to be the most interesting.
If you like family dramas, and have patience to watch for one year, Wataru is a MUST watch. In Japan, Wataru is HEAVILY marketed via merchandise -- from plastic figurines to Koraku-brand instant ramen.
As of this writing, there are seven completed seasons. Luckily for us Hawaiians, English subtitles have been provided by JN Productions, and aired on KIKU-TV. We're right now waiting up on Season 7.
--- written by groink (last update 2004-07-05)
Production & Cast
Production
- Written by: Hashida Sugaku (1-7)
- Narration: Ishizawa Koji (1-7)
Cast
- NOTE: "x" indicates the artist appeared in the corresponding season.
| Artist | Character Name | Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Yamaoka Hisano | Okakura | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Fujioka Takuya | Okakura Daikichi | ||||||||
| Nagayama Aiko | Noda Yayoi | ||||||||
| Maeda Gin | Noda Ryo | ||||||||
| Sugiyama Tokuko | Noda Hana | ||||||||
| Yamabe Yuuki | Noda Akari | ||||||||
| Iwabuchi Ken | Takeshi | ||||||||
| Kurata Tetsuo | Akiba Kazuo | ||||||||
| Izumi Pinko | Kojima Satsuki | ||||||||
| Kadono Takuzo | Kojima Isamu | ||||||||
| Akagi Harue | Kojima Kimi | ||||||||
| Yoshimura Sayaka | Kojima Ai | ||||||||
| Kazuki Enari | Kojima Shin | ||||||||
| Azuma Terumi | Nonoshita Kuniko | ||||||||
| Owada Baku | Nonoshita Chota | ||||||||
| Uno Naomi | Kazu | ||||||||
| Nakada Yoshiko | Takahashi Fumiko | ||||||||
| Mitamura Kunihiko | Takahashi Toru | ||||||||
| Tomita Masayuki | Nozomi | ||||||||
| Nomura Mami | Okakura Yoko | ||||||||
| Inoue Jun | Munakata Naoyuki | ||||||||
| Kusabue Mitsuko | Yamaguchi Masako | ||||||||
| Funakoshi Eiichirou | Taro | ||||||||
| Ito Takao | Takayama | ||||||||
| Fujita Tomoko | Honma Nagako | ||||||||
| Uekusa Katsuhide | Honma Eisaku | ||||||||
| Kyo Utako | Honma Tsuneko | ||||||||
| Oya Reinagi | Hinako | ||||||||
| Kobayashi Ayako | Honma Yuki | ||||||||
| Katsurayama Shingo | Nobuhiko | ||||||||
| Aikawa Kinya | Kambayashi Kiyoaki | ||||||||
| Kishida Satoshi | Yamashita Kenji | ||||||||
| Okunuki Kaoru | Yamashita Mitsuko | ||||||||
| Okamoto Nobuto | Tajima Shuhei | ||||||||
| Nakajima Shoko | Seiko | ||||||||
| Yamada Masato | Miyabe Tsutomu | ||||||||
| Enomoto Tatsuo | Matsumoto Tatsuo | ||||||||
| Miyashita Yuuji | Shirodai Masanori | ||||||||
| Koudu Chie | Kirino Sachi | ||||||||
| Hasegawa Jun | Moriyama Souta | ||||||||
| Ikeda Miki | Koji | ||||||||
| Nomura Akiko | Aoyama Taki | ||||||||
| Mori Mitsuko | Moriyama Tamako | ||||||||
| Ishizaka Koji | Nareta | ||||||||
| Ueto Aya | x |
Season Information
Notes
- KIKU-TV airs the series as Making It Through.
Further Reading
- Valaskivi, Katja: Wataru seken wa oni bakari. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in a Japanese television drama. University of Jyväskylä 1995. ISBN 951-34-0644-X