Mom, Is That You?

A television drama adaptation of playwright Nagai Ai’s acclaimed stage work.

In Tokyo’s old downtown district, a man in his 50s facing layoffs and family breakdown returns to his childhood home after two years, only to find his mother, who lives alone and is over 70, actively volunteering, attending culture school, and even having a romance. Akio finds his vivacious mother irritating. The three of them – mother, her lover, and son – begin living together while interacting with neighborhood residents. Their true feelings gradually come to light. This drama depicts a mother and son facing each other genuinely for the first time, showing their real selves.

Kanzaki Akio, the human resources manager of a major company is constantly on edge and spends most of his time worrying about his divorce with his wife, and his relationship with his daughter, now a university student. In order to relax, he decides to visit his mother’s home for the first time in a while, and while there, notices a positive change in his mother’s demeanor and style. Perplexed, Akio gradually begins to warm to his mother’s transformation, and through the warmth of the hometown residents, rediscovers what he had originally lost sight of.