Have you ever thought why you had to be born in this weird
world? Have you ever thought of why you have to experience those horrible
things? Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be born in a different
family than your current one? If so, then perhaps ‘Aishiteru: Kizuna’
is just the movie for you.
I originally watched ‘Aishiteru: Kizuna’ because of Okada
Masaki (duh!). However, when I realised how deep the meaning of the movie is, I
have to recommend it to you for its deep lessons and beauty. The fact that Mukai
Osamu plays as Masaki’s big brother is a big plus for me, for I love both
actors, and seeing them together in a movie like this is such a treat for me!
Fans of Mukai Osamu and Ikuta Toma will understand what I
meant, particularly because Osamu and Toma were at the same movie –
Hanamizuki – but they only shared one
very short scene together. In fact, in Aishiteru:Kizuna, Masaki and Osamu also only shared one scene. But
it’s a long and very important – if not the pinnacle – scene of the movie.
Hence, I guarantee that Aishiteru: Kizuna will please the fans of both shining
stars.
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| Little Naoto and Tomoya (Mukai Osamu) |
Aishiteru: Kizuna is the sequel of a TV series called ‘Aishiteru: Kaiyo’. I never
saw this series, and I don’t think I will (can’t bear it), but this is what
I’ve learned: The series talked about a 12th grader student (Tomoya,
played by Kakazu Issei) who accidentally murdered his playmate, 5th
grader Kiyotaka (played by Sato Shion). Throughout the series, we learn about
the ramifications of Tomoya’s actions for himself, his family and the family of
the victim. We also eventually learn the reason behind Tomoya repeatedly
hitting his friend’s head to the ground (and hence murdered him): the friend
was badmouthing Tomoya’s mother.
Tomoya was eventually released from the jail punishment, and
was allowed to live his life. However, the incident had marred his life. It
seems that he promised himself that he should be punished one way or another.
When his mother delivered another child into the family, Tomoya vowed to
protect this little brother of his, unlike the way he treated his dead friend.
The little brother is Naoto (the grown up version played by Masaki). Aishiteru:
Kizuna tells the story of Morita Naoto, and how he tries to live his life as
the little brother of a murderer.
Click here to watch it online. My heartfelt gratitute to the fan-subbers who worked for this excellent project. Below is the plot summary of Aishiteru Kizuna. Heavy SPOILERS, so be
forewarned.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
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| Naoto (Okada Masaki) and his brother's gift |
The movie opened with Naoto carrying a bunch of white calla lily flowers going to
see his long estranged brother Tomoya. It wasn’t a cordial visit, for Naoto’s
countenance was shimmering with anger. However, just when Naoto was about to
knock the door of Tomoya’s apartment, his mobile phone rang. Naoto’s pregnant
wife Kana (Mizukawa Asami) was having a problem with the baby she was carrying. Naoto hesitated
for a second before rushing to the hospital.
Learning that Kana and the baby were okay, he reiterated that he did not want the baby to be born. No child should live the life Naoto had been living until now. Kana stubbornly refused to give up their baby. The story then flashbacked to Naoto’s life before he met Kana.
Learning that Kana and the baby were okay, he reiterated that he did not want the baby to be born. No child should live the life Naoto had been living until now. Kana stubbornly refused to give up their baby. The story then flashbacked to Naoto’s life before he met Kana.
When they were little, Naoto and his big brother Tomoya were
best friends. Particularly after their father died, Tomoya (portrayed by Mukai Osamu
as already growing up) always accompanied and supported Naoto. Until one day
when Naoto, Tomoya and their mother (Inamori Izumi) decided to move house. Tomoya said he had an
errand to do, so he would show up at the new house later in the evening. However,
he never showed up. From Mrs Morita, Naoto learned that Tomoya would be living
on his own from then on.
Although angry at Tomoya’s sudden departure, Naoto still
loved his brother. That is until one day when he was already in high school and
he learned of his brother’s past. That his beloved brother Tomoya was a
murderer and his story was available on the net. Angrily, Naoto confronted his
mother about it. About why they kept such big a secret from him. About why his
mother gave birth to him, knowing that such fate as a murderer’s little brother
awaits him. Despite his mother’s plea, saying how grateful she was to have
Naoto in their life, Naoto couldn’t forgive his mother and brother. He moved
out of the house and lived on his own ever since.
