Japanese mystery drama Ame ni Kieta Himawari is slow paced yet gripping

Review of the First two episodes of Japanese mystery drama Ame ni Kiete Himawari

Based on the novel “Ame ni Kieta Himawari” by Eri Yoshikawa, Ame ni Kieta Himawari (The Sunflower the rain washed away) is a Japanese mystery drama written by Seki Erika and directed by Hijikata Masato and Iwata Kazuyuki. An 11 year old girl named Aoi Ishioka goes missing on a rainy day on her way home in Sakado city. A police officer named Nara becomes the lead investigator in the case. He has a traumatic past which haunts him ever since which is why he wants to find this missing child at any cost.

The cinematography is gloomy as a rainy day which sets the mood of the drama. The feeling that I got when I saw the image of the sunflower in the rain in the very first scene got stuck with me throughout this Japanese mystery drama. And that is the mood the director is bringing the audience into. The slow paced mystery drama gets interesting as the story unravels due to excellent writing and direction. The title track also gives a mysterious vibe to the viewers. The background score and theme music drag the audience to where the story happens. I loved the piano in the background in the scene in which the officer enters the house of the piano teacher.

The story has not yet unraveled the whole character of Aoi. But it points out certain mysterious facts about her through her drawings and her interest in comic love stories. Rain in the drama might be a metaphor for her problems that makes her disappear. We can see a lot of narrow passages repeatedly shown. This might represent how narrow the scope of finding the girl is. There are many heart breaking scenes in the drama. The one in which the Aoi’s mother gets prank calls, the one in which her father shouts Aoi’s name in the place where she went missing, one in which Aoi’s older sister breaks down before her father are a few among them.

All the actors are spectacular especially Muro Tsuyoshi who played Nara Kenichi, the police officer. He fits so well into the character and his acting skills are admirable.

I recommend this drama to…

This series is a must watch for those who love watching mystery crime drama. Those who do enjoy the slow paced unraveling of the mystery will definitely love this one.