Hapimari: Happy Marriage!? (2016)

Drama che risale al 2016 ma che appare anche più datato (a occhio, tra riprese e abbigliamento/acconciature avrei detto pre-2010). La produzione giapponese e il tema del matrimonio di convenienza mi ha ricordato subito la serie "In house marriage honey" (molto più recente e decisamente meglio riuscita).
Buona la recitazione della protagonista, poco espressivo invece Hokuto. Come coppia funzionano abbastanza, ma nessuna chimica da scintille.
A mio avviso sarebbe stata una serie meglio riuscita se l'obiettivo fosse stato un po' più ridimensionato: avrei puntato a una semplice commedia romantica senza risvolti particolari, mentre in questo caso tutta la questione dei difficili rapporti familiari, piani di rivalsa, rancori poco sopiti legati ad eventi tragici del passato... forse è stato chiedere un po' troppo. E' una trama di nome ma non di fatto, la tematica viene affrontata in modo abbastanza superficiale - d'altronde è chiaro che gli strumenti in partenza sono pochi - e col passare degli episodi invece di poter apprezzare una visione leggera ma piacevole ci si trova ingarbugliati in una matassa allo stesso tempo disordinata e inconsistente.
Passabile, ma nel suo genere sono altri i titoli che terrei in considerazione.

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Well, this was a thing that happened, I guess. I haven't read the manga and, honestly, I doubt I ever will because the Wiki page of it lost me with stuff like "he has hit her twice", that's where I'm officially out. Thankfully, that wasn't included in this version, but it's still quite a mess for me.

What bothers me the most is that this has the ingredients to be a very good story. It's an arranged marriage in which both parts are taking something out of the situation, in which both parties come from very different backgrounds and have different priorities: Chiwa is a hardworking young girl who has to work two jobs to make ends meet while paying for her (terrible) father's gambling debts; Hokuto is a hardworking man with a very overwhelming family, who wants to succeed in business to uncover a family secret related to his past and take revenge. The premise is good.

Now, if we add to that every cliche from Josei manga you can possibly think of, that's when things go south. Hokuto is that kind of male lead who is downright a jerk and whose backstory is supposed to make you feel for him enough to forgive him for being a possessive toxic jerk. It doesn't work for me. Chiwa is a very interesting character in premise but the moment she starts getting ~feelings~ for Hokuto, we lose her. We have, however, a couple snippets of the Chiwa who should be, I can count at least 3 times in which she read Hokuto and his family for filth, and that is the direction I wish this would have taken. Furthermore, she has, like I said, a father who is constantly getting in debts and disregards her well-being, but instead of it being taken seriously, the comic relief they (think) they're turning him into transforms Chiwa's struggle into something less important.

To that dynamic, add every other thing you can fit in 12 episodes: love triangles (plural), betrayals, paparazzi drama, multiple near death experiences for various people, grudges with daddy, slut shaming, women hating other women on principle, weird family connections pulled in the last minute and making no sense, you name it, it's all there.

I can't help but compare this with Please Love The Useless Me because a) they're both based on Josei manga b) they both came out this year c) they both have the "cold male lead/cute female lead" premise d) they both have Dean Fujioka. And, in the comparison, Please Love The Useless Me wins by a landslide. The premise of that drama was much less interesting than this one, but the character development was good and it didn't retort to the same cliches to fill the story (no girls hating girls, no slut shaming, no evil ex-girlfriend with machiavellian plans).

If you don't like the same old josei premise as per usual, you don't like the male lead treating the female lead in a questionable manner, you don't like a plot that has everything but the kitchen sink and you constantly question yourself why the girl is doing this to herself, this is not the drama for you.

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