Beautiful Life

From the writer of the popular drama Long Vacation, comes a tale of a talented hair stylist and a librarian living with a handicap, set against the backdrop of Aoyama. Bringing these two characters to life and together are the one-two angst punch of Kimura Takuya (from Long Vacation, in the role of Okishima Shuji, the stylist), and Tokiwa Takako (from Utsukushi Hito, in the role of Machida Kyoko). Appearing in supporting roles are Mizuno Miki (currently starring in Hatsu Taiken, she portrayed Kyoko's best friend Tamura Sachi), Ikeuchi Hiroyuki (from GTO [Drama], in the role of Shuji's kohai [junior] Okabe Takumi), and the most memorable performance within this series comes from actor Watabe Atsuro, playing Kyoko's younger brother Masao.

Machida Kyoko and Okishima Shuji have a chance encounter in the streets of Aoyama. With a carelessly outstretched hand from the window of her car, she nearly knocks Shuji from his motorcycle. After a terse exchange, they find that they have ac ommon destination; the library where Kyoko is employed. Following another short exchange, Kyoko's handicap is revealed in a rather gentle way, and our story unfolds.

This series lasts eleven episodes and will not fail to tickle your funny bone from the start, then begin tugging at your heart until the very end. Keep a box of tissue handy, as the depth of these characters are superbly potrayed by this cast, not to mention the realism of the story masterfully written by Kitagawa Eriko. This was the highest rated drama in its season in Japan, and the last episode kept them talking for quite a while after.

This is pretty much standard fare as far as Japanese TV drama goes. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, then they have to overcome obstacles and misunderstandings along the way, blah, blah. And in the end, true love triumphs over all. Or does it....

The twist here is that the girl is wheelchair-bound and is suffering from some mysterious illness. Will she get better? Or will she kick the bucket? Well, that doesn't matter much since any reasonably intelligent person should have guessed the ending halfway through the series.

What makes this drama series work isn't the mystery of whether or not the girl recovers, but in the appeal of the lead and support characters. Takkako Tokiwa is radiant. If I am her doctor, I would diagnose her illness as Ally McGraw disease. Anyways, after awhile, you can't help but care about these characters. The series is enjoyable on that level.

Based on its merits, this series warrants a look for fans of Japanese dramas, although I think women will enjoy it more than men.

I saw this film, and the story was so sad in the end. The happiness and tears are coming so fast, but that's life, unpredictable... it's very dramatic, and unpredictable story, the film was telling about the simple story but it is so deep. I hold my tears down when I saw the end of the film. You just have to see this film, I can't tell much more to all of you about this film, because my English not good. "Woman and man are supposed to be together, even your heart didn't know what someone feels to you, you just have to give and love to each other, no matter what will you get. Loving with all of your life to someone that you love, is so beautiful, if you wanna make your life beautiful, so you just have to love someone. Peace out...

At first I saw this drama I surprised, how can a beautiful Takako Tokiwa with beautiful hair become bad like that? But thank Goodness it just for a little while. The story continue become make sense and tells deep inside for people's feeling. The story teach us to be a good person for them who is sick and get much attention to them, without hurt their feelings.

Good acting from Takako Tokiwa, she always played good for her drama and her film. But not Takuya Kimura, he acting same like his rule in Long Vacation. I disappointed with his acting, even I admitted he played well and make the audience touching with his rule in this drama.

The music soundtrack are singing good.

Beautiful Life (2000) was an emotionally charged drama that struck a familiar chord reminiscent of other ones like it for its textbook depiction of love, loss, and resilience, but it wasn't without its flaws. At its heart, the story was anchored by the chemistry between Takuya Kimura's charming yet understated portrayal of Shuji and Takako Tokiwa's luminous performance as Kyoko, a woman whose physical limitations were treated with admirable sensitivity for its time. The drama's beauty lay in its quiet moments, Kyoko's defiant joy, Shuji's evolving tenderness, and the unspoken melancholy of ordinary life brushed with rising pain. However, its emotional power often bordered on manipulation, with tear-jerking sequences and swelling musical cues that risked reducing a nuanced relationship to a mere tragedy. Fortunately, this was only most applicable to the last 3 episodes. Additionally, while the drama broke ground by portraying a disabled FL in a leading role, it sometimes leaned into idealized tropes, framing Kyoko's struggles more as narrative devices to drive Shuji's growth rather than delving deeper into her agency and identity despite being a leading character. The pacing, too, occasionally faltered, with melodramatic stretches that risked to undercut the rawness of its central theme. In a different world, I would love to see them continue exploring the relationship without the terminal illness element since it was somewhat cut short to accommodate for the writer's predetermined plan. On another note, a few things were planted but neglected and ended up being underutilized. For example, it was foreshadowed multiple times how Shuji was the son of a famous hospital director/CEO and coming from a family of doctors but that didn't play a role later on, nor the anticipated involvement of his family which remained anonymous. Many things were either missing or unfinished at the cost of fleshing out the story and its characters just to reach the highly emotional familiar moments. For all of its shortcomings, Beautiful Life captured something universally human: the poignancy of love in the face of fate. It was imperfectly told and profound, a drama which, even as one wished it had dared to be bolder, lingered on in the heart, at least for a little while.