Bhavna

Better than the Special!

I loved this movie even more than the first, and it’s because I saw a side of Shiro San from beginning to end that was vulnerable and expressive of his love to an extent that I hadn’t seen in the episodes or the first movie. It’s like his heart was cracked open- from the Kyoto trip with Kenji to staying at home for New Years to be with Kenji and standing up to his parents, saying that their withdrawal of their welcome of Kenji was “unbelievably cruel..” and then his “investigation” of what was going on with Kenji when he went to the hospital etc. to get his thinning hair situation checked out, and Shiro’s fearful assumption that Kenji was dying, and thus his pouring out of feelings in those last scenes, I was genuinely impressed. It’s very rewarding when the stoic man who doesn’t hold hands, kiss, or hug is blooming with emotion. Not to mention, his look in the sunglasses at the end, Kenji said out loud what I was thinking from the beginning: that Shiro San looks like Tom Cruise (except better).

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Interesting but…

I should have written this review right after watching the series instead of moving on to the special. The special single-handedly wiped out any of the good feelings I had at the end of the 10 episodes season. But I do remember tearing up at the wedding scene at the very end. Yes the show is unrealistic and naive, but showing someone as incompetent as Kahoko as capable of going to college and graduating and even finding a super hot guy like Hajime is just too much. The woman can barely tie her own shoes and falls asleep mid-conversation after dinner, like what?! At first I found it cute, but like I said, because I watched the Special and am scarred by the effects of it, my impression of the entire series has gone down. But I did enjoy the series. I thought it was endearing. The only trouble is that Kahoko has no chemistry with Hajime whatsoever and Hajime does an amazing job of acting like he’s attracted to her but it’s just an impossible scenario, because it just looks like a boy who feels sorry for a toddler who has lost its toy and is crying while wagging her hands up and down. His “love” is more like sympathy. Then Kahoko tries to get married or have babies just for the sake of making her grandma happy, or intervenes in her cousin Ito’s life even though Ito wants nothing to do with her and she basically forces her aunt and uncle not to get a divorce and get back together because “Kahoko sad!” What on earth.. I’m wondering if a baby actually directed this show? And what’s the deal with ”Kahoko always tried harder than anyone else but sucked at everything anyway!” I don’t get it. As someone with a helicopter mom myself with a very similar situation, I could relate to many of the things, but a lot of it was irritating too. Realistically, Kahoko would not be getting married to this handsome young man- realistically she would be in an adult diaper still unable to tie her shoes and falling asleep drooling in her mom’s lap while watching baby videos of herself. She’s unable to take care of anyone including herself, so unless she’s mentally or physically handicapped, artificially handicapping someone like that is basically abuse.

I wish they had explored more of the dynamic between Hajime and Kahoko and how it changed her at a much deeper level. Instead it focused on Kahoko’s annoying family and it just made it more boring. I didn’t care about Ito or her parents or the other two aunt and uncle and the aunt’s shoplifting tendencies. I didn’t care about the grandma dying or the grandpa. The parents’ dynamic with Kahoko was interesting enough, but what needed to be explored in more detail was how such a sheltered child developed a romantic relationship- kind of like Tangled. They needed to show more about Hajime, because this actor did such a great job acting like he was in love with Kahoko, but it still felt unrealistic because Kahoko was always running away and answering phone calls from her parents. Such a strong relationship cannot develop on such a thin foundation. They needed to build their relationship up a LOT more, because to deal with such an annoying extended family and overbearing mother/parents is not worth it unless the relationship is truly something deep. And they missed the opportunity to showcase that, so their relationship looked more surface level. If it wasn’t for the intensity of Hajime’s character and his acting, I wouldn’t have believed in their relationship at all, based on Kahoko’s stupid facial expressions and falling asleep mid-conversation. To me she seemed like an extremely self centered big baby.

I don’t like the message that “Family is the best and you must stick with them no matter what! Do not get a divorce no matter what! Stay together to live up to Kahoko’s ideal family fantasy!” I find it highly toxic. Family = dysfunction. The best part of the series is the “Family Song” that plays at the end of each episode.

