A tsunami destroys everything—except the weird, beautiful thing called starting over.
49 minSeason 1 • Episode 6
LatestToko Ikuta lost her parents in a car accident at the age of 3. Afterwards, her uncle, who ran a barbershop in Morioka, raised her and she had a happy childhood. Toko Ikuta was active as a local idol and she dreamed of becoming an actress. At the age of 19, she is set to take an audition in Tokyo. The day before her audition, on March 11, 2011, the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hits Japan. In the autumn of 2011, Toko Ikuta works at a cafe. She goes with her Korean co-worker Han Yoo-Ri to do volunteer work in Kesennuma as the area recovers from the devastating tsunami. There, Toko Ikuta meets Kiyotaka Shimizu who is a university student from Tokyo and a member of a student volunteer group. While spending time together in Kesennuma, Toko Ikuta and Kiyotaka Shimizu develop feelings for each other.
Acting
Arimura's face does what scripts cannot—silent, seismic.
Cinematography
Kesennuma's gray beauty, shot like memory itself.
Writing
Tsukikawa refuses easy catharsis; grief lingers realistically.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot on location in Kesennuma with actual 3/11 survivors as extras; the production embedded in ongoing recovery.
Kang Ji-young's casting as Korean-Japanese Yoo-Ri deliberately reflects post-disaster tensions and solidarity between marginalized groups in Tohoku.
JP
