Ashita, Mama Ga Inai: Adult Story from children's Perspective (English Version)

Ashida Mana (i.imgur.com/dgJtj.jpg)

Hotchpotch is my impression watching the acting of Ashida Mana’s Ashita Mama ga Inai (Pacific Rim). I can get any feeling in one pot: sadness, anger, and disappointment, perhaps only joy that left behind. Those feeling are reflected from the title “Tomorrow Mother won’t come’. As guessed, the story tells about children, children who stays in a shelter.

The story begins with the arrival of new child named Maki. She has to stay in the shelter because of her mother’s crime. Police has to investigate Maki’s since she attacks his boyfriend using an astray. Maki didn’t comfort with the shelter at the beginning. The house is dark and gloomy. The host is also grumpy. However, Maki has good roommates. Piami and Bombi welcome her warmly. In her conversation with her new frinds, Maki knows that their names just nicknames. Piami’s name is taken from her good skill playing piano. Maki is called Donki because of the ashtray incident. Donki means blunt weapon in Japanese.

Maki are not warmly welcome by all of her roommate. Post did not treat her well. Post is called by its nickname because she is found near to a post box. Post asks Maki to be more realistic. Her mother will not fetch her. Post’s words make Maki angry. Maki then say that Post is envy at her since Post never meet her mother.  Great fuss is stopped by the host snarl.

When the host asks who start the fuse, Post raises her hand. Honesty, her bravery surprises me. If I were the two, probably I just stay still, waiting for those who confess first. The host is up in arm about Post’s. His slap bleeds Post’s nose. I personally shock with what I’m watching. Child fiction shows violence. Checking the time of the show, I stop questioning. Is there any child fiction run on 10:00 P.M?

The violence however provokes my reaction. Any harsh punishment for bad treatment is unacceptable for me or at least weigh up pros and cons for some others.  The scriptwriters get what they want. Their fiction has elicited their spectators’ reactions, either pros or cons, or neutral or even commenting the pros and cons. Anyway, just for a fiction, my reaction is tacky and cheesy.        

Post is not always fierce. She could be nice to her prospective foster and Pachi, her little fellow. She shows her motherly instinct to Pachi, kindness and decisiveness. She shares the food she gets from her prospective foster parents with Pachi. When Pachi drop his food by accident, she doesn’t let Pachi take his food back.

One day, Pachi imitates Post decisiveness at school. He does not let his friend take his dirty food. However, Pachi’s does not want to listen what he says. From distance, what are the two doing is like fighting over food. Pachi is cornered when his friend’s mother and other mothers watch his son fall from his bench during the incident from distance.

Post and her friend who come later do nothing but covey apology. Outside the school yard, Post shows her real face. She kicks mothers bicycle parked outside and run before the owner chase Post and her friend.   

The story continues. Maki’s mother visits her daughter in the shelter. Meanwhile Post visit her prospective foster parents for twice. In this part, I’m pretty sure that this series is indeed not for children. Maki’s does not come to fetch her daughter, but ask her to stay because she wants to get marry.   Maki’s mother conveys this news in a warm tone. Her mother explanation arouses my emotion since I believe sentimental attachment. I believe mother loves her lover but she loves her daughter more. My emotion is heightened more watching Maki. She hugs her mother waist, cry, and beg her mother for letting her staying together with.   I am only able to take my deep breath watching this scene.

In another place, Post fails to get foster parent, not because her real nature is revealed, but her prospective foster mother. She is mentally ill because she does not have child for years. Post’s prospective foster mother forces her to be her puppet. The woman chases and corners her to a room because Post disobeys the order. Fortunately, his prospective father returns from his office and help Post. Because of the incident, his foster father brings Post back to the shelter and apologizes to Post and the host

At shelter, Post surprise with Maki’s kindness. Maki’s roommate then tells Post what happened to Maki. Maki expects her kindness could bring her home.

Post once again ask Maki to be more realistic. Maki’s mother will not bring her back. Post asks Maki to bring her to Maki’s house to prove his word. At least until the first episode, Post’s words are correct. From the house yard, Maki’s mother sounds happy chatting with her new husband.  Maki just cries and runback to the shelter knowing what she just listens to.  

Post just let her crying without cheering her up. Post just tell that both of them are the same. However, Maki channels her emotion by crying while Post by getting angry. In her anger, Post sheds her tears and says that happiness is nonsense. Her deep disappointment is reflected from her words   “But there is no “abandon parents’”, “Because of that I thrown my name”, and “Because that is the only one remaining from my parents.” Seemingly impossible, the words are uttered by nine-years-old children in the real world.  The story ends by the host’s punishment because the children come late to the shelter.

Japanese drama usually has one story in each episode. There are always moral lessons in the end of each episode. However, I did not get any because such moral lessons are sometimes sentimental, beautiful in its time. Instead of moral lesson, Ashida Mana’s acting attracts me more. For nine-years-old girl her acting is superb. She plays apathetic girl brilliantly, antipathy inside but sweet outside. The message is not only conveyed by her word, but also gesture and eyesight. Her eyebrows and eyesight say ‘don’t care’ without word. Although she acts older than her real age, Ashida Mana does not lose her innocence. Because of her brilliant acting, Mana is awarded  Japanese Drama academy Award, an award for movie and Television Drama Academy Award, an award for television held every semester

And if I should tell my opinion about the moral lesson of the story, maybe I will pick these words ‘life is not as beautiful as rainbow at the end of raining.’