Gibo to Musume no Blues

This is a uniquely Japanese take on the emotional evolution of a stepmom and daughter relationship. It is heartfelt and charming, albeit a bit frustrating at times. Mostly because Step-mom Aikiko is just so mired in self sacrifice and stuck in detached tearless grief. Thankfully we do watch her slowly transform, but I do mean SLOWLY. It's not that she is vulnerable and fragile, it's more like she is excruciatingly tough on herself and has a painfully stubborn streak. Luckily her daughter is played by a chill young actress who conveys stepdaughter teen angst with convincing subtlety. Things do get funnier and lighten up a bit when Takeru Satoh shows up as Mugita. He's her good looking baker boss, a hard working blue collar type guy played with a lot of heat (no pun intended). We kind of know right away that he's got eyes for Aikiko, but she never seems to notice his awkward glances. It's a total 180 degrees from Satoh's usual roles playing the aloof out-of-reach type. (Rorouni Kenshin- Samurai assassin anyone? LOL) All in all, if you view patience as a virtue, and can enjoy an offbeat take on a non-nuclear Japanese family story, my verdict is give it a watch. But in the end, I felt Aikiko left us all kind of hanging. But maybe that was the point? A woman of mystery for sure.

When I first saw the title I figured I have to watch this looks like a really good comedy. It played up to it in the first 4 episodes. Then it changed to a drama with the father battling a disease after first refusing treatment. Everything seemed well and I was thinking about the direction this would go and then suddenly bam. The father passes away. I was completely shocked. Then the drama goes in a different direction with the stepmom taking care of the daughter and as time goes by she grows up. She's a very sweet daughter as a young adult unlike her younger self and calls her stepmom her mom. It was very sweet how they both were with each through the struggles they both faced. I would like to give out spoilers but that would ruin it. One thing though she really did love her stepdaughters father. You just have to pay attention to the small details to see this and other things that make this a worthwhile watch. I definitely recommend it. TBS from japan just keeps cranking out the hits. Both actresses that played the younger and older version of the daughter did fantastic in their roles and are so adorable. Who wouldn't want them for their own daughters and the lead actress is beautiful as well.

Wow what a treat...really like this drama it was excellent. I am normally into C & K drama. However, this one was really good. The main character went through a journey of self discovery & fulfillment because of a dearest selfless act of awesomeness. This show proves Love is most important ingredient in any sustainable relationship. Love is the driving that cause a Stepmom to abandoned every thing for her step daughter sake. If you are a parent with step children...you got it. The show was well acted, the plot was beautiful. This is perhaps the best show i watch this year in Netflix. I recommended it's worth watching.