Title: Lion no kakurega / ライオンの隠れ家
Rating: 10 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who want to watch a well-crafted story about family love, friendship and comradeship with a tinge of suspense and great acting from the cast especially Yagira Yuuya, Bandou Ryouta & Sato Tasuku
SPOILERS AHEAD, PROCEED WITH CAUTION~
Liked:
- While the story initially hinted at something sinister due to the disappearance and supposed deaths of Aoi and Shuuto, there was actually an abundance of love, hope and positivity waiting to be discovered along the way. Despite the negativity about domestic abuse, some sleazy criminal stuff happening in the background and most of the attention being on getting to the bottom of things and saving the two of them from their abuser, the other characters including the leads were never neglected nor forgotten as the character development on the whole was balanced and well-taken care of.
If it had been that the story simply ended with Aoi and Shuuto's rescue and moving on to a new life, it would have been so predictable. The last curveball at the end about Hiroto's realisation regarding losing his purpose in life with Mikkun not having to depend on him that much anymore and that Shuuto is back with his mother was definitely sad and painful to watch but absolutely necessary as a catalyst for everyone to move on with their lives in their own ways. Of course, if everyone can stay together forever, that might have been the ideal ending but in reality, it's sometimes necessary to part ways for the good of everyone. Being needed by someone can give a sense of purpose and fulfillment but nothing is constant in this world and deriving a sense of purpose based on another person's needs and wants is just not sustainable to begin with. And in Hiroto's case, it's high time that he lives for himself after all the sacrifices he had to make over the years. As such, the last episode was definitely the icing on the cake and helped to make this drama a lot more memorable and end on such an uplifting and happy note.
Even though the cliffhanger before the finale seemed like a sharp turn from where the story was seemingly heading towards, it was actually an issue lurking in the background all along. Viewers like me were probably "conditioned" in such a way to focus too much on the case, Aoi, Shuuto and Mikkun so as to strengthen the impact of throwing Hiroto's issue into the limelight at the very end. What was brilliant about the final episode was that the nagging concerns and signs about Hiroto's sense of loss and not having a direction in life were there all the time but never properly addressed until it reached breaking point. As such, the finale didn't need a long time to convince viewers why Hiroto did what he did and why he had to refocus on himself and not put Mikkun's interests ahead of his own's. The scriptwriter probably wanted to reinforce the notion of "love yourself first before you can love others" and suggest that Hiroto needed to change first so that his relationship with Mikkun will become healthier and stronger in the long run. Otherwise, there may come a day when he resents having to sacrifice his life for the sake of Mikkun or that Mikkun depends so much on Hiroto that he can't do what he is actually capable of doing.
- The relationship dynamics and interactions between Hiroto and Mikkun was definitely a major attraction about this story. For example, their little gestures such as striking their palms, walking home together in the sunset at Mikkun's pace while Hiroto looked on gently and patiently made me smile because that was so beautiful and happy to see. Of course, there were times when Mikkun was quite a handful but Hiroto seemed to have his ways of dealing with that thanks to his years of taking care of Mikkun. I thought that the brotherly love between them came across very convincingly, thanks to the great chemistry and acting of Yagira and Bandou.
As the story depicted the brothers becoming independent enough to forge their own paths while giving each other support from afar, it also showed a change in roles for them. Hiroto has always been a stabilising constant factor in Mikkun's life so it appears that Mikkun depends on Hiroto to live as he wishes. However, Mikkun later becomes a form of support for Hiroto and a motivator of sorts. Seeing this transition was really heartening and very encouraging.
- The acting here definitely deserves special mention. While it is easy to pay attention to the more "stand-out" roles like Mikkun, Lion/Shuuto or even the abuser Tachibana played by Mukai Osamu (he was really creepy and obnoxious in some scenes), Yagira had a very difficult role in the sense that Hiroto was rather ordinary and could easily fade into the background. Instead, Yagira's acting made Hiroto become someone who could offer a warm embrace to anyone and be a symbol of reassurance so his presence was definitely not overlooked at all.
On the other hand, Bandou's role was challenging in that he needed to make Mikkun look convincing yet not go overboard with his expressions and gestures. As shared in an earlier post about the casting process of Bandou as Mikkun, his efforts in preparing for the character certainly haven't gone unnoticed. No wonder Mikkun has become a crowd favourite among viewers and even parents of children with ASD are saying that his portrayal was spot-on.
Sato Tasuku may be a child but the scenes when Lion was put through physical and mental stress caused by the separation from his mother and his father's abuse definitely showed his potential in acting. Aside from the emotional pain that Lion bore, Sato was also able to show the innocence of a child effortlessly at the same time whenever Lion was in the company of the Komori brothers.
Disliked:
Nothing - I can't really remember when was the last time I gave a perfect score in my reviews but I must say, this drama was definitely impressive.
