Kami no Shizuku Overview

This drama is undoubtedly archetypical in every way, whether it be plot, character, or the frame of each mini excursion. A reductionist might say that this kind of drama provides no element of surprise because each component follows a specific pattern. True. But on a holistic level, I think the fun resides in the act of exploiting the protagonist’s talent with each episode of the drama.

So the verdict: I like it, to an extent. I think it’s mildly amusing and potentially interesting (aside from Naka Riisa’s overacting). But, recapping is just too much work.

Now, the overview:

“Kami” means God and “Shizuku” means a droplet, together, Kaimi no Shizuku means the drops of God (somehow it reminds me of bird droppings but anyway, I’m diverging). The divine water in this case refers to wine, so being the protagonist of a wine-related drama, Kanzaki Shizuku is of course the son of the renowned wine critic Kanzaki Yutaka.

Yet showering under the florescent halo of his father’s glory is gifted son who vehemently rejects the idea of drinking wine and disapproves of his father’s obsession. The opposition first takes root when Shizuku’s mother died. Still a child, Shizuku attributes his mother’s early death to his father’s negligence; and the reason his father failed to take better care of the family: wine.

If Shizuku’s mother’s death pulled him away from wine, his father’s death draws him back. When Shizuku is notified of his father’s sudden death, he is introduced to Tomine Issei, the recently adopted son of his father (below right). Together, the two of them must compete with each other to guess the name and year of six mysterious wines through reading Yutaka’s description of the wine — all that before they are able to open the last of Yutaka’s will –

– Kami no Shizuku (of course, the protagonist being called Shizuku is no mere coincidence).

Tomine Issei is a well established wine critic himself. His agenda in participating in this contest against Shizuku, who has close to no knowledge in wine, is to earn the right to inherit Kanzaki Yutaka’s wine collection, estimated to worth about 20 billion yen.

Originally indifferent towards the competition, Shizuku changes his mind after encountering a restaurant owner and his daughter, who face the fate of closing down due to the scarcity of customers after receiving a highly negative food review from Issei a year ago. In the course of helping the restaurant owner to restore his credential, Shizuku meets two important people that will help him with the competition.

The first is Shinohara Miyabi (above left), who, after seeing Shizuku demonstrate his talent with handling wine, resolves to stick by Shizuku’s side. The second is Robert (pronounced with the French nasal “R”, please). Robert owns a piece of land which he calls Château Robert, and buries his seemingly limitless amount of wine in his back yard. He is the stern judge of the contest, Shizuku’s dead father’s old friend, and the goofy mentor that will help Shizuku from time to time.

With a new wine description each week, Shizuku encounters different strangers in pursuit of making the correct selection. From meeting with these strangers, Shizuku learns valuable lessons that will sharpen his appreciation of wine as well as broaden his perception. Until finally, a profound realization will be reached to lift the meaning of Kami no Shizuku.

PS: Minor complains: the constant invoking of Dionysus before each major wine taste is so corny! And, and, annnnnd I’ve seen décantage three times in two episodes, how many times are they going to use the same ol’ trick? Okay, end of complain. =)