This is Showa-era drama! Don't let Sachiko die!! "Akai Giwaku"

I used to watch the "Akai Series" of TBS dramas, starting with "Akai Giwaku." I cried so much.
Finding out that "Akai Giwaku" was being rebroadcast on BS-TBS, recording it and watching it with a beer in hand has become the (start of) the end of my day. Momoe-chan is so beautiful, truly. Compared to today, she certainly seems more mature, but this is what a proper high school girl was; she was definitely not a "JK" (high school girl slang).
Anyway, Momoe-chan plays Sachiko Oshima, who is burdened with endless misfortune, and Tomokazu Miura plays her partner, Mitsuo. At the time, Momoe-chan was at the peak of her popularity. I had the image of Tomokazu Miura just being the actor who played her partner, but looking at him again, he's a super handsome actor, isn't he! He's tall, and those bell-bottom jeans look great on his long legs. And the more you watch them, the more perfect they are for each other. When Momoe-chan made her "lover declaration" (yes, she actually did that back then!), I'm sure all of Japan understood.

Sachiko is exposed to radiation in an explosion at a university hospital and develops leukemia. The one who helped her at that time was Mitsuo, a medical student. The two are drawn to each other and eventually become lovers, but in fact, Sachiko is the child born between Mitsuo's father and Rie, known as the aunt from Paris. That means she and Mitsuo are half-siblings. She has leukemia, her parents aren't her real parents, and her lover is her half-brother—it was so pitiful, so pitiful, my heart felt like it was being crushed. Even watching it now, I think it's just too sad.

I wonder if the era was looking for stories like this? Back then, it was no exaggeration to say that leukemia was an incurable disease. Unlike today, telling the patient their diagnosis was out of the question; everyone around them would band together to make sure they didn't figure out the name of the disease. About 20 years ago, a Korean drama called "Winter Sonata" became a huge hit in Japan. I, too, was no exception and watched it intently. "Winter Sonata" is probably in the same vein as "Akai Giwaku." I remember a friend smugly saying when Winter Sonata was popular, "I don't watch Winter Sonata! I hated the Akai Series too!!"

And Mitsuo's mother is incredibly mean, isn't she? Seriously, she is just so hateful! The actress is Sachiko Hara, and I learned she was married to director Akio Jissoji. But if it weren't for Hara-san, Sachiko—or rather, Momoe-chan—wouldn't have been that pitiful, so supporting roles really are important.
Next week is episode 9. Since there are 29 episodes in total, I can still enjoy it for a while longer~♡

Even so, Hiroyuki Nagato is really perfect for sleazy roles.