First Impressions: Watashi wo Hanasanaide

Watashi wo Hanasanaide is based on a novel called Never Let Me Go written by Japanese British author  Kazuo Ishiguro. The story has been adapted into a British film in 2010. Which, I saw it and that led me to read the book because I was curious about it. It's now my favorite read and I actually liked the movie. So, I hope that this Jdrama will be good adaption as well.

Kyoko (Haruka Ayase) is the narrator of the story. She explains what happened during her childhood (20 years ago) up till adulthood. She grew up in the Yoko institute, a boarding school that is isolated from the rest of society. The school takes great pride in their student's art work and the teachers care about the health of their students. The principle finds out that one of their students is smoking. If she catches them smoking, she will send them into the woods as punishment. There are rumors about the woods that there is a murderer who lives out there.

The young Kyoko (Rio Suzuki) is best friends with the young Miwa (Sakura Mizuki). She's the leader of her clique. As you get to know more about her, she is like a "Mean Girl" and she's secretly an attention seeker. Kyoko and Miwa have a on/off friendship.

 

A young boy named Tomo is constantly teased and bullied by his classmates because he can't draw. This causes him have temper tantrums. Kyoko becomes concerned about him and they eventually become good friends. He gives her a CD album, as a gift, called Songs After Dark. He bought from a used item sale event. He gives this to her because her name is written on the CD and he believes that this must belong to her. One of the songs is titled  Never Let Me Go which the story is named after. 

Tomo also befriends the new P.E teacher, Ryuko Horie (Ayumi Ito). She tells him that it's okay that he's bad at art. There are other things that he's good at like playing soccer. But the school only sees sports as just exercise for them. Tomo believes that he has no soul because he can't draw. She reassures him that they are plenty of things out there that he can do to prove he has a soul. She also tells him that the students have not been told the truth and the world is much more bigger than they think it is.

Horie confronts the teachers and questions about their teaching techniques. She doesn't understand why the school makes such a big deal about art more than any other subjects. She feels that they'll never learn anything about the real world. But the principle explains that these student aren't normal. She further clarifies this with the other students during their "special talk" assembly. They are chosen to become "providers/donors." They will provide their organs to others that need them. And, to lighten things up, she calls them angels because they are going to save people's lives.  

  

Thoughts: I thought the first episode did a great job setting up the atmosphere, introducing the characters and making me curious as to what is going to happen next. Even though I already know the whole story, it still left me excited to see what new things they are going to add/change to this drama adaptation. Plus, it has a great cast, Ayase, Miura Haruma, and Asami Mizukawa. I can't wait to see how they''ll perform once their characters grow into adults. Also, the child actors were really good too. 

  

The story starts off very dark and depressing and it will become even more depressing, so brace yourselves. But what I liked about the story is that it has a very human message, life is fragile and we should enjoyed it the best way we can.