Tokyo Daikushu/Tokyo Air-Raid

I am a sucker for historical stories. I also love Japanese dramas-movies not so much, because I can’t stand them crying litres of tears. However, I love this two-part mini series.

Tokyo Daikushu, or Tokyo Air-Raid is essentially about The Bombing of Tokyo that happened in 1945. As a retaliation on the attack on the Pearl Harbour, America planned a strategic bombing. The aftermath of the bombing was so horrible it actually was condemned by other countries. And it also got the emperor to play his role in ending the war (don’t ask me what war, you should know)

To make the miniseries more interesting, they put love stories in the middle of the narration-I mean, who wants to see airplanes dropping of bombs (B29) and then people dying from being burned, people jumping off the Sumida bridge into the river to escape from the fire and the plague that manifested afterwards? Better watch the history channel LOL

Wikipedia stated that the American and Japanese data provided that 100 000 people died that night, a million injured and another million became homeless. But it might be more, because they were downplaying the numbers (war of attrition, of course)

So far we’ve only heard the glorified stories of Pearl Harbour, so Tokyo also made their depiction of how their people suffered too.  Being more Asians nonetheless, gave them an effective arsenal- emotion. In the midst of the love story, there is a story about a father’s love, a doctor’s unending devotion and innocent lives taken. Of course they picked the most talented thespians to act out, and that was my first attraction to it. Having Fujiwara Tatsuya and Horikita Maki together is like a wish come true. Oh, and the love story is not that melodramatic either. They are very polite and reserved just like how people in that time should act(^^#)

I love the main theme that is being carried out by this drama. It’s not blaming America nor pointing fingers at anyone-it’s just giving respects to the survivors of a period of time, when war destroyed everything. There is nothing more important than to be with people most important to you and to stay with them till the end.  It is true that in war, there are no winners. Everybody loses.

The most touching part was that Haruko, is a glass sculpture artist. She is still training with her dad when she lost him in an air raid. Hiroto, the Chief of Police’s son, stops her from going to her father who is trapped under the rubble of collapse. The whole building collapses, Haruko is saved but she hates Hiroto. They meet again a year later when Haruko, now a nurse, treats Hiroto, who suffers from a heart condition. They fall in love, and one night after Hiroto’s operation, Tokyo is bombed. 2/3 of the first episode is on the accounts of that night, where it rained fire and how both of them try to survive. The second episode is about how the survivors lived after the bombings, the continuing attacks that led to the surrender 5 months later.

So ALL the protagonists, died except Hiroto. He lives a long life, and at the present time, he receives a long lost present from Haruko, a glass swan made by her. In the past because she was still training, the glass swan has air bubbles in it (Haruko must blow into the glass melt to form a shape) so when the artist is not an expert, the air that she blows will be trapped inside the glass. Imagine how sad it is, to have a living momento of a person you loved the most, as if she is still alive TT T his reminds me of an episode in CSI, the detective treasures a beach ball blown by his wife, because he lost her in the 9/11 collapse. Because the air inside the ball is proof of her wife’s existence, though she’s no more…

Oh, and the background songs used are awesome. One is ‘Unnamed Song’ by UK Violet, and the other is Aisuru Hitoyo(Beloved One) by Masafumi Akigawa.

‘Unnamed Song’

Lyrics:

~ I'm standing on the edge
And coming to my senses from a reverie
Never thought I would
Never thought I'd need to
Say goodbye I bid you farewell
My voiceless words are swaying the flame

I can't live without
I can't live without
I can't live without you
Here in the dark
Do you feel the rain over the pain
Give me the strength to seize the light
If I should find a way

I saw a dream you were flying in the sky
Without a fear
Never touched the ground
But never came to my side
I tried so hard to reach out for your hand
the ruthless wind kept your soul away

I can't live without
I can't give without
I can't breathe without you
Here in the world
Do you feel the rain
You said love takes no pain
With or without the sun
The lurid sky still tearing me apart

Will she let freedom reign over the pain
Give me the strength to believe the words that love will find a way

I can't live without
I can't give without you
Here in the world
Do you feel the rain over the pain
Give me the strength to believe the words that love will find a way

With or without the sun
I'll be and I won't say goodbye cause I...
I know I'll be with you ~