Tower of Sand is a Japanese drama that originally aired every week on Fridays in 2016. The drama was directed by Tsukahara Ayiko and written by Ikeda Natsuko. It's cast includes well know actors and actresses in the Japanese entertainment world such as Matsushima Nanako(I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper), Kanno Miho in her first lead role since 2012, and Iwata Takanori, member of idol group Exile.
A women and her family move into a new high rise apartment that seems too good to be true. The apartment complex is glorious and their neighbors also glow with wealth and fortune. The women soon realizes that in order to live in this housing complex she must appeal to the house wives living there. She soon warms up to one of the women that's always will to help her in her times of need. Secrets lie in the women's past. Meanwhile, children that live around the complex are being kidnapped and the police are trying to track down the culprit.
Tower of Sand is not what it makes itself out be in the promotional poster. From the smiling faces of the mother and child, you might think its a family drama. It actually is a family drama in some instances. Don't be fooled though. The plot doesn't let this drama marinate on one concept for very long. Other problems also occupy the plot. Subjects like bullying based on your social status, stalking etc. I thought the bullying was really childish as I watched. They all live in the same complex but want to point their noses down at another person for living on the lower floors or not have a well to do family like the families on the upper floors. A sort of Hierarchy was locked in place at this apartment and there's always one women who is leading it all. If these mothers had worried more about their own children instead gossiping about other people, they're children wouldn't go missing. Japanese drama use this concept in their storytelling constantly. I personally love stories about bullying where the main character that has to withstand it to become a better person. WAIT! I'm going to stop you before you start making your own judgements about this drama before you finish reading this post. Tower of Sand doesn't sit in one genre of J Drama. It goes in about three categories of that includes an overall message. The opening of episode one lets you know that something sinister lurks in this drama's secrets. You have a clear understanding of what going on then the drama comes behind you and turns your head in a different direction. I had to ask myself " What is this drama?!" at one point. Viewers will get so caught up in what is happening to the characters that you don't realize you were holding your breath until the episode ends. The thriller aspect of the show involves kidnapping along with strange acting characters that lead viewers to believe that these characters are the kidnappers right away. What it means to be a mother is the biggest message Tower of Sand tries to send to viewers. Does being a mother mean you sacrifice everything for your child? Does being a mother mean that you should know what your child is feeling without them tell you? What makes a women a mother? I loved the way in which this message can provokes meaningful feeling out everyone who watches. Even people who are not mothers. The voice narration also provided a deep insight into the mind of a mother struggling to find her answers to all the questions I presented above. I don't know how the writer wrote a drama dealing with a women struggling with her mother role while including all these other central conflicts. She did a good job though. Every episode was engaging from the first to the last.
I have only seen Nanako in I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper which is one of my favorite Japanese dramas of all time. She took a lot of emotional qualities from her time playing Mita and placed them in this role. Her character is a women thats cunning and very careful not to share a lot about herself with other people. This also means her face is deprived of all emotion except for a select few moments in the show. When she does show emotion, it means that shit is about to go down. I was honestly freaked out about the way her character handled situations. She's not a normal women at all. Miho plays the women that moves to the apartment complex with her family. She tries the best that he can to be a mother but I believe that by the end of the drama she learned about a lot of the things that she lacked in parenting. A parent watching this drama might get really frustrated with her at times because she doesn't always make the best choice that will best benefit her child at that moment. As a result, she walks down a dark path that she can't turn away from. I liked watching her since she's plain everyday housewife like any other housewife. This makes her relatable, yet too nice for her own good. She befriends Nanako's character without knowing too much about her. You have to watch to know if this friendship was a good or bad choice. Takanori plays the gym instructor at the local kindergarten that all the children in the complex attend. He's a good natured kind of guy and the most eye candy you will get out of this drama, girls. He's enough to carry to the end of the show if thats what you came for. His scenes with Miho account for ninety percent of the romance that happens in this drama. Its not a traditional romance and the acting is believably awkward. Considering the circumstances, the romance can't help but be awkward. Takanori is a charmer though. The costars such as the other families were like a pack of flies that your try to swat away but they persistently come back. Its bad when you have your kids aware that a hierarchy exist between the families and they talk about it in kindergarten. Not cool at all. Children need to remain in a child's place. The police officers on the case of the missing children weren't any help. Putting the pieces together with them while I watched was fun. I'm still shook about the big reveal of who the culprit was.
The inside of the apartment was the sole focus of the drama for the first three episodes. An apartment that big can have a full ten episode drama filmed in it and none would complain. The different apartments were all decorated based now who was living there. Miho's character's home was the most plain because they didn't come from money. The women who thought they were better than everyone else had nice places but none of them could beat Nanako's character's apartment. She is a florist so the house had a lot of flowers in it as decorations. However, the interior design of the apartment itself was beautiful. Very nice big windows with a spacious rooms. Outside the apartment places like shopping plazas and the way leading to the apartment are captured most. The apartment was build on the water causing the families to have to cross a bridge to get to the market. I saw a neighborhood that was made with the old traditional Japanese architecture for homes. Something about places made out of wood makes me calm somewhat.
Tower of Sand was a drama that entertains a new style of storytelling for primetime Japanese dramas. Japans viewers and foreign J drama lovers need more of a selection in what we can watch. The promo poster may be misleading but don't miss out on this gem.
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