Apparently, society wasn’t treating the brother of a
murderer kindly. After high school, Naoto enrolled in an art college. His professor
often praised his paintings, although they ‘are too dark’ he said. One of his
brighter painting was so beautiful that Kid’s Po Po, a children garment company,
offered to buy his painting for their posters. Excited, Naoto relayed the news
to his friend (to whom he also told the story of his brother beforehand). Apparently,
the innocent Naoto trusted the wrong person. This ‘friend’ told the company of
Naoto’s secret murderer brother, resulting in Kid’s Po Po withdrawing their
offer for Naoto’s painting. Enraged, Naoto punched his so-called friend’s face.
However, the damage was already done. Naoto eventually quit the art college and
tried other jobs, including pizza delivery.
One day when he was delivering a pizza, Naoto went into a
house asking for direction. There, he saw a sketch of a mother and her baby. He
was so moved by the painting that he shed his tears. He was caught crying in
front of the painting by the house owners, a feisty girl and her grandfather. The
feisty girl was Suma Kana, who became so excited that her painting was so good;
it made someone cried. Suma Tetsuto (‘Suma-san’) the grandfather was impressed
with Naoto’s depth, such that he would later offer the boy to work on his
leather workshop.
Being an arty person, Naoto was apparently an excellent
choice for a protégé. He mastered the art of making leather goods in a short
time, which gained more approval from the old Suma. Naoto’s first leather
wallet was also sold, which led to other purchases as well. Kana was also
getting more attached to Naoto. Such was her attachment to Naoto that she did
not care about the gossips about Naoto’s past. After some customers complained
about Naoto’s presence in the workshop, Naoto eventually revealed his past to Suma
and Kana.
Unexpectedly, the grandfather-granddaughter dismissed Naoto’s request
to leave the job.
‘Don’t underestimate us. Do you think my grandpa and I are
wimps?’ Kana demanded. Her past was also full of sadness; her mother used to abuse
her until Suma rescued her and took her under his wing. Kana knew shadows of
the past, and she knew how to overcome them, although sadness still remained.
Suma added, ‘We don’t pretend to entirely understand your
suffering. But at least we can stand by your side.’
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| Naoto, Suma-san and Kana |
Hence, Naoto kept his job. He even moved in with Kana and
Suma. In them, Naoto found the family he had lost. He found Suma an easy person
to share his thoughts with. When later Naoto wondered why he had to be born in
this world, Suma said, ‘It is not wrong that you were born. Because of that,
Kana was happy. And I was, too. You don’t need an answer. The fact that you are
alive is enough.’
Kana and Naoto got closer and closer until one day they
kissed and made love (wheeee!!!). Anyone who wants to see Masaki’s lean upper
body, better watch this section! Masaki is very tall, and rather skinny too. But
somehow in this movie, he looked lean and rather well-built. I am such a
pervert for this Kana-Naoto scene, I paused and repeated it several times!
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| Naoto and Kana (Mizukawa Asami) kissing |
Naoto eventually married Kana. He loved her and wanted to
make her happy. However, there was one condition that Kana must accept: they
cannot have children. Naoto couldn’t let another soul experience such a
torture; being born into the family of a murderer. Kana disagreed, of course. For
her, despite her difficult childhood, she was still grateful for being alive. Had
her mother not brought her into this world, Kana would have not met Naoto and
fallen in love with him. However, Kana understood where Naoto came from. She reluctantly
agreed not to have a baby.
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| Naoto delivering his prenuptial condition |
Suma granted Naoto the family leather workshop as the
wedding gift. Naoto eventually held a one-man exhibition to display his
products. The week-or-so exhibition attracted a lot of attention and seemed to
secure his career. However, Kana – now Morita Kana – was a bit disturbed
because Naoto still did not want to make peace with his mother, who did not
come to their wedding but still sent a beautiful flower bouquet for the
exhibition.
Another person also sent flowers to Naoto during the
exhibition. This unnamed person left a single stem of white calla lily at the front
door every night. Naoto wouldn’t find the identity of this person had he not
caught him in action on the last night of the exhibition. Naoto was walking
home with Kana when Kana tentatively mentioned that she still wanted a child
from Naoto (she actually mentioned it because she had found out that she was
pregnant). Unable to have such a sensitive discussion, Naoto went back to the
exhibition hall on the pretext of searching for his mobile phone (which was
actually inside his pocket all along). There, he saw a person solemnly placing
a stem of calla lily in front of the hall door. The person did not see him, but
he saw who the person was. It was his long-lost brother Tomoya!