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Kahoko is a Hot Mess. Same old nonsense amplified

So after the wonderful birthday parties, weddings, and big moments are over, comes “Ordinary time” where Kahoko, Hajime, and the family have to live their regular boring lives. There’s only one problem- Kahoko talks a big talk but can’t back up any of her words with any real action that keeps her daily life or family going. Her day care business is a failure and in debt, she can’t cook, clean, or do anything except fall asleep like a big baby mid-task, just like the first series. And seriously what is up with her clothes? Why does she still dress like a cross between a 1 year old baby and a grandma? How does a fine young man like Hajime fall for a mess like Kahoko? Besides, the two have zero chemistry- they’re more like brother and sister than romantic partners.

This “Special” is dedicated to showing how life after the romance, honeymoon, wedding, “happily ever after” big dramatic celebration moments falls apart because it’s the boring mundane stuff of the everyday, which Kahoko and the rest of them are terrible at. After the “big wedding” or the “big birthday bash” is the time when they say “What now?” And they simply can’t sustain it. If the characters get bored for five minutes, they stir up drama like kahoko’s parents getting a divorce. Why? Just because! Every time Hajime is having a serious conversation with Kahoko, she gets a call from someone in her extended family who’s having a meltdown and she needs to run away mid conversation and give them a wide-eyed pep talk to make them come to their senses, and then all of a sudden her mom and dad who were hell-bent on handing in the divorce papers, are now lovey dovey again. These characters really resemble 2D cartoon characters and at some point -I think it was the airport scene with Ito and her parents, I realized that I don’t give a **** about any of these characters anymore. Maybe a different director made this special because it’s like the original series on steroids, but more annoying, superficial, and more unrealistic in a bad way. Kahoko gets more and more annoying and incompetent and big baby like and I really don’t see what Hajime “sees” in her at all- she’s totally self centered like a toddler and only cares about putting out ridiculous dramatic fires in her family one after another because her grandma told her to keep the family together and keep having birthday parties, without the regular care or need to tend to her relationship with Hajime- he’s essentially an afterthought and a side character in her extended family drama. She does things like get married or have kids just to make people in her family happy or “make her grandma happy” like in the series, and it’s ridiculous. Her mindset is so immature it’s annoying to watch. And for some reason, whenever anything in the show falls apart like the daycare center they started, or Kahoko’s parents’ marriage, or her own marriage with Hajime, or Ito’s plans to go to Vienna, or Tomatsu the foster kid- all it takes is for Kahoko to run over to each like like a large baby and start talking really fast about “how they should keep going because… ganbatte!” while hyperventilating like a toddler and either passing out or falling asleep mid-sentence and then all of a sudden the problems are all fixed. Kahoko keeps intervening in different situations that are none of her business just because she doesn’t want her idyllic world to fall apart, and she doesn’t want other people to get divorced because she will be sad! So she nags at everyone to keep going with whatever nonsense isn’t working just to keep her own mental ideal of them intact. What on earth am I even watching? And then she has two babies at the end, because they needed the perfect next big dramatic moment to punctuate the end of the show. This show is like a Facebook highlight reel of the “big moments,” where the little everyday moments are really not working at all and at the end of any “real” everyday conversation is “Well then maybe we should break up!” If Kahoko’s mother wasn’t there to take care of the entire family, the whole family would be f***d. Kahoko the overgrown toddler isn’t capable of sustaining a marriage, a family, a house, or anything for that matter. They should just call her “Incompetent Kahoko.” In the first season she was a bit endearing because the concept was kind of new, but to see her try to sincerely break out of her infantile state while succumbing to her impromptu naps was at least somewhat entertaining. But this special was just bad. It was the same Kahoko if she was a few years older and was the same and can’t do anything properly except fall asleep mid conversation. It shows how she’s utterly incapable of sustaining and relationship and should have never gotten married, but marriage to her is just a “big moment to make people happy!” What over-simplistic garbage. I say Hajime needs to find a better partner.

It’s funny because the series seems to be about “family is the best no matter what!” But it just shows how dysfunctional the whole family experience is, and is more like a cautionary tale to be careful when making the decision to get married and have kids instead of just falling into it because “that’s what everyone does.” In the very last scene, Kahoko’s grandpa (the dad’s dad) says to Hajime how much he is going to suffer with kids. The hint underneath the “wonderful family picture” is basically torture and suffering that people just “check out” like that grandpa.

