Somato Kabushikigaisha - First impression

This drama has a really bizarre story where there's this Corporation that let's you see DVDs which has recordings of a person's whole life from their perspective. Now, I'm intrigued to see what this is all about.

Seki Takahiro (Kubota Masataka) visits his mother to introduce her to his fiance, Tachibana Yuko (Kajiwara Hikari). Yuko pays her respects to Takahiro's deceased father's memorial shrine at his home. Then, she asks him why he doesn't have a portrait of his father. Takahiro says that his father hated taking pictures and he has never seen his father's face since he was born. Then, she asks about what these origami figures or dolls that are sitting in front of his father's alter. He explains that this is his family's tradition to make these dolls as a memorial service for the ones who died. One is for his father, second is for his grandma, and the third doll is for his grandpa. Yuko points out and asks who the fourth doll is for. But Takahiro is not sure about that one.   

Later, Takahiro receives a text message from his friend asking him if he knows about the Revolving Lantern Cooperation. So, he visits his friend Keisuke (Chiyo Shota) at a bar. Keisuke tells him that he has been to this Corporation where he can watch his own life, from the moment he was born and to the present, recorded on a DVD. He admits that it has been very difficult  for him to watch his own life. Takahiro laughs at this. But Keisuke questions him, "Do you really understand your own life?"

Takahiro leaves the bar and comes across a door that leads to the Corporation. He enters it  and meets a woman named Kaminuma (Kashii Yu) of the Revolving Lantern Corporation. She leads him to a room and explains that there are 23 volumes of DVDs of his life recorded on it. And, he is free to watch them when ever he wants too. Then, she leaves. Takahiro was skeptical about this, but he watches the DVD anyway. He turns on the T.V and he sees a husband and wife looking over at a baby. Takhiro doesn't recognize who these people are. In the next scene, the wife recieves a phone call telling her that her husband is in an accident and she immediately goes out. Then, Takahiro's mother makes an appearance and she kidnaps the baby and takes him home with her. Takahiro is shocked to see this and realizes that his own mother was in fact not his real mother.

He returns home and doesn't tell his mother and fiance about what he just experienced. The next day, he mentions to Yuko about a locked shed outside of his home and he has had some bad memories of it, but he can't remember what it was. Yuko looks at a picture album of Takahiro when he was a child. She mentions that she doesn't see any pictures of him when he was a baby. He never seen those pictures either. This prompts him to go back to the Corporation and to learn more about his past.

He watches Vol. 4 of the DVD, when Takahiro was at the age of 4 and witnesses his real mother confronting his fake mother that she knows she's was the one who kidnapped her son. And, that she is still obsessed with her husband. The fake mother denies this. Then at age 5, he witnesses a horrific scene in the shed. He sees his "mother" has killed his real mother. After that, the scene blacks out as his 5 year-old self faints. In the next scene, his "mother" tells him not go into the shed anymore because these are ghosts in there. He also sees her making a origami doll and explains to him that this is for the ones who died. He asks her, "Who died?" And, she says that it's someone you don't know. Takahiro now knows what his bad memory was and realizes a shocking revelation that these origami dolls are actually made for the people that she's murdered.

 
He returns home and is greeted by his so called "mother." He joins her at a dinner table. He doesn't say anything to her because he is still in shock and disturbed about what she has done. Then, he notices that they are the only ones at the table. (Hmm...I wonder who's missing). He asks her where Yuko is. But she ignores his question and just simply sits there and smiles at him. (which was very creepy). Now, there is a fifth origami doll sitting at his father's alter.

The drama ends with Kaminuma entering the room where Takahiro's DVD is still playing on the T.V.  She watches a scene where Takahiro makes a promise to his "mother" that they'll be together forever. But it looks like that's not going to happen. Kaminuma sees that Takahiro has hung himself in the very room that she's in.

First impression: Wow, that was a horrific and unexpected plot twist. I just don't understand why Takahiro had to take his own life. He could of have easily called the police or just run away from his psycho "mom."

But I loved how the story slowly builds up the tension as it gets near the climax. This was such a creepy episode. I definitely had to pay close attention to the little details because it foreshadows whats to come in the end. And, I liked how story tied up all the lose ends in a short amount of time.

It looks like that this drama will be a 30 minute episodic series. Just the first episode alone was enough for me to get hooked onto this show. I am looking forward to what other episodic stories that this show has to offer.