Why the Morning Drama “Chimudo-don” Cannot Surpass “Churasan” in Okinawa

NHK’s morning drama “Chimu Dodan” is about to reach its final episode. The “morning TV series” that was born in 1961 is now once again on the verge of going astray.

Why has it received so much bashing? If one were to look for the cause, one would have to say that it was “a misjudgment of the direction it should have taken.

Daisuke Habara, the scriptwriter, summed it up in an interview after the crank-up: “I was able to consistently create a drama that people would watch in the morning and think, ‘I’m going to do my best for another day. However, I wonder if he was right in aiming for a “cheerful and enjoyable” morning drama that could be described as a return to the basics.

In the first place, what the viewers wanted was to know how to recover the foreshadowing that had been meticulously scattered throughout the drama. In other words, the greatest enjoyment is in the discussion of the foreshadowing recovery. Misreading this point was the biggest cause of the animosity. Moreover, there were many sticky developments and opportunistic elements, which made it impossible to read too much into the story and caused the “chimu” to become “waji waji” instead of “chimu” to become “more and more”. Some people are saying that “Chimu” is getting “wilder and wilder” rather than “deeper and deeper.

When we learned that Mr. Habara was going to write the script for this film, there were high expectations.

Mr. Habara’s “Patchigi” (2005) depicted the friendship and love between a Japanese and a Korean, and “Hula Girl” (2006) portrayed the conflict between the Joban Hawaiian Center and hula dancing in a coal mine in Fukushima, both of which won Best Screenplay at the Japan Academy Prize. His 2002 morning drama “Massan” also received high acclaim for its depiction of the fusion and harmony of different worlds based on the theme of an international marriage with a Scottish wife who came to Japan.

Therefore, expectations were high for how he would portray Okinawa in this drama.

Many people must remember “Churasan,” a morning drama set in Okinawa that aired in 2001 and was followed by several sequels. Until then, there were only two choices when it came to Okinawa: either to focus on the problems Okinawa faced, such as its bases, or to celebrate the charms of its tropical resorts.

However, “Churasan” succeeded in depicting Okinawan wisdom at its core, such as “Life is a treasure,” in the context of a large family. The show attracted a large number of viewers and triggered an Okinawan boom. Chimu-don” depicts a large Okinawan family centering on four siblings, but it ends up being a slapstick drama. It can never compete with ‘Churasan’ in this respect,” said a person involved in a wide-ranging TV show.

The central character in the slapstick drama of the four siblings is the eldest son, Kenshu (Ryusei Ryo), who has repeatedly fallen for scams and caused trouble for the family. He is so taken in by the “Ponzi scheme” that the heroine, Nobuko (Yuna Kuroshima), loses the 2 million yen she has saved for the opening of her new restaurant. However, Kenshu’s highlight comes in the 23rd week “Carrot Shiriri Shiri-ha Suddenly”.

He finds Kiyoe (Aimi Satsukawa), who was working as a hostess, and says, “I’ve come to pick you up. Let’s go home together. I love you and I want to be with you forever. I love you and want to be with you forever. She told him, “I told you that I ran away from home, married a lousy man, and that I am a liar and a lousy woman! I’m a liar and a scumbag! She cries and pushes him away.

She then blurts out her past deeds to him, saying, “I’m not as bad as you.” Finally, she pleads, “People can start over,” and “I want to start over with you,” in a muddy, seemingly uncool scene.

(A director of a production company) “It looked as if the two had broken up in a fight. However, perhaps Kenshu’s feelings are understood, and Kiyoe quits her job at the restaurant and returns to the pig farm. Her father, Kikan (Takeo Nakahara), sees them embracing tightly and says to her, “From now on, it’s you two.

The father, Generosity (Takeo Nakahara), who sees the two embracing each other, says, “From now on, you two decide what you want to do.

The exchange of lines between the two is well worth watching. The exchange of lines between the two is well worth watching until the father, Generosity (Takeo Nakahara), who watches the two of them hold each other firmly, tells them, “From now on, you two must decide together.” The scene was a memorable scene that reminded me of the dialogue between the clumsy, mischievous, and lovable man and woman portrayed by Kohei Tsuka, who was Habara’s teacher.

The scene after that, in which the father, Kikkoman, says, “Hey, hey, hey, hey,” and looks for the towel around his neck, is so hot that it makes you chuckle. Perhaps it is embarrassing for the scriptwriter to depict such a scene, but if he had gone ahead and done it without fear of making it stink, it would not have been ridiculed as “Yoshimoto Shinkigeki”…” (Director of a production company, mentioned above)

In the morning drama “Half, Blue,” which aired in 2006, the scriptwriter, Kitagawa, wrote the script for the drama. In the “Half, Aoi” morning drama that aired in 2006, scriptwriter Eriko Kitagawa herself tweeted and announced a “god episode,” causing the Internet to erupt in flames. The “god of romance” who was unafraid of criticism, and who sometimes disagreed with viewers, is a figure we miss nowadays.

There is no need for the production team of a morning drama to be beholden to the viewers or the Internet. However, if they are going to take on a morning drama that is called a “national program,” they may need to be as prepared as Eriko Kitagawa….