maggzzz_enthusiast

This is what I mean that I'm having a big disconnect. I'm not saying their behaviour is good, I think it's flawed. But to me a piece of media doesn't have to only potray people that aren't flawed. Sometimes you think they're awful the whole way through and sometimes there is redemption. With this series I think they are on a journey where they're very flawed and they're learning to be less flawed. It's something I usually like in a story.

I do agree though that this whole thing came across with me being way to condescending which I don't want to be. Saying people thinks what they think being because people are young is not something I know for a fact and it's not like being young means your opinions aren't right or valid. So you're very right that it is a bad point. It was me trying to understand the disconnect I'm having though. You say it is common sense, but it may be cultural as I said. Because yes a lot of japanese dramas have this toxicty. And I would say where I'm from a lot of dramas also do so I'm perhaps more used to it. But it's never something that's taken at face value. Me tolerating does not mean I'm endorsing it.

You may also be right that older genereations perhaps have a higher tolerance for toxicity. But I disagree with that having it in story is normalizing it. I think it's very interesting exploring in stories. Maybe it is the fact that is in the romance genre and for a lot of people that means everything will be interpreted as the drama sayin this behaviour is romantic. But I do have to say that I truly don't think the relationship between them is doomed.

I don't think I'n a better person for liking this. I don't think I'm a particulary wise person which is also my point. I felt that everyone else thought very differently in this comment section and I don't think it deserves it which is why I wanted to comment.
I'm guessing in this case it is a me problem because I seem to be only one that really like it.

I'm loving this season.

I'm genuinely surprised by how differently people are reading this season from me and I wonder where the gap comes from. To me flawed character, bad decisions and even endings that aren't morally neat are often part of what makes a story feel real or interesting to me. Even though I don't need it in every story to like it but I think it often brings depth to stories or explore things that should be pointed at. So I find the strong moral judgment in these comments hard to relate to. Where I'm from this is a pretty common way to read fiction so maybe that's where the gap comes from.

I find the series very lighthearted with understandable conflicts so when I'm reading the comments I feel like we're watching different shows. Like some make it sound as if the relationship is abusive. Maybe it's because it's romance and romance fans has a very low tolerance when it comes to these things? Then again I'm also a romance fan and I do not.

I do think people have the right to their own opinion and they set the rules for why they like or do not like a piece of media, but I'm as I said kind of baffled by it.

Anyway I think this season like the one before has a really good balance of keeping it lighthearted, funny and romantic while also exploring how it is dealing with insecurity, communication not being very good and unresolved matters still lingering. I'm empathizing with the characters a lot and it has enough depth and subtext for me to fill in the gaps which I think is what makes great fiction.
The whole point of the last season was that Miyata jumped to conclusions without confronting them or getting the whole truth from Iwanaga. And he's still doing that. He is jumping to conclusions and assuming what Iwanaga feels. Not that Iwanaga is making it easier for him not to. Which is sort of the crux of the conflict. But I don't think it's just one's fault, it's both of them contributing to it.
The feelings Miyata is feeling are very understandable and human and I think because of Iwanaga's personality and lack of communication they snowball and grow. Or rather then lack of communication, it's a communication with a lot of gaps. They partly communicate but those gaps are messing up things between them.

But I think Iwanaga's behaviour also is understandable and human.
Iwanaga is obviously holding back sharing his own thoughts and feelings and this is sabotaging things for them. I can't really remember a time Iwanaga has told Miyata about his doubts. It's always Miyata. Iwanaga instead bottles it up and he seems to have a very hard time being vulnerable. And his only focus becomes him trying to assure Miyata about his feelings for him.
The first season he did not go into details about his side of things of what happened and I think this season has been building up to it in a very clever way of adressing that. Making us realise that there is unresolved thing between them because Iwanaga has not fully opened up and the past still not being fully out in the open. They cannot be fully secure in the relationship before adressing it. Miyata is much better at being vulnerable and when you're the only one being that, you start to think you're the problem.

[spoiler] I liked how Iwanaga in this episode(6) realised that he had thought they were on the same page and now he felt like a fool because he realised they aren't. He had sort of lived in another reality. That reality being that for him he is finally together with Miyata and he plans to do so for the rest of his life. There are no doubts for him when it comes to his feelings and goals. I'm sure he is carrying a lot of other fears stemming from their past though. I don't think he has thought that his exes was such a big issue because to him it's so obvious that he is so in love with Miyata, how can not Miyata know that. I'm also guessing that to him it has always been Miyata rejecting him rather than it being the other way around. So he probably also doesn't understand the idea that Miyata thinks he would ever dislike him or want someone else. And I would say that this rejection that he get's from Miyata over and over again is where his wounds stem from. But he never share that hurt because of a number of reasons.

I also agree with the sentiment that exes are part of your life and erasing them would be impossible.
Though I would be so pissed if my partner didn't tell that this person is my ex before I met them. So I'm not saying I think Iwanaga are handling it very well but it's the sort of thing his character would do.

To me it's pretty obvious that Miyats has always been part of the relationship's Iwanaga has had. Like a shadow that he could not break free from and that is the reasons why his past relationships did not work out. So I feel sort of sorry to his exes, they could never compete with Miyata. Like he said he didn't want to move from Tokyo with his ex because he thought that Miyata was in Tokyo. And I think it's being hinted at that because of what happened with Miyata and his family he was at a very dark place. Like he has been miserable without miyata.
There is one episode left though so I could be wrong. I hope they land it in the final episode. But even if they do not adress everything I will still have enjoyed this season. [/spoiler]

Now it's maybe sounding as if I think this is an absolute masterpiece, I do not think that but I could write a full essay about my interpretation of the characters which is a good metric for my enjoyment.

I'm sure people will not agree with my thoughts about it but I wanted to leave a wall of text of why I really like it.

Edit: I originally speculated if the difference in opinions was an age thing and that just came across as condecending which was pointed out to me so I removed that.