Bhavna

In the initial episodes, Hotaru was rather endearing and “real,” but she was often a caricature of herself. I mean why does she need to have her track pants’ pockets inside out like it’s a requirement for her dress code? And then she misses her first date because she’s so stupid that she chants “Beeru! Beeru!” All the way home? Wtf kind of stupid reason is that? Is she that dense? Halfway through I started to not like her because she just seemed to be annoying just for the sake of being annoying.

But my bigger issue with this show is, the director has a chauvnistic streak where there is a “ideal woman” type called Yuka, and anyone who doesn’t fit that incredibly narrow definition of a perfect woman is basically discarded as trash. And Hotaru is called a Himono Onna or dried up fish woman and it’s a way to scapegoat and attack women for not being some dreamt up ideal by a misogynist. No good. And why is everyone obsessed with this BOT called Makoto? Yuck. He’s this dud that “returned” from London probably on a 3 week vacation and acts like he’s all that. But his acting and his lines are like a bot. He doesn’t know how to communicate- in the beginning, all he could say to Hotaru was “hai” “hai” and “hai.” I’m like which idiot wrote his dialog? And the actor plays the character with the most grating lack of expression ever. He looks like he’s not even interested in being in the show. On top of that, Makoto is a male chauvinist. He goes up to Hotaru and kisses her without her permission while she’s taking a nap, then decides that he likes her and calls all the shots. He decides when the relationship starts, and when it ends. It’s all on HIS terms, even though he literally has nothing to offer her. He never makes conversation with her, and just looks bored when they’re together, making Hotaru anxious and she starts compensating for his lack of effort. But he keeps saying he likes her as a way to keep her hooked in. Then he decides on a whim that she should move in with him. Then when he gets insecure and jealous like the usual fragile ego misogynist, he dumps Hotaru via email and says one morning “It’s over. Pack your stuff up and leave.” Wow what a cold bot this Makoto is. Hotaru would have been happier being in relationship with AI! When he was living with Hotaru, half the time he communicates with her by writing notes, or text messages. He doesn’t try whatsoever, and meanwhile Hotaru is bending over backwards. And where is she supposed to go when Makoto kicks her out on a whim? The manager’s house is about to be demolished- where is she supposed to find an apartment on a moment’s notice? And why is everyone including Yuka initially in love with Makoto? He’s not good looking, is incredibly dull as a personality, and is a chauvinist and has an extremely fragile ego. Poor Hotaru. She went through all that trouble for this disgusting person. She should have seen right through him once she saw that the whole relationship was only on his terms, and based on his whims and mood swings. He crosses her boundaries and clings to her when he wants to possess her, and then when he feels threatened he throws her away like trash. What a bad character she got involved with. At the end about a month later when she’s living in a weekly apartment, Makoto who strategically says he wants to get along with her at work (especially since she has moved up the ladder and has more influence now), is working at his desk when Hotaru comes up to him and says thank you and bows to him and says she fell in love with him and she’s changed a little. He has no expression, never initiates such meaningful conversations, and looks like he couldn’t care less about her heartfelt gesture. The manager, though he was a chauvinist in his own way, calling her a dried up fish woman, and saying her life is done as a woman, at least grew to appreciate her over time. But honestly, none of the men in this series were worth the trouble. There is nothing loving or romantic about any of these relationships. But as the men - the manager, Makoto, the other guy that likes Yuka, and the other guy that’s the manager’s divorce buddy are all talking, they discuss how Hotaru is living alone and Makoto said he thought she would go back to living with the manager. And they interpret it as a great thing that she lives alone and doesn’t go to the next guy (the manager) as soon as she is dumped. Then the manager calls her selfish, and then the other guy says “we always attract such selfish women don’t we?” They are all red flags. Hotaru is better off alone.

In the end, Hotaru doesn’t join the Christmas party of bots, but is sleeping alone at home. She tried the relationship thing that everyone harped on about, and it ended up being a disaster. And when she’s back at home, the bots go back to criticizing her. That’s why they’re not worth her time. Hotaru IS the light. She doesn’t need any bot to complete her. In the end she looks much more confident.

In the end, she comes back to the manager, well they have more chemistry together than Makoto bot.
Now I realized there is a season 2! Will it go up or downhill from here? Will find out….