If My Wife Becomes an Elementary Student was actually an off-putting title for me as I’ve had some odd experiences with Jdramas. One, I worried that this would be one of those age gap VERY inappropriate dramas or if it wasn’t illegally weird the child actor would be awful. Neither of those concerns were fulfilled. There was one little segment that was uncomfortable but mostly this was a very wholesome drama about healing after suffering from devastating grief. I know what it’s like to wonder if the sky will ever be blue again after the loss of a loved one. For the most part this drama handled it well. And most importantly, the young actress playing the elementary school child was amazing.

Keisuke and his 20-year-old daughter Mai have become zombies after the death of his wife ten years prior. The are alive but not living. One day 10-year-old Marika arrives at their house and claims she is Takae reincarnated. At first neither believes her but before long the two fully accept her as their beloved wife/mother. Slowly but surely, the sunny, responsible Takae begins to work her magic on everyone involved. The only question, is she here to stay?

With the exception of the initial encounters with Marika and Keisuke acting like an idiot, the drama portrayed the healing powers of love and reconciliation in a meaningful way. Takae helped the people around her reconnect to life by showing them how to plug back in. Maida Nono played adult Takae quite believably and also 10-year-old Marika. The entire drama hinged on her performance and she carried the weight beautifully on her tiny shoulders.

The nagging drawbacks to me were the substantial age differences for characters and actors. I’ve no problem with most age gaps, but at the time 58-year-old Tsutsumi Shinichi and 26-year-old Morita Misato (32 year gap) was a bit of a stretch. They couldn’t have found a more age-appropriate actress? The potential romantic partner was barely older than the actress playing his daughter! Keisuke was described as kind, innocent, and clueless, but at his age some of his responses were over the top ridiculous, even for a man whose wife returned in the body of an elementary school child. Marika’s mother was no prize but the loss of her child was never dealt with in a consequential manner.

Overall, I enjoyed this drama quite a bit. Second chances in life are rare, impossibly rare when a loved one has passed. And when that loved one is the center of a family’s world and the sunshine in their lives, it can feel like life has ended when their life ended. Even as wish fulfillment, it was beautiful to see these wounded people granted the chance to heal and have their rear-ends kicked when needed in order to remember they were alive and needed to live to the fullest in order to honor that precious gift.

26 November 2024