Marumo no Okite 2014 SP Review

Title: Marumo no Okite 2014 Special

AKA: The Tradition of Malmo

Genre: Family, Comedy

Air date: 28 September 2014

Theme song: “Maru Maru Mori Mori!” by Kaoru to Yuki, Tama ni Mook

Cast: Abe Sadao, Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku.

Three years has passed since Kaoru (Ashida Mana) and Tomoki (Suzuki Fuku) moved in with Mamoru (Abe Sadao), and both Kaoru and Tomoki are now 5^th graders. Kaoru dreams of becoming an idol and is popular with her classmates, and Tomoki loves insects and reads about them constantly. When a fellow female classmate shows interest in Tomoki’s books, Tomoki decides to ask Mamoru for advice. Also, Mamoru helps enroll Kaoru in “idol training school”, an afterschool where kids take classes to become future idols, though it is very expensive. At work he gets opportunities to follow his creative style and travel abroad, but Mamoru is not sure of what he wants, as he can’t leave the children.

At the same time their mother returns, wanting to live with them again. This leads to Mamoru being unsure about the children’s future; whether he is with them, because they need him, or is it because he needs them…

I love this drama, and this family. The dynamic is amazing, and the characters are so well written, you can just enjoy it. The acting is on point, and the family relations are relatable, which makes it a great watch. Even though I felt the overall dilemma was a bit “recycled”, it was alright. It has funny moments, and sad moments as well, but for me the most enjoyable part was watching the family interact.

So all in all, a fine special, with good acting!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Marumo no Okite Review

Title: Marumo no Okite

AKA: The Tradition of Malmo

Genre: Family, Comedy

Episodes: 11

Broadcast period: 2011-Apr to 2011-Jul

Theme song: “Maru Maru Mori Mori!” by Kaoru to Yuki, Tama ni Mook

Cast: Abe Sadao, Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku.

Takaki Mamoru (Abe Sadao) a bachelor living in a one-room apartment, doesn’t have much in life - especially after he gets transferred to Customer Service branch, even though he has potential in other areas.

When his high school friend Sasakura passes away suddenly, Mamoru meets the friends two children, the twins Sasakura Kaoru (Ashida Mana) and Sasakura Tomoki (Suzuki Fuku). While alive Sasakura had emphasized that he would like the children to be together as they had always been inseparable, but the family members, unable to have their own children and the twins in the house, decide to separate the two. Soon enough the two become depressed and start running away from home. This is where Mamoru decides to take in the twins and decides to help them enter school as well as helping the cope with the loss of their father.

While the trio start getting used to each other, Tomoki finds a stray dog, who happens to be able to talk, and for some reason it helps the family in dealing with emotional scars and issues…

I became a fan of Abe Sadao after watching him in the Iryu series, so when I noticed this drama, I simply had to watch it. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, since it was the only drama of his that had a different character, other than the one from Iryu - that I have watched. To put it simply, he is officially one of my favorite actors now. Putting aside the classic storyline, and the amazing kid actors, Abe Sadao is absolutely believable in this character - I really can’t explain why, but he embodied Mamoru perfectly. Almost as if the character was made for him. (LOL) The storyline was good too, though at first, I was thrown off by the dog being able to talk… But later it kind of made sense to me. It is very cute, and I sort of felt happy about it later on.

So to sum up: a cute drama with great acting.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts