"1 Litre of Tears" is a Japanese drama about a 15 years old girl who is diagnosed with Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), an incurable and degenerative disease which causes the patient to gradually lose the ability to move, speak and eat. It is based on a true story, and depicts how the protagonist struggles to live her life to the fullest despite her disease. This tearjerker is so sad and touching that I cried at every single episode and used up boxes of tissues.
Ikeuchi Aya (Sawajiri Erika) is a typical 15-year-old. Her father owns a tofu shop, her mother is a public health nurse and she has three younger siblings. Aya is an intelligent student in a prestigious high school. She is good in sports and is in the basketball team. The "senpai" (senior) she has a long time crush on has just asked her out on a date.
Everything seems to be going well for Aya. However, her mother, Shioka starts to notice some abnormalities in her. She is getting clumsier, and she drops things and falls down more often. One day, Aya falls down on her face and injures her chin badly. She is sent to the hospital and Shioka makes her go for a check up at the neurology department.
Shioka is shocked when Dr Mizuno (Naohito Fujiki) tells her that Aya is diagnosed with SCA. She decides to keep it a secret from Aya and the family, while she seeks a second opinion.
Aya is devastated when she is finally informed about her illness. She asks her mother,
"Why me? I'm only 15. God is unfair."
Motherhood makes one strong and Shioka becomes Aya's emotional support. In Aya's diary, she wrote,
“Mother, in my heart, I know I can always trust you. Please continue to take care of me. I’m sorry for always making you worry about me.”
On the first day of the summer holiday, Aya falls down again while on a date with senpai, and ends up spending the whole summer in the hospital for rehabilitation. She starts having difficulty walking and writing, and applies for a disability ID card. She drops out of the basketball team and breaks up with senpai.
Aya's little brother, Hiroki used to see her as a role model, and often boasts to his friends about having a smart and beautiful sister. However, when his friends see the way Aya walks now, they make fun of Hiroki. Aya's little sister, Ako is angry that Hiroki is not standing up for Aya. She gives him a piece of her mind.
“Why are you ashamed of Aya-nee (sister)? She is amazing. She has been working hard on rehabilitation every day, optimistically. If I had her disease, I wouldn’t have her courage to leave the house. If other people gave me strange looks or said weird things about me, I wouldn’t be able to smile like her.”
Soon, Aya becomes wheelchair-bound. Luckily, her best friends, Mari and Saki, and classmate, Asou Haruto (Nishikido Ryo) help her a lot in school. However, the parents of Aya's classmates are unhappy that she is slowing down the learning pace of the class, and the school advises Shioka to transfer Aya to a special school. Aya is reluctant to do so, until she overhears the class discussing about how her presence brings them inconveniences. She finally makes the painful decision to leave.
Shioka is shocked when Dr Mizuno (Naohito Fujiki) tells her that Aya is diagnosed with SCA. She decides to keep it a secret from Aya and the family, while she seeks a second opinion.
Aya is devastated when she is finally informed about her illness. She asks her mother,
"Why me? I'm only 15. God is unfair."
Motherhood makes one strong and Shioka becomes Aya's emotional support. In Aya's diary, she wrote,
“Mother, in my heart, I know I can always trust you. Please continue to take care of me. I’m sorry for always making you worry about me.”
On the first day of the summer holiday, Aya falls down again while on a date with senpai, and ends up spending the whole summer in the hospital for rehabilitation. She starts having difficulty walking and writing, and applies for a disability ID card. She drops out of the basketball team and breaks up with senpai.
Aya's little brother, Hiroki used to see her as a role model, and often boasts to his friends about having a smart and beautiful sister. However, when his friends see the way Aya walks now, they make fun of Hiroki. Aya's little sister, Ako is angry that Hiroki is not standing up for Aya. She gives him a piece of her mind.
“Why are you ashamed of Aya-nee (sister)? She is amazing. She has been working hard on rehabilitation every day, optimistically. If I had her disease, I wouldn’t have her courage to leave the house. If other people gave me strange looks or said weird things about me, I wouldn’t be able to smile like her.”
Aya overhears their conversation and decides not to go watch Hiroki's soccer match, for fear of embarrassing him. Hiroki is ashamed of
himself, so he makes an invitation card to invite her to the match. When she turns up, Hiroki proudly introduces her to his friends,
"That's my Aya-nee! Isn't she a beauty? Aren't you jealous?"
Soon, Aya becomes wheelchair-bound. Luckily, her best friends, Mari and Saki, and classmate, Asou Haruto (Nishikido Ryo) help her a lot in school. However, the parents of Aya's classmates are unhappy that she is slowing down the learning pace of the class, and the school advises Shioka to transfer Aya to a special school. Aya is reluctant to do so, until she overhears the class discussing about how her presence brings them inconveniences. She finally makes the painful decision to leave.
On her last day of school, Aya gives a touching speech in class about how she learnt the importance of her family, friends and health because of her disease. She declares that she is going to embrace her sick body and live on with confidence. She ends her speech with,
"To be able to smile and tell everyone this, I have shed at least 1 litre of tears."
The class tearfully bids her farewell with a song.
Aya adapts to the special school and makes new friends. She keeps in touch with Asou, who asks her out on a date one day. They have a good time at the aquarium, but they get caught in the rain on the way home.
When Asou sends Aya home wet, Shioka is angry. She tells Asou that although she is grateful to him, with Aya's body condition, there are many things that he needs to be careful of. For example, if Aya catches a cold, it is easy for her to develop pneumonia. A hint that he needs to be mentally prepared if he is serious about dating Aya.
That night, Asou receives a call from Aya, telling him that they are living in different worlds, and shouldn't be seeing each other. The next day, he goes to her school and tells her that although he is not sure about the future, he is certain about his feelings for her now. Aya is touched.
Aya finally graduates from high school. While her friends are going to universities and planning for the future, Aya's future is bleak. Her condition deteriorates and she moves to stay in the hospital.
One day, she loses control of her bladder in front of Asou. She is embarrassed and makes up her mind not to see him again. She asks her parents and Dr Mizuno in tears,
"Will I ever be able to get married?"
Deep inside, Aya desires love, marriage and a normal life.
A year later, Aya publishes one of her diary entries, to encourage other people suffering from SCA. She volunteers her body to the hospital for research purpose, in the hope of finding a cure for future patients.
To fulfill Aya's wish, Dr Mizuno allows her to go home for a day. She picks out presents for her siblings, and writes a letter to them.
“I’m sorry, Ako. Lately, you have been wearing old clothes all the time. Even though you really like pretty clothes, because I’m always wearing pyjamas, you can’t really say that you want new clothes, right?”
I’m sorry, Hiroki. You
have been using the same sports bag since elementary school. Since you became a
junior high school student, you actually want a cooler bag, right? Sorry for
making you keep it to yourself.
Rika, I’m sorry too.
You used up all your markers drawing pictures to cheer me up.
Ako, Hiroki and Rika, I’m sorry for always hogging mother."
Ako, Hiroki and Rika, I’m sorry for always hogging mother."
6 years later, Aya passes away. Shioka publishes the diaries that Aya has been keeping since the beginning of her disease. The book is a best seller and is a source of inspiration to many people. On Aya's first death anniversary, Shioka writes a letter to her.
"Dear Aya,
It has been a year since I've seen you. Are you walking now? Are you eating? Are you able to laugh out loud and talk? Even though mother is not by your side, are you doing well?
You used to ask me, 'Why did the disease choose me? What is my purpose of living?' Even until now, mother is unable to find the answers. But Aya, because of you, many people have started thinking about their purpose in life. Those patients who suffer from the same disease realize they are not alone. Even though you went through a lot of pain and suffering, even though you shed many tears, because of those tears, you have written many words that touched people's hearts.
Over there, you are not crying anymore, right? Mother wants to see the smiling you. Just once more, I want to see you again."
"1 Litre of Tears" is a high quality drama that I can find no flaw in. I like that it does not only focus on love, but kinship, friendship and the purpose of life too. A highly recommended drama.
Read also 1 Litre of Tears - Aya and Asou.
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