Threads of Destiny
A cell phone novel adapted into television and film.
Threads of Destiny is the English title for the television drama series and film adaptation of the cell phone novel Akai Ito, written by Mei. The story was originally posted on the website Mahō no Toshōkan in 2006, where it became the #1 ranked story within its first month and is associated with the mid-2000s cell phone novel boom in Japan.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Romance
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Middle school student Mei Takemiya has a crush on her childhood friend Yūya, but after he confesses to her older sister Haruna, she withdraws to her circle of friends. She becomes acquainted with classmate Atsushi Nishino, and they realize they share the same birthday and encountered each other when young. They fall in love, but Atsushi's troubled home life causes him to distance himself. Mei begins dating Riku, who becomes abusive, while friends face drugs, rape, and attempted suicide. Mei holds onto her belief that the red string of fate will lead her to true love.
Characters
Mei Takemiya, portrayed by Nao Minamisawa, is a gentle middle school student who believes in destiny. Atsushi Nishino, portrayed by Junpei Mizobata, is a quiet boy nicknamed Akkun whose mother is a drug addict. Riku Takahashi, portrayed by Ryo Kimura, is a friend nicknamed Taka-chan who becomes possessive and abusive after dating Mei. Natsuki Fujiwara is portrayed by Tomo Yanagishita; Yuri Nakanishi by Kasumi Suzuki; Mitsuru Kamiya by Ryo Tajima; Mia Yamagishi by Rei Okamoto; Asami Tadokoro by Anna Ishibashi; Sara Nakagawa by Nanami Sakuraba, who is in love with Riku and attempts suicide. Yūya Shinozaki, portrayed by Hiroshi Yazaki, is Mei and Haruna's childhood friend in love with Haruna. Haruna Takemiya, portrayed by Sayuri Iwata, is Mei's older sister. Other characters include Miyabi Kawaguchi (Kaoru Hirata), Shu Yasuda (Ryuya Wakaba), Koichi Murakoshi (Kenji Matsuda), Natsumi Nishino (Mirai Yamamoto), Takamichi Morisaki (Shigemitsu Ogi), and Sachiko Takemiya (Noriko Watanabe).
Media
In April 2008, a live-action TV drama and a film based on the story were announced and made at the same time, finishing production on November 20, 2008. The TV series ran on Fuji TV from December 6, 2008, to February 28, 2009, totaling 11 episodes. Both the series and the film used the song "366 Days" by HY as their theme. A DVD box set of the TV show came out on July 15, 2009, reaching number 68 on the Oricon Weekly DVD Charts. The first half of the TV broadcast was continued as a theatrical film released on December 20, 2008, which ended with a "To be continued" title card for the second half of the series. The film hit DVD in standard and special editions on May 29, 2009, charting at number 29 on the same Oricon chart. Russell Edwards of Variety described some secondary plot points as "ridiculous" but praised the actors as likeable. Two video games were released for the Nintendo DS: Akai Ito DS on December 25, 2008, and Akai Ito Destiny DS on March 26, 2009, with the latter's limited edition from Animate including a drama CD featuring voice actors Jun Fukuyama, Hiroki Takahashi, and Tomokazu Sugita.
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