Mother

It has strong moments, it has moments that make you want to cry (especially near the end), but it also has weak moments, moments that run out of steam. Even so, it's definitely one of the better series dealing with one of the social problems they wrestle with in Japan (and elsewhere in the world). It's devoid of amorous love, it deals purely with maternal love, basically all its possible forms. If you've had enough of monkey business, want to watch something with serious themes, no diatribes, and good acting (of course little Ashida Mana's performance beats everything, indeed I'm not holding back from calling it brilliant, after all she was only five or six years old at the time of filming...), reach for this series. What is a mother's love? (09.02.2013)