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| Naoto caught Tomoya in action |
Naoto was furious. He couldn’t accept such a gift from a
person who: 1) abandoned him during his childhood, and 2) was a murderer on top
of that. He followed Tomoya home to locate where he lived. At the earliest
opportunity after the exhibition was done, Naoto went to Tomoya’s apartment to
return the flowers (and to punch his brother, perhaps). However, Kana’s call
stopped him. It also returns us to the beginning of the movie.
The story then moved forward. After studying the ultrasound
picture of her baby, Kana realised that she really and truly wanted the baby. Her
own personal history of being abandoned by her mother made her wanted a baby of
her own. Kana left the hospital and went to see Naoto’s mother, Mrs Morita
Satsuki. In a café, the two women who never met before bonded for the first
time and shared their stories.
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| Naoto's mother - Morita Satsuki - and Kana |
After learning that Kana was okay, Naoto returned to Tomoya’s
apartment to finish his mission. He knocked the door and was face to face for
the first time in years with his brother. With anger shimmering inside him,
Naoto entered Tomoya’s minimalist one-room apartment. Despite his anger, Naoto
noticed that the only prominent feature of Tomoya’s apartment was a shrine
containing incense and a photograph of smiling, alive Kiyotaka. Tomoya
apparently always prayed faithfully for Kiyotaka’s peace.
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| The shrine dedicated to Kiyotaka |
Tomoya didn’t seem to be surprised to see Naoto. He didn’t say
a lot when Naoto vented up and accusingly asked questions. During their
one-sided arguments, Naoto noticed a wallet that looked very much like his first
sale. Naoto was shocked to learn that his first buyer was actually his own
brother. He attempted to grab the wallet, but Tomoya stopped him. Naoto pushed
back Tomoya who hit a cabinet which later collapsed. One item fell into the
floor: a photograph of young Naoto and Tomoya.
Then and only then, Naoto realised how much his brother
loved him and that he never left his side. ‘You have been watching me! Why did
you disappear back then? If you were going to abandon me in the middle, you shouldn’t
have treated me nice!’
However, Tomoya never abandoned his brother. This was his
explanation: Because of what he had done to Kiyotaka-chan, he had punished himself
not to be happy. Tomoya must not die, for he had to live his life for Kiyotaka
as well. But because Kiyotaka couldn’t laugh and smile anymore, Tomoya couldn’t
be happy either. Not only that, Tomoya didn’t even allow himself to cry (I’m
surprised he hadn’t died of cancer or other illness!). However, seeing his little
brother Naoto laughing, Tomoya also wanted to laugh. Seeing Naoto having
dreams, he found himself also wanting to have dreams. He could not allow that
to happen. That was why he left. However, he always kept a watchful eye on
Naoto. When he learned that Naoto was to hold a one-man exhibition, Tomoya couldn’t
stop himself from showing his support (in the form of the flowers).
Naoto listened in silence. His brother’s story brought him
back to a moment in their past when they were playing baseball together. Kiyotaka
was killed during a baseball practice between Kiyotaka and Tomoya. Thus, for
Tomoya, baseball was a painful reminder of his sins. Nonetheless, when little
Naoto asked to play baseball with him, Tomoya couldn’t refuse. He overcame his
fears and played with Naoto. After the game, Tomoya advised his little brother
to expand his hobby, not just doing baseball. ‘You can do anything if you work
hard. You have a future, Naoto,’ said Tomoya, which prompted Naoto to ask whether
his brother had dreams of his own. Being asked as such, Tomoya was stunned.
‘My dream...’ It took him a while before answering, ‘My
dream is to be your supporter.’
Naoto remembered the majority of that episode, except for
Tomoya’s answer. Until now. Now, as the memory returns and as he watched his
brother finally shed the long-kept tears, Naoto cried as well. He now realised
how much he meant to his brother. How much his brother loved him and vice
versa.
Tomoya promised Naoto that he would never show himself in
front of Naoto’s new family. Naoto didn’t object to that statement. However, he
reached for his brother’s hand and said this,
‘Even if we never see each other again, we are family. Nobody
can change that.’ Naoto looked at his brother in tears and added, ‘I am not
going to run away again, Brother.’
Naoto has forgiven Tomoya. He finally called Tomoya ‘oni-san/brother’
again and told him that he was going to be a father (this is when Naoto decided
to keep his and Kana’s baby, I guess). Tomoya burst more tears as he learned he
was to be an uncle.
Naoto finally returned to Kana and together they waited for
the arrival of their baby. When the baby boy Yuuta was finally born, Naoto held
him in his embrace. He thanked Kana for bringing him Yuuta. The way Mrs Morita
used to thank him when he was a baby, Naoto thanked Yuuta for coming into this
world. He told his newborn son how he always dreamed of the same dream, regardless
of whether he was happy or sad. He felt his body swaying back and forth,
enveloped in warmth that made him felt safe.
