Saikou no jinsei no owarikata - Ending Planner

Japanese popculture deals with the topic of death and final partings (be it sudden or not) in various ways. We have, one could say, a whole genre of dealing-with-terminal-ilnesses melodramas with better and worse examples inside.Usually though the story ends when the character passes away and nobody is trying to explain to the viewer what is happening with them (or should I say, their bodies) afterwards.When I first heard the news about the 2011 winter drama "Saikou no jinsei no owarikata" (lit.The ending to a perfect life), I was intrigued. A story about a funeral parlour with Japan's favourite idols (Johnny's Yamashita Tomohisa, AKB's Maeda Atsuko)? A combination that was promising but also risky.

In 2008 the movie "Okuribito" (internationally know as "Departures"), a bittersweet story of an undertaker in a provincional town, outclassed the competition in the run for the Oscar. It also paved the way for the likes of "Ending Planner". Unfortunately though, there's nothing to compare.

"Saikou no jinsei no owarikata" starts when the siblings of Ihara-ya, a small, traditional funeral house, need to the face the sudden death of their father and decide about the future of the family business. The eldest son (Sorimachi Takashi) is away from home, not keeping in touch. The second, Masato (Yamashita Tomohisa) leaves current workplace to help his sister (Maeda Atsuko) with the Ihara-ya (of course, after agonizing a lot under dramatic circumstances). The youngest brother and sister (Johnny's JR Chinen Yuri and Ono Ito) are still students, with their own complexes and problems that need to be solved during the show. Masato encounters also two people that will have strong impact on his story from now on: a police detective, Yuki (Eikura Nana) and an old man who creeps into his garden to talk about philosophical issues (Yamazaki Tsutomu).

Each episode deals with a different story of a final parting that the Ihara-ya organizes, usually requiring a small detective mystery to be solved by the Yuki and Masapyon, how she calls Yamashita's character. In the background we have Ihara family issues and one big mystery arch, which is a good thing although one could expect better ending.

The Ihara siblings are nowhere near to "Hitotsu yane no shita" Kashiwagi family, in terms of depiction and acting.In fact only Sorimachi and Yamapi are likeable and the fact that they are actually very similar and could go as brothers (never noticed that before!) is a big plus. You should also keep an eye on Yamazaki Tsutomu as old Iwata-san, as Yamapi himself mentions him as his biggest idol and working with him as his dream and challenge (they have meet already on the set of "Kurosagi"), but for me the revelation with this character is a let down.

My point for this show  

Though not much, some interesting facts about how the undertaker business goes in Japan is being introduced to us in the drama. We can see how Ihara-ya struggles with much bigger competition, how it organizes a meeting with local dwellers to explain to them the points about organizing one's own funeral and - particulary interesting - how they keep good terms with the police to get faster information about the new bodies that are being brought to the mortuary for exchanging of "purification" gift (money or coupons).   

What are your thoughts about the show? Feel free to start a discussion in the comment box.