Ikiru/YMMV

The following are Subjective Tropes relating to Ikiru.

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• Crowning Moment of Awesome: On the way to the deputy mayor's office, Watanabe gets slammed hard in the stomach by some Yakuza hired to scare him off. The thugs start walking away and turn around to see Watanabe regain himself and walk into the office like nothing happened. They never bother him again.
  • This one scene is a real Acceptable Breaks From Reality moment as a person suffering from terminal stomach cancer would be convulsing in terrible pain on the floor, though there is the suggestion that Watanabe's force of will is strong enough to overcome any pain in the way of accomplishing his goal.
• Tear Jerker: Watanabe hears a song from his childhood while out on the town, trying to drink away his sorrows with a friend. Tears fall from his eyes as he sings along with the familiar tune and remembers.
  • The end of the first act, when Watanabe is sitting on the swing of the park he helped build, singing Gondola no Uta... the same song he'd heard while out drinking.
  • Arguably the entire film, though many instances of sadness are mixed with great joy.
  • He specifically requested it, and from the time frame, it was likely he sang it while courting his now-dead wife. And, of course, everything else in the movie is tear-jerking.
• Woobie