I originally wrote this review after reaching the mid-point of "Tora ni Tsubasa," which is the 13th week. I've returned to rewrite this review now that the drama is over. When I finished "Tora", it became my 19th asadora. However, when I started watching it, I had only seen five. As such, my opinions on "Tora" slowly changed while being exposed more and more to the format. The ultimate result being that I was highly impressed with it by the end. This asadora really understands the format, but it feels very revolutionary in the choices that it made. "Tora" will definitely be an unforgettable asadora for anyone who watches it and I hope it becomes the first asadora for many viewers.

Ito Sairi plays Inotsume Tomoko ("Tora-chan"), an aspiring lawyer during a time when the laws in Japan were very patriarchal. Ito deserves a lot of praise for playing the heroine. She was so expressive and over time it feels like you know exactly what's she's thinking just based on expressions. Tora-chan, of course, isn't the only great character in this asadora. There are countless great characters in this drama. One of the standouts is Doi Shiori playing Yamada Yone, Tomoko's friend during law school who dresses in men's clothing. She faces discrimination for her choices but chooses to stay true to herself. Ito and Doi have some nice chemistry and I'd like to see them in another drama someday. I could be here all day naming characters I liked tbh, but I'll just say that you'll probably end up loving everyone lol.

Hats off to the writer of "Tora ni Tsubasa.' That being Yoshida Erika, whom also wrote one of my fave dramas "Hana Nochi Hare." Her writing for this asadora is very tight. There are no "filler" weeks, which is common with asadora (though I'm necessarily opposed to "filler"). Also, there was not a single week that I was bored from start to finish. Almost every week actually had me crying. Not in a bad way exactly. As with most asadoras, the weeks taking place during WWII are sad and will make you cry. But, I teared up a bit at nearly every week before and after that. "Tora ni Tsubasa" seems to have this power to move you even if it's not some big event. Yoshida seems very familiar with asadora as she hits all of the usual beats. However, the way it is written feels so different from other asadora. I feel that this has the potential to appeal to a very wide audience because of that.

The themes of this asadora are women's rights (and equality for other marginalized groups are touched upon) and family. I think there can be an argument that most asadoras are feminist, but "Tora ni Tsubasa" is very explicitly so. Though it does it in such a realistic way that it doesn't feel so much in your face. It quite literally just deals with the problems women face at different stages in their lives and particularly focusing on a (still quite) patriarchal society. Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom. The asadora clearly shows how things can slowly change which can be frustrating but these sometimes small change are still important. Now for family. Tora-chan goes through several different changes of family. I love how the drama shows essentially "blended" families learning to get along and thinking of each other.

The last thing I want to address is the music. Yonezu Kenshi's "Sayonara, Mata Itsuka" serves as the theme song. This is one of the first times I felt that the song really fit the asadora in tone and lyrics, instead of being just a pretty song to put the credits over. [Don't get me wrong, I love most asadora theme songs lol.] This was the reason I chose to put the English translation of the title as the lead-in to this review. I could listen to this song over and over. The instrumental version they put over certain scenes is also nice. A+ just for the music.

I changed my initial rating for "Tora ni Tsubasa" from a 9 to a 10. I really believe it deserves that rating. This is one of the best asadoras I've watched and I anticipate putting it very high in my asadora ranking.