Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta (2011)

I was also hesitant in continuing this drama, because at first I was feeling a little annoyed by Hikari's character. But then, as the drama progressed and showed everyone maturing, something about the realism kept me watching until the end, wanting to know what happened to the characters.

In the end, I found this a really great Japanese drama about life and making decisions. The characters that annoyed me at times throughout, was only because they were portrayed as being very human and prone to mistakes, which I came to appreciate. It's not a drama about a student-teacher relationship. Rather, it's a drama about how the characters learned to deal with the relationships around them, with a student-teacher relationship being one of the ones that needed to be sorted out. The characters all have moments where they show their strengths and weaknesses, but they are above the stereotypical characters seen so often in dramas, which was the strong point of this drama. The scenarios and choices made were much more believable than what one usually expects from a drama.

I just wish they chose a different soundtrack.

It's not a typical romance drama, but it sure does have some really touching relationships and is definitely worth the watch if you're looking for something heartwarming and real.

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Watch if you want to be surprised by Takei

Emi Takei was phenomenal in the role of Hikari. After her initial psychotic behavior it would seem impossible to root for such a character but she acted with such nuance, balance and heart it was nothing short of amazing. The emotions of being deeply troubled, traumatized, being hopelessly yet intensely in love, the immaturity with a hint of wise beyond her age aspects of Hikari were expressed brilliantly. Compared to the character of Natsumi, Hikari felt layered, complex and emotionally vulnerable in the most compelling way. I was shocked to realize that she had much more chemistry with Shuji and would have made a better couple which would also deliver an unique and fitting ending to the show (after all this show covered all sorts of social taboos).
PS: the student teacher interactions presented in the show were weird and I can bet far from being real, but a forced suspension of disbelief would do the charm-_-

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Have you ever had a crush on your teacher? Well, I did not because I was in a girls school with a faculty consisting of only female teachers. I did have some male professors in college but all of them were married with kids and were not great in the ‘looks’ department. While watching Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta the only thought hovering in my mind each time I saw Shuji was, ‘thank God I never had an attractive teacher’. I mean, look at this guy. Tell me how is a student supposed to concentrate on a subject when the teacher is so alluring? I have been ranting on my Twitter and Facebook against this. This is not fair! You cannot expect young girls to not fall in love with such a handsome professor. And this dorama is just about that. A young girl has a soft for the most handsome professor in her school and she unwittingly has him trapped in a scandal that maligns his image. However, this drama is not just about the scandal. It is also about human feelings and how we sometimes fail to understand what we really want in life.

Shuji Kashiwagi (Haruma Miura) works as a biology teacher at a high school. He is in love with his school friend and work colleague, Natsumi Uemura (Erika Toda) who is an English teacher. They are happy together and wish to marry soon. One morning Shuji wakes up in his bed and is shocked to see an unknown girl lying there. He is unable to recollect the events of the previous night that led the girl to his house. He offers her his house keys so she can get dressed and leave as he leaves for work. On his first day at school, Shuji starts to take the roll call of his class and is stunned to know that the girl he supposedly spent the night with is actually his student. Hikari Saeki (Emi Takei), seems to have fallen in love with Shuji after spending the night with him and is determined to have him one way or the other.
Let’s weigh this teacher-teacher-student love triangle drama on our drama beam balance and explore the depths of this drama to know if it is worth a watch or no.
 

Good Weights
I enjoyed watching Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta because…
…it shows how humans can be indecisive in life. Shuji is a very principled, idealistic and righteous man. But even someone like him can be confronted with a difficult situation where he does not know which way to go. Shuji’s lack of decision frustrated me to no end. But when I gave it another thought, I could understand him to some extent. Shuji wants to do what is the best for everyone but in the process, he ends up messing things up. This happens to all of us, right? Where we want to do our best but things just don’t go our way. This is the realism in Japanese dramas. Even people with the best of intentions can harm their loved ones unintentionally.
…I liked watching Haruma Miura. Will discuss his acting skills in the other section of this post but for now, let me praise this good-looking actor. Haruma is present in almost every other frame and I personally enjoyed ogling at him. He features in my Facebook cover image video and also on my Twitter back cover which clearly shows that I am his fangirl. (Wookie Oppa, don’t worry you are still my number one oppa. Muaaah!) If you have liked him in any of his other dramas, you will like him in this one too.
…I liked actress Erika and Emi’s acting. Both the actresses were subtle and portrayed their respective characters excellently.

Bad Weights
I did NOT LIKE Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta because…
…I felt lost somewhere in the middle of the drama. After episode 6, the drama slows down a bit and I was left wondering where the drama was leading to. I was sceptical that this drama might not end on a good note but thankfully the ending was good. The drama was wrapped up nicely and all my questions were satisfactorily answered in the last episode. While watching the drama, you too may feel annoyed with Shuji and Natsumi, but please be patient as the last episode will put everything in its right place.
…I did not understand why Shuji kept explaining himself to his students. I’m not sure how close Japanese teachers are to their students but it looked silly watching him admit to his one-night stand in front of his students.
…I wanted Haruma to act better. I have seen Haruma’s movies and dramas and I know that his acting is limited. He is absolutely stunning to watch but he really needs to act better. In this drama, he often raises his eyebrows and widens his eyes each time he looks at someone. He does that so many times that I wonder if the director asked him to look startled each time he saw someone.

Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta is a simple (regular) drama dealing with a difficult (different) storyline. The drama does not have a single kiss or even a passionate hug but it is high on emotions. There is nothing memorable or overly dismissible about it. But you do need to be a little patient to be able to see it to its end.

Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta is a decent watch with some thought-provoking scenarios. Watch it if you like Japanese dramas dealing with depths of various relationships.

Originally posted on Alphagirl.in.

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