Inu wo Kau to Iu Koto : First Impressions

Yuuji and Sachiko Hongo are a young married couple. Everyone their age is either living their dreams or still trying to find themselves, but with two young Elementary-aged children, this young couple had no choice but to settle down and provide for their small family at a very young age. Between Sachiko balancing a part time job at a supermarket and participating in the community while Yuuji has to force employees to resign from their companies for a living for meager pay, raising their family has became tough in these poor economic times.

One day, a small dog comes into their lives and with this new addition forces Yuuji and Sachiko to really look at their lives and their family as a whole.

From the first two episodes of Inu wo kau to iu koto: Sky to wagaya no 180 nichi (What means to have a dog, 180 days of Sky and our Family), it doesn’t seem like a heavy hitter. You see a family going through hard times but you don’t feel depressed after watching it. It’s a feel good drama with some tinges of sensibility and cuteness. The first episode is more like a PSA against careless treatment of animals while the second episode focuses more on the family and their lives with this new addition that they’re hiding from their neighbors.

I was a bit apprehensive to Ryo Nishikido in this role. Ryo and Asami Mizukawa do not look the part of married couple with a 6 and 9 year old, but when you learn about how their family came to be then it all makes sense. Being 30 and 29 year old parents is one of the bigger overlaying stories of this drama and really paints the picture of two young people, obviously in love, but trying to make their lives comfortable with their check to check lifestyle. When they’re not together, you can see the obvious longing they have for things that they original set their sights on, with Yuuji wanting to be a musician and Sachiko wanting to be a nurse, but yet they press on with dealing with the reality of their situation.

They’re happy with what they have regardless if life did not go the way they wanted it to go.

The children are adorable in this drama. The dynamic between Mako and Yuuji is adorable and it was definitely interesting to see Ryo and Asami put on their “parental unit” act with Masaru, their son in the drama. Only to realize that Ryo’s character, Yuuji, is not much of a disciplinarian and is chewed out by his wife, Sachiko.

I’m liking this drama so far, probably because it isn’t dramatic for the sake to be dramatic. Its not putting itself in an extreme situation that I would find hard to watch. Sky is that cute plot device that seems to provide a real problem to a struggling family, such as the expenses of pet care (a 200 dollar vet bill, a 50 dollar collar vs a collar at the dollar store, etc). It’s also interesting to see what will become of the story with Masaru’s comment, ” The day that it’s (Sky Tree) completed is the day that our family will collapse. ”

And its really interesting that this drama is some how connect to Sky Tree. Sky Tree is an actual tower, the tallest in Tokyo (and the world), that will replace Tokyo Tower as a broadcasting tower. So its probably some subliminal propaganda from TV Asahi.

Anyway, I like it so I’m in for the ride. Hopefully there’ll be some tension in the family to keep me watching, such as Taniguchi Junnosuke’s character, Katsuhiko, and Takeda Kouhei’s character, Hideki, returning to these two individual’s lives and being the vice to remind them what they could have had. Marriages like this have to have bumps in the road and I would like to see that in this drama. What is the factor that will make this family crumble?

i love this dog tho