To be honest, this is another TV Drama that I watched because of Satou Takeru…but I love this drama because of it’s heart warming story.
Synopsis: (wiki addict)
The drama is based on the best-selling same-titled novel by Shigematsu Kiyoshi. It tells the story of how a widower brought up his only son, after the death of his beloved wife. Ichikawa Yasuo (Uchino Masaaki), or Yasu as he is known, is a baka, with no paper qualifications to his name. However, like all normal parents, he dotes on his only son, Akira (Satou Takeru). Having grown up without his parents around, Yasu himself knows next to nothing of what parenting is about. With his wife, Misako (Tokiwa Takako), by his side, he had spent many happy days together with his little family.
However, when Akira was 3 years old, Misako passed away suddenly from an accident. Heart-broken, and filled with regrets, Yasu pulled himself together, in order to care for his little son. Together with the help of his friends, Yasu overcame it all, and Akira grew up to be a bright and successful young man.
“With nothing but love for his son… that’s all there is” – TBS
TBS has summed up the whole story better than I can ever do. I love this drama a lot!! I know some people enjoy watching dysfunctional family story, I myself never really seem to enjoy such story. I always enjoy story of a happy family overcoming all their problems. Tonbi is this kind of story. I don’t have kids yet but I will keep every advice and lesson from this drama. Every episode of this drama is full of wise word of how to raise our children.
There are so many things to like.
Let’s start with the cast. The cast are perfect! Everyone plays their role brilliantly. From the 4 year old Igarashi Hinata as Akira 3 years to the old Emoto Akira as Kaiun or Oshou. The main cast and the supporting ones are equally brilliant. The stubborn and loving father, Yasu is played perfectly by Uchino Masaaki. No wonder he won best actor in 16th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (2013). The kind Akira is also played well by Satou Takeru. Asou Yumi as Taeko who is like a sister to Yasu has shown so many emotion throughout the 10 episode drama. I can go on talking about all the cast which in the end only can be summarized as solid cast.
Tonbi teaches us how to be happy with whatever life we have, how to be happy with the family we have. One of the quotes that relates so much to me is when Yasu told his dying father (his father has abandoned him when he was a kid): “You don’t need to apologize because I have a happy live. Thank you for giving the life I have now” and I also love when he said to Akira why he doesn’t want to live with him “I want you to have a place to run to when you have problem. Where can you run if I live with you?” There are so many beautiful sentences from Tonbi.
Tonbi is full of unconditional love, a love between friends, a love between father and son and a love in a small village. Everything is about love. No matter how hard-headed your father is, the truth is still the same, he loves you with all his heart…and no matter how rebellious the son/daughter is, the truth is still the same, he/she respects and love his/her father regardless of his attitude. It reflects back to me. My father and I might not be as close as I am with my mom but even so I love my father and respect him with all my heart.
Tonbi is a drama you need to watch with tissue at hand. I cried in almost every episodes, either for its sad situation (like when Misako passed away) or its touching moment (like when Yasu reads Akira’s essay about no matter what his father had done, he can never hate him). Just like what Yasu had said in the series “I have just realized that when we are very happy, we do not laugh we cry.”
I wish there’s a trailer that I can show you but I can’t find any in youtube. I really love this drama and it worth its place as Best Drama in 16th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (2013). I highly recommend it to anyone who like good family drama. I wish I can make a better review than this.
Series Detail:
Title: とんび
Starring: Uchino Masaaki, Sato Takeru, Fukiishi Kazue, Tokiwa Takako, Nomura Hironobu, Kato Takako,Otoo Takuma, Bengal, Asou Yumi, Emoto Akira, Takahashi Kazuya, Uchino Kenta, Honda Tsubasa, Hashimoto Mami, Igarashi Hinata, Arakawa Shin, Fukuzaki Nayuta
Episodes: 10
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2013-Jan-13 to
Streaming: http://www.drama.net/tonbi/
Rating: 
Polychrome Interest 
Too bad it’s not in the U.S.!
It’s not in Indonesia either 😉
I know it’s illegal but I watch it online, I even shared the link in my post. I would love to watch it legally but the only way I can’t.
I’m usually on my computer dong other things when I watch TV or movies. I can’t just sit and watch. That makes internet shows pretty difficult for me! Honestly, I watch very little these days. I’m hopelessly out of step with the entertainment community.
I don’t have TV in my dorm because TV is useless for me, the shows in our national tv channels are unwatchable 😦
I see what you mean, I don’t have time to read but I can still squeeze few hours after work to watch something as a well to make me feel relax after a tiring day. If I try to read, I end up sleeping.
Sounds like the arrangement works for you!
What was that movie you posted about months & months ago that was super epic? I wrote the title down to try and track the series down but now I can’t find it. It was a big blockbuster in your country I think, I know my clues are probably not helpful=(
Rurouni Kenshin. Satou Takeru from this drama is the one playing Kenshin. It’s a trilogy but you can watch it only movie 2 and 3 if finding movie 1 is difficult
Thank you!! I’ll see what I can do!
I love dramas that can move you to tears, sounds like this one is worth seeing. My feelings about Asian cinema is similar to yours w/ classic films though, but once in a while I should give it a shot 🙂
Hahaha I like the way you comparing my feeling toward classic (read: black and white) with yours toward Asian. Yeah, we should really give the other one a try 😉
It sounds very moving.
It was incredibly moving, IMO
yessss….i definitely agree with u…thanks to this drama i lost many litres of tears…hahaha… XD i watch each episode crying like a baby..gosh… -____-
but i’m glad that i get a lot of lesson from this dorama…and yeah, 3 years old akira is an amazing boy… :*
Hi Enka 🙂
Glad to read a comment from another fans 🙂
Great series with lots of lesson of life.
I look forward to see how that kid will be in the future, maybe he will become as amazing as Kamiki 😉
Superbly crafted story and intricately woven together with excellent actors.
Does anyone know where the series was filmed? The sea-side village is extremely beautiful….we want to go there. Any information would be much appreciated.