Monday, May 25, 2009

Watch Online: 1 Litre of Tears (Diary of Tears)



A Japanese TV series based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed entitled “One Litre of Tears" also called “A Diary of Tears” has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone.


The story was adapted from the diary of Aya Kito, who suffered spinocerebellar ataxia, 1 Litre of Tears follows the life of Aya Ikeuchi, a Junior High School student who's still at her prime when she found out that she has a terminal illness that would cause her body to deteriorate soon. The doctor suggested her to keep a diary and write until the time came that she can no longer hold a pen. SCA is a progressive disease that gets worse with time. It's a disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord, thus, progressive difficulty in coordination. People inflicted with this sickness will find it hard to do all the things he/she can easily do before -- walking, talking, writing and even swallowing.

Fifteen year old Ikeuchi Aya was just a normal girl, soon to be high school student and daughter of a family who works at a shop that makes tofu. As time passed, unusual things started happening to Aya lately. She started falling down often and walks in a strange way. Her mother Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a terrible disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?

By the title of the series itself, one could easily tell that this is a heavy drama. Erika Sawajiri (Aya Ikeuchi) is so good in this film, not to mention she's really cute. You can really see in her eyes all the emotions that are needed to establish each scenes.Ryo Nishikido (Haruto Aso) did an excellent performance that I learned to love his character as the story progresses. The once cold hearted classmate of Aya ironically became one of the very special people in her life. I love Ryo's character here as compared with his character in the TV series "Last Friends".


1 Litre of Tears is based from a real life story but with the the inclusion of fictional situations and characters like Haruto. However, Haruto's existence in the series definitely played a vital role in the realization of the lead character's inner feelings.




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