Macy
~meteor dreamland~
This review may contain spoilers
Clothing gives people hope
"Carnation" is my fourteenth asadora. I've wanted to watch it for a while since it kind of gives off the same vibes as my favorite asadora, "Ohisama" (which also aired the same year). I really liked "Carnation" overall, but it hits a stumbling block around week 17 that it never really recovers from. Well, for me, at least. Warning! Major spoilers follow~
The heroine, Itoko, is played by Ono Machiko. She really deserves all the praise I've seen her get for this role. Ono was able to play the stubborn, somewhat pigheaded Itoko in such a way that she never becomes insufferable. She stays consistently funny and enjoyable, despite her bad traits. Kuriyama Chiaki playing Otoko's childhood classmate, Natsu, also sticks out in my mind as a stand-out performance. Her relationship with Itoko made me laugh until the very end. I also quite liked Natsuki Mari as an older Itoko. Definitely a great actress. I only wish that they had introduced her a tad sooner as I think the transition from Ono to her was a bit awkward. The rest of the supporting cast I could best describe as comforting. I just loved continuing to see the faces of Itoko's family, friends, and neighbors.
On to the minor things that I didn't like which resulted in me giving "Carnation" a 9.0 instead of a 10. First, her father. I hated him. This has nothing to do with the actor (Kobayashi Kaoru) as I think he acted him really well actually. Even if I sit and think about it, I can relate to the dad's feelings. But... I just find it inexcusable for a man to hit his child so much and just generally act like a tyrant. I was really waiting for him to die, even if he finally chilled out a bit lol. Second, I thought all of Itoko's children were annoying. Tbh this is an ongoing issue with asadoras set around the war. The children that grow up afterwards are almost always intolerable. Yuko is probably the most tolerable, but her fights with Naoko (the most annoying) are so hard to watch. And poor Satoko is just portrayed as an idiot. And the third thing...
Itoko doesn't have a decent love interest. I really liked her husband Masaru (played by Suruga Taro) until he goes off to war and she discovers he was having an affair! After the war, she gets a new love interest in Suo (Ayano Go) but he has a wife! For me, this is where my interest started to wane. I don't really care that the show wants us to think that their love isn't "dirty." Whatever, he has a wife (who suffers from the aftereffects of the atomic bomb) and children. They eventually come to their senses and part, but I can't help but think about how painful this affair was for everyone. This was around week 17 and I didn't particularly like the weeks that followed since they started to focus on Itoko's daughters. And I said before, I find them annoying.
However, "Carnation" is a pretty solid asadora until week 17. I loved the focus on dressmaking and fashion, and Itoko achieving her dream of owning her own shop. The weeks focusing on the war are also very good and don't focus too much on the tragedy of it all. Following the war, Itoko is able to refocus on her dream and I really liked the 1950s fashions. It was also funny for her to realize that she has a harder time relating to newer fashions now that she's middle aged. Then I also really liked the final four weeks with older Itoko and her storyline with her granddaughter. I was reminded of my own grandmother and definitely cried a lot. It was surprising that they showed Itoko passing away as this is only the second instance of a heroine that I've seen. Even though she died of natural causes, it was still very sad.
Interestingly, I looked it up and the real-life Itoko (her real name was Koshino Ayako) really was a fan of asadora and wanted her life put to screen. It was kind of meta that they actually put this into the plot lol, but I loved it. Especially seeing Natsu watching it at the end. Cue tears.
The heroine, Itoko, is played by Ono Machiko. She really deserves all the praise I've seen her get for this role. Ono was able to play the stubborn, somewhat pigheaded Itoko in such a way that she never becomes insufferable. She stays consistently funny and enjoyable, despite her bad traits. Kuriyama Chiaki playing Otoko's childhood classmate, Natsu, also sticks out in my mind as a stand-out performance. Her relationship with Itoko made me laugh until the very end. I also quite liked Natsuki Mari as an older Itoko. Definitely a great actress. I only wish that they had introduced her a tad sooner as I think the transition from Ono to her was a bit awkward. The rest of the supporting cast I could best describe as comforting. I just loved continuing to see the faces of Itoko's family, friends, and neighbors.
On to the minor things that I didn't like which resulted in me giving "Carnation" a 9.0 instead of a 10. First, her father. I hated him. This has nothing to do with the actor (Kobayashi Kaoru) as I think he acted him really well actually. Even if I sit and think about it, I can relate to the dad's feelings. But... I just find it inexcusable for a man to hit his child so much and just generally act like a tyrant. I was really waiting for him to die, even if he finally chilled out a bit lol. Second, I thought all of Itoko's children were annoying. Tbh this is an ongoing issue with asadoras set around the war. The children that grow up afterwards are almost always intolerable. Yuko is probably the most tolerable, but her fights with Naoko (the most annoying) are so hard to watch. And poor Satoko is just portrayed as an idiot. And the third thing...
Itoko doesn't have a decent love interest. I really liked her husband Masaru (played by Suruga Taro) until he goes off to war and she discovers he was having an affair! After the war, she gets a new love interest in Suo (Ayano Go) but he has a wife! For me, this is where my interest started to wane. I don't really care that the show wants us to think that their love isn't "dirty." Whatever, he has a wife (who suffers from the aftereffects of the atomic bomb) and children. They eventually come to their senses and part, but I can't help but think about how painful this affair was for everyone. This was around week 17 and I didn't particularly like the weeks that followed since they started to focus on Itoko's daughters. And I said before, I find them annoying.
However, "Carnation" is a pretty solid asadora until week 17. I loved the focus on dressmaking and fashion, and Itoko achieving her dream of owning her own shop. The weeks focusing on the war are also very good and don't focus too much on the tragedy of it all. Following the war, Itoko is able to refocus on her dream and I really liked the 1950s fashions. It was also funny for her to realize that she has a harder time relating to newer fashions now that she's middle aged. Then I also really liked the final four weeks with older Itoko and her storyline with her granddaughter. I was reminded of my own grandmother and definitely cried a lot. It was surprising that they showed Itoko passing away as this is only the second instance of a heroine that I've seen. Even though she died of natural causes, it was still very sad.
Interestingly, I looked it up and the real-life Itoko (her real name was Koshino Ayako) really was a fan of asadora and wanted her life put to screen. It was kind of meta that they actually put this into the plot lol, but I loved it. Especially seeing Natsu watching it at the end. Cue tears.
Was this review helpful to you?
