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“Why did this illness choose me?”
Do not take the tragedy tag lightly. This series isn’t just “1 litre” of tears but buckets of it. There are some diseases that science either does not understand or have the cure for.
This is a story of one such disease that chose a young, brilliant girl and stole her youth and all that she desired to be. And no, it's nothing like The Fault in our Stars. Not at all.
Introduction
Series’ Name - 1 Litre no Namida (1 Litre of Tears)
Directed by - Murakami Shosuke, Kinoshita Takao
Genre - Romance, Tragedy, Drama
Original Language - Japanese
No. of episodes - 11
A Diary Written with Tears
1 Litre no Namida is a 2005 Japanese drama based on a true story of a 15-year old high school girl named Aya Kito. Her diary, that she wrote until the moment she became unable to hold the pen, is the basis for the show’s script.
Though the series made some changes to the story such as changing Aya’s surname from Kito to Ikeuchi, many dialogues were taken directly from her diary.
“It’s nothing extraordinary. Just the record of a girl chosen by a peculiar disease.”
So reads the opening scene of the first episode of the series. Fifteen-year-old Aya Ikeuchi is an ordinary girl with an ordinary family who runs a tofu shop. However, life soon became not-so-ordinary. Strange things start happening to her like falling more often and walking strangely.
Her mother Shioka, who works in healthcare, took her to the hospital for a check up. After some tests, she was diagnosed with Spinocerebellar Degeneration - a rare 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.
The story revolves around her struggles from the age of 14 to 20. Aya died at the age of 25 and her family carried her wishes for her body to be donated for medical research purposes.
Season Review
There are some dramas whose genre might not be your favourite but the story touches your soul deeply. This is one of those dramas. It’s the most obvious thing but this story will certainly make you cry a whole lot.
But that’s not the whole purpose here. Through Aya’s story, we are faced with the tragic realities of many people that many of us might be unaware of.
When she was diagnosed with the disease, Aya was naturally shocked but she didn’t show it directly. She didn’t lose any hope for life. Even when she started being unable to do the most normal things such as walking, eating by herself, writing, talking, she never gave up.
Obviously there were times when it all bore heavily on her young, fragile shoulders, but she continued her fight against fate.
She just always had the question - Why did this illness choose me? She cannot even go to the bathroom by herself, cannot live like a normal high-schooler, cannot achieve the dreams she has, and cannot have a lover either (which she wished for as expressed in her diary). Why? Even though she only wants to live and live normally.
Aya is the protagonist but the story isn’t just about her and her disease. It’s also about her family and other people around her, how the disease not only affects its victim but also every person they’re related to, how people treat a disabled person vs how you should actually treat them i.e normally.
People treating a disabled person differently is nothing but a constant reminder of their ‘differentness’.
Let me go ahead and tell you something that will crush your hearts. The character of Haruto Asou, who is Aya’s only love interest, is completely fictional. There was no Haruto in real Aya’s life. Haruto’s character was added at the request of her family, that even if she didn’t get to have a hero in real life, she should have one at least on screen. Your heart broke, right?
When I got to know this, I was reminded of all the times when Aya was suffering alone and Haruto was always at the right place, at the right time. But in reality, she went through that loneliness alone.
Aya didn’t really have any close friends either and no matter how much her family took care of her and loved her, it must’ve still been lonely for her because friends and lovers are something that family cannot replace.
Aya was just too awesome. When she was stood up by her first crush because that guy was scared to take responsibility of a “disabled girlfriend”, Aya thought to herself -
“I want ...i want to go in a time machine and go to the past, meet a good guy, experience love. Without a shoulder to hold onto, to cry onto is just too hard to tolerate for your whole life…”
However, she picked herself up. She was always brimming with positivity and the above dialogue soon transformed into -
“I don't want to travel back in time because I have my family, I have them and I'll be fine with them. I accept myself. I accept this useless body of mine ...I accept all this.”
Aya was recommended by her doctor to keep a diary so she could track how the disease was affecting her daily life but the diary became an outlet of her intense emotional struggle, how she was trying her hardest to cope with the changes the disease brought. She wrote and wrote until the moment she became unable to write completely.
“I write because writing is evidence that I am still alive.”
Famous Quotes
“Mom, will I be able to get married?...I know I can’t. That’s why I want to be buried like a bride with flowers.”
“I put my hand on my chest, I can feel my heartbeat. I’m glad it’s still working and I’m alive.”
“I keep thinking about death, so I'm scared. I can't move...I'm beaten. I want to live! I can't move, I can't do anything useful to other people. But I want to live. I want to be understood”
“When you fall over, make the most of the chance to look up and see the sky.”
The Bottom Line
This drama is absolutely beautiful. It’s not a love story but it’s not a pity party either. It's the most realistic portrayal of the struggles of a disabled person, their extraordinary will to not give up, and how they overcome the cruel fate.
IMDb ratings - 8.6 on 10
Written By - Sanjana Chaudhary
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