Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake Review: An Emotional Rollercoaster

I decided to watch “Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” because I was in the mood to watch an old Japanese drama. Watching a ’90s show reminds me of my childhood when technology hadn’t taken over our lives and life was so much simpler. “Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” is also my first drama where the lead character is battling AIDS. I have seen tonnes of drama characters dealing with all kinds of fatal ailments but never seen someone fighting AIDS. This dorama teaches a lot about the much-dreaded disease. “Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” is a heavily flawed drama but is still a beautiful watch. Let me explain what is so special about it.

Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake (God, Please Give Me More Time) (1998) (12 Episodes)

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Kano Masaki (Kyoko Fukada), a 17-year-old girl, is a big fan of the famous music composer, Ishikawa Keigo (Kaneshiro Takeshi). Such is her love for him that she sleeps with a stranger to be able to buy tickets for Keigo’s music concert. After the concert, she happens to see Keigo in his car and she follows him till he notices her holding a banner proclaiming her love for him. He then decides to take her home with him and they spend the night together.

Masaki is happy to have spent the night with her beloved idol and he too likes her. He even contacts her to meet up once again. She readily agrees to see him but meets with an accident just before their meeting. She then discovers that she is infected with the HIV virus. Scared, she starts avoiding Keigo but he does not give up easily on her and continues to pursue her. He is so madly in love with her that he remains unfazed even after he learns that Masaki an HIV+ve patient.

Let’s weigh “Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” on our drama beam balance and see if this tale of true love suits our drama tastes.

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching “Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” because…

…it gets rid of the stigma around AIDS. The word AIDS and even HIV+ve is enough to scare anyone. Despite knowing that AIDS does not spread through touch or by sharing food and drinks people still isolate HIV patients. This drama beautifully breaks the stigma and shows how two men love and support a girl infected with the HIV virus.

The drama also shows love beyond social norms or medical conditions. Keigo deeply cares about Masaki; even her disease does not deter him from loving her. I think this drama must have been a way to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS.

…it shows how your family will always stand by you even in the most challenging situations. This is what I love about Japanese doramas. They do not focus on just one relationship and always show different relationships in a normal person’s life. 

… the last episode was a tearjerker. I don’t really like emotional dramas but the last episode was so moving I cried buckets of tears. [[Spoiler Alert]] Though I knew what the ending would be I did not like that they had Masaki die on her wedding day. It was a little cruel to so show something like that. [[Spoiler Alert]]

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE “Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” because…

…there was a lot of sprinting. If you have watched a few Japanese dramas you will know that the Japanese are fixated on running. They run all the time!! Keigo runs when he is excited, sad, angry and sometimes even without any reason. He runs at home, on the roads, over a bridge, inside a hospital and just about everywhere. It was a little tiring to see him run all the time.

…Masaki was an extremely exasperating character. She does everything a person should not do. But then she is 17 years old so I think her stupid decisions can be overlooked. But I hate the fact that she does not show any remorse for the blunder she made. I understand there is no use crying over what happened and that it is best to move on but the lack of regret over her irresponsible behaviour is something that disturbed me.

…[[Spoiler Alert]] Keigo sleeps with her despite knowing that she is infected with the HIV virus. Ok, sleeping with her is not an issue but not using protection is. I understand that deep down in his heart Keigo wishes to end his life and does not mind being infected by the HIV virus which will eventually lead him to his death, but is getting the young girl pregnant in such a condition a good idea? I think it was very irresponsible of Keigo as it was not the correct way of showing his love. But then again, the drama had to be concluded in a certain way so all that happened was required so, fine. [[Spoiler Alert]]

“Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake” is about loving someone without any expectations or bias. It is about how teenage rebellion can go wrong thereby altering their entire course of life. But every dark cloud has a silver lining and for Masaki, Keigo was her reason to smile and live life.

I give Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake 3 out of 5 rating. High on emotions. Watch it only if you are game for some profound love and pain.

 

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