Naoto also eventually made peace with his mother. He invited
his mother Morita Satsuki to see Yuuta. On the playground, Naoto apologised to
his mother and finally thanked her for bringing him into this world. He then
realised one thing: the warm swaying feeling he sometimes felt was the warm
feeling he had when he was a child, being swayed here and there by his father,
mother and brother. It was the memory of being loved by his family.
Impressions
I love Aishiteru: Kizuna (would I write a long post if I don’t
love it?!). As per many J-doramas I’ve seen, I was impressed with all main and
supporting characters. Suma-san (played excellently by Ito Shiro who portrayed
Emperor Shirakawa in ‘Taira no Kiyomori’) was a charming grandfather I wish I had.
Inamori Izumi as Morita Satsuki left a deep impression in me. Her screen time
was short here, much shorter than in the series (which left her emotionally
exhausted after four months’ of filming). However, she portrayed the innocent mother
of a (regretful and self-punishing) murderer very well.
Mukai Osamu of course deserved a mention of his own. He first
captured my attention when he was paired up with Ayase Haruka in ‘Hotaru no
Hikari 2’. However, his role in ‘Paradise Kiss’ was so-so. But here, Osamu blew
me up. Tomoya’s pain and guilt was etched clearly on his face in every scene. Osamu’s
only scene with Masaki was deep, very deep. I cried many times during this
scene.
Masaki of course still captured my heart here. He expressed
his anger and frustration, sadness and sorrow beautifully. He and Mizukawa Asami
(Kana) paired up beautifully here. In fact, I think she is my favourite pair
for Masaki at his current age. There’s something about their chemistry that
just fits. By the way, Asami played as
O-Hatsu, the middle sister of O-Gou in Gou, Himetachi no
Sengoku, NHK’s 2011 Taiga drama. A totally recommended series! (Mukai
played as Tokugawa Hidetada at the same series)
Aishiteru: Kizuna does leave me pondering. I don’t argue
that what little Tomoya did was wrong. However, he didn’t do that out of bullying.
Instead, he hit Kiyotaka because the latter was badmouthing Tomoya’s mother. I’m
not advocating violence here. I’m just saying that I understand why Tomoya was
angry. Unfortunately he crossed the line that day and made a little boy lost
his life. For that, he was sorry. He was so sorry in fact that he never allowed
himself to be happy ever since.
It must have been a very difficult situation for both
families; Tomoya’s and Kiyotaka’s. A common argument between little boys turned
into such an accident. And who to say that this situation wasn’t familiar? How many
times in our lives as children we argued with our friends, such that it
actually developed into dangerous situations? A friend of mine accidentally
hurt me when we were playing hide and seek. On another occasion, I hurt another
friend of mine with my carelessness. We were lucky that none of us carried the physical
wound into our adulthood. However, who to say that I never looked back in time
and felt ashamed with myself?
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| Tomoya playing catch with little Naoto |
Kiyotaka’s family had every right to be angry at Tomoya and
his family. However, I also don’t have the heart to see how Tomoya continued to
bear this cross forever in his life. Not allowing himself to be happy, to have
dreams, to live his life. Not forgiving himself, no matter how hard it is. Eternal
punishment like that is just too sad to witness, and unfair as well.
I am glad that Naoto and Tomoya were eventually united; also
Naoto and his mother. However, I am sad that Tomoya couldn’t leave his past and
occasionally visit his brother and the family. I understand that it would be
impractical. But it’s just too sad. Might as well just go to Nara, shave his
head and become a monk! It would be much better, I guess.
Speaking of monks, I’m not surprised if Naoto was actually Kiyotaka-reincarnated.
Eastern traditions (particularly Hinduism and Buddhism) believe that we would
generally be born again to interact with the ones we haven’t finished our karma
with. It is logical for Kiyotaka to be reborn as Tomoya’s own brother so that
Tomoya could take care of him and basically ‘paid off his sins’, if you’d like.
I wish Tomoya would see it that way. At least it would alleviate his guilt a
bit. And even if Kiyotaka wasn’t reborn as Naoto, I’m sure he wouldn’t approve
of Tomoya’s years of punishment.
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| Naoto and Baby Yuuta |
I hope this movie helps you as well, if needed.
1 comment:
Wow... This is very detailed and I loved your insights... I'll read through uou other posts...
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