Bhavna

Though I have normally enjoyed J dramas, something about this one didn’t sit right with me. I think it was rather poorly done. I get it that traditional societies value marriage and family etc, but seriously this series borders on obsession with marriage and finding a relationship that feels almost suffocating. It’s just obsessive and not healthy. Every conversation is about marriage and how can I get more married and get into a better relationship? It tends to define one’s self worth based on one’s ability to get married. It just made me sick to be honest. I didn’t like this series at all, but watched until the end out of obligation.

Pros:
- Scenery is nice and beautiful
- I like the yoga angle- as a yoga teacher, I liked that she brought in philosophies of self care into her classes. However, the yoga she teaches it highly westernized “white people yoga” which is divorced from real yoga.
- Shots and cinematography are nice and clean just like any Japanese series- beautiful colors
- Hayate was cool

Cons:
- The male and female lead have no chemistry and are generally unlikeable (actually I find most of the characters in this series to be rather unlikeable, lifeless, or meh)- the single dad looks old and constipated throughout the series. He can’t even express himself properly and for a grown a$$ man, that’s pathetic. If people are this repressed/constipated with their emotions, how on earth can they possibly carry on a healthy relationship that they obsess so much about? At least Hayate is open and honest with his emotions (of course it was totally one sided but anyways).
-After two meetings, the characters say these stock lines like “let’s date for marriage!” And then start holding hands, doing the statue kiss, and acting like a couple. It just feels so scripted like they’re playing a role. “Now we’re dating so we have to act like this…” it doesn’t feel organic, natural, or genuine. Just like playing rigid roles. The old guy (female lead’s dad) says to Hinata “Let’s date!” Then they start holding hands and going through the motions. It’s so robotic and unnatural to me. And the “sumimasens” were starting to get a little excessive. Seriously? Politeness is fine but can’t people just act a little more natural? The single dad main lead acts like every scene is a job interview, including the “romantic” scenes. It’s suffocating to watch.
- You have the nice older single woman trope who keeps griping about her age, menopause, and not being married, alluding to this idea that she’s a high achieving career woman, but ultimately has no value because she’s not married. I have seen this in another series- Full Time Wife Escapist- the older unmarried aunt who’s whole identity is that she’s an older career woman who’s single and unmarried and constantly complaining because she believes she is worthless. What a backward belief system that trains women to think this way.
- Hayate was young handsome, caring, loving, a great cook, and caretaker of the house, and successful but the female lead treated him as a joke the entire series. That was sad to see him literally trashed and taken advantage of. Poor guy.
- The English used throughout the series (especially by the fat yoga instructor) was soooo cringe, inappropriate, and awful. She’d just come out and say some random weird catchphrase and I couldn’t make out what she was saying until I read the subtitles.

So in summary, I didn’t like this series at all but finished the whole thing. I have an affinity for Japan, J-Dramas, anime, and Japanese culture, but this one was just excessive and annoying. Might be the first series that I’ve actually disliked. I think they should just rename the series to “Sumimasen!”