This is a total hit drama depicting very true some of social stigma and issues in Japanese modern society like gender equality, generation gap, work place culture, school quitters, women career after maternity leave, social networking abuse etc. As an adult working in Japan right now, I can guarantee that the drama’s portrayal of the above issues are very spot-on one can easily relate to it!
And gosh, it’s been such a long time I laughed till my stomach hurts watching a drama!
Being partially musical maybe a turnoff to some but imo, the show brings life and relieve to the tension induced when touching serious social issues so it can keep the overall light-hearted and comical mood of the drama.
With all the social issues brought on the table, the drama still manages to weave in a touching and full of surprise family story of the main characters in the backdrop of time traveling as to balance out the seriousness and to keep the viewers engaged.
The cast performance is applaudable as expected from a Japanese drama. Abe Sadao, the male lead actor here is quite famous for his comical but heartwarming images and he certainly plays it well here. Kawai Yukimi, the actress playing Junko is relatively new to me but her performance here is quite impressive!
Satirical, comical, witty, light-hearted yet heart-warming and somewhat nostalgic, this is definitely on my recommendation list for drama! It’s been a while I’ve met a drama like this! Feeling my love for Japanese drama and its satire all over again!
Though the modern social issues brought here are more relevant in Japanese modern society, some of it can be resonated in other modern society context as well.
It is definitely a good watch and especially so if you are curious about Japan in the 1980s and Japanese work place & broadcasting station. If you need to do some research about how Japanese social issues reflected in drama, this is definitely a must-watch! :)