Details
Title: 太陽の季節
Title (romaji): Taiyou no Kisetsu
Also known as: Season of the Sun
Genre: Romance, human drama
Episodes: 11
Viewership rating: 13.7
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2002-Jul-01 to 2002-Sep-15
Air time: Sunday 21:00
Theme song: Ki Se Ki by Takizawa Hideaki
Synopsis
An adaptation of Ishihara Shintaro's most successful novel.
Hideaki Takizawa in the starring role of Tatsuya, a tormented college student who was once an all-around nice guy but now seems to be balancing a gigantic grudge on his shoulder. What the grudge is has yet to be revealed, although it likely has something to do with his father and the poverty that plagues his life.
For some unknown reason, he has taken to hanging around with the richest kid in school, basically a trusting, nice guy who Tatsuya is out to destroy. He feels an uncontrollable urge to deface the rich kid's new car and chase after his fiance. Complicating the plot further is Tatsuya's run-in with a young composer and pianist, who has a limp sustained in a car accident many years before. She, too, is rich, although Tatsuya does not know it yet. Stuck in a stifling home environment with her pianist mother who disdains her desire to compose, the obedient young woman begins to change after a chance meeting with Tatsuya, while he seems to regain some of his humanity in his interaction with her.
Cast
Takizawa Hideaki as Tsugawa Tatsuya
Ikewaki Chizuru as Izumi Eiko
Okada Yoshinori as Kawano Kouhei
Matsumoto Rio as Komiyama Yuki
Takaoka Sousuke as Sahara Shinji
Oshinari Shugo as Motoshiro Naoto
Arai Hirofumi
Ishibashi Kei
Fukae Takuji
Ishida Rie
Matsumoto Marika
Morimoto Ryoji
Hirata Tatsuya
Ono Kentaro
Yanagi Erisa
Hamada Akira
Nogi Ryosuke
Ohkura Koji
Endo Kenichi
Miyazaki Yoshiko
Takahashi Hitomi
Matsuzaka Keiko
Yabu Kouta
Ikeda Tsutomu
Production Credits
Original writing (novel): Ishihara Shintaro (石原慎太郎)
Screenwriters: Watanabe Mutsuki, Okamoto Takaya (岡本貴也)
Producers: Suzuki Sanae (鈴木早苗), Kajihara Norihisa (梶原紀尚)
Directors: Doi Nobuhiro, Yoshida Ken
Music: Hasebe Toru
Review
Great drama with a wonderful, angst-filled storyline. Takizawa Hideaki did a great job portraying the cold and manipulative Tsugawa Tatsuya while his female counterpart, Ikewaki Chizuru did beautifully as Eiko. The both of them had great chemistry in the show and their moments together although short were really touching. The main drawback this series is Tatsuya's sometimes erratic train of thought and the loosening of the plot after episode 6, especially towards the latter parts of the drama where things just seemed to come out of nowhere.
Other than that, I really enjoy the end song "Ki.Se.Ki". Overall, it's an interesting series and there are just enough cliffhangers to make you want to continue watching.
Rating 8/10
