This is my favorite Japanese Drama I've seen so far (granted I haven't seen too many). The series, translated to English as "Crying out Love in the Center of the World," is 12 episodes long (including the special epilogue episode), and was, as far as I understand, fairly popular in Japan. It won a bunch of awards and had good ratings, so along with my roommate's high praise and recommendation, I figured it would be a prime example of a J-Drama series to watch as an introduction to the format.*
Before starting it, my roommate who recommended the series warned me that it was sad, and I mean really sad. I don't cry during movies very often, and when I do I only get teary eyed, so I wasn't very concerned. I'm not ashamed to say, then, that I have NEVER swelled up as bad or as frequently as I did watching Crying out Love. This series is intoxicating, depressing, and touching. While obsessing over this series, it started to affect many areas of my life—I neglected lots of homework and even had trouble sleeping after watching particularly rough episodes before bed. I really don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say Crying out Love is the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
The story focuses on Sakutaro, a man in his mid 30’s who has wasted his life away mourning the loss of his high school love. The romance is told through flashbacks, how he meets Aki, pretty much the perfect girl (funny, smart, caring), the times they spend together falling in love, and the inevitable tragedy that occurs. The story is fairly conventional, but the acting is very good, and it’s elegantly shot. Yet I think the real strength of Crying out Love is the score: the memorable songs and motifs that unexpectedly burrow their way into your brain, emotionally shattering you at the most pivotal and dramatic moments, with a heartbreaking musical swell or a bittersweet montage. Yes, it’s dramatic…yes, I’m sure you can even call it corny at times...but it’s insanely effective.
Crying out Love isn’t particularly groundbreaking, nor is it a huge technical achievement. Even the storytelling is ordinary and at times borderline cliché. I think it’s fair, though, to claim that this series had a huge emotional impact on me, and there’s no way I can deny the craze it put me through for that very bizarre, tortuous week of my life. It’s emotional masochism at its best.
*If you have trouble finding access to this series, you may want to try searching for the film adaptations: there's a Japanese version by the same name AND a Korean version called My Girl and I. I haven't seen either of these, however, so I won't vouch for them. I've heard the TV series is the best. Just don't resort to downloading. That's illegal. *cough*
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