The best part of the series is the “Family Song” theme song by Gen Hoshino- it’s very addicting and breathes life into an otherwise long dead story.

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One Big Meh.. Could Have Been Better

Ok let’s get the good things about Silent out of the way before I air out my grievances. There are so many silent moments in this J drama of just talking in sign language and it forces me to focus on the conversation as if it’s happening to me, as if I’m really there in the scene. The use of silence is nice and oftentimes there’s either total silence or a soft piano in the background and it makes the experience feel quite real.

With that said, there were many cons I found in this series. The characters were very one dimensional, their relationships, conversations, and scenarios felt repetitive and shallow, and it felt like the story wasn’t really moving at all- not to say a slow moving story is a bad thing but a slow moving story needs depth, and this series was stuck in the shallow kiddie pool for 11 episodes. If I’m going to dedicate my time to watch 11 long episodes, I’d like some more deeper exploration like character development, maturation of the characters or deep changes to happen over time. I felt like the main characters especially Sakura-kun didn’t change much from beginning to end. They were terribly boring, including their contrived yawn worthy high school story. Yes Sakura kun started to open up and became a little happier and more expressive but it was all surface level and I didn’t feel anything while watching it. He also seemed quite rigid in his thinking and was fixated on hearing Tsumugi’s voice. Something about him seemed really wooden- was it his acting or his emotional toll from the loss of hearing.. I don’t know. I guess it’s unfair to expect a hero’s journey when he’s just a regular dude going through hearing loss where he’s stuck in the past. I didn’t find his or Tsumugi’s character to be interesting at all. They were like NPCs that I don’t care about no matter what song they play on their iPod or how many CDs they arrange in their room. It felt like the whole show was a lot of regular small talk which I would yawn at and get bored with. Even after the whole show is over, I’m left with the thought- “Ok but why should I care about this relationship?” I simply don’t care- like Minato says in the end- “I don’t care if you get with SO or don’t get with SO, whatever it is just get on with it.” (My version)

On the other hand, the side characters like the sign language teacher, or my favorite Nana were far more interesting than the leads. Minato and Nana were very giving, always sharing and helping others from the heart, but weren’t really appreciated much. Minato’s relationship with Tsumugi in the beginning seemed fine and boring but as soon as Sakura kun came along he turned into an insecure mess- I guess the most badass thing he did was break up with her, but after that it felt like his character just froze and was looping and spinning his wheels like an NPC in the same ditch from beginning to end. Tsumugi was grieving for a whole 2 minutes about Minato and then the script simply dropped him and they became like wooden strangers while she moved onto the next dude as planned. So weird, predictable and …yawn! I don’t care.

I loved the story of Nana and the interpreter teacher- they were both so sweet and so was their backstory, how the guy wanted to see her smile and do more for her. And yes Nana’s smile is so bright and beautiful and I found her to be the most interesting and dynamic character in the whole series. Even though she was the only one who was deaf from birth, she was an expressive communicator and usually direct and brutally honest with what she wanted to say. I loved that about her. She was far ahead than the others. She wore her heart on her sleeve even though she got hurt twice with two different men- Sakura kun and the interpreter guy (although there is hope for them two). How is it that everyone else pretty much sucks at communicating except for Nana? Even at the end at the final scenes of the last episode on Christmas, she buys a big bouquet of flowers to give to the sign language dude (shouldn’t he be buying her flowers? She also sent him a handwritten letter!) and then gives little parts of the bouquet to Minato (who in turn gives it to Tsumugi) and to Sakura-kun. Then at the very end they both share Nana’s gift to each other. Like seriously Nana being the one who cannot hear from birth is the one who shares her heart most expressively with everyone, from her smile to her sharp words, to her flowers. I just loved Nana. And let’s not forget that she is the one who pulled Sakura-kun out of his frozen state after his hearing loss and listened to him and healed him and taught him sign language. And she was also the one who inspired the interpreter guy to become an interpreter who ended up teaching Tsumugi, so basically she is the force behind the entire series that moves everything along. They should just call the series Nana. I wished she could be happy always for being so honest and expressive. Everyone else is stuck and frozen in their characters and spinning their wheels, with repeated conversations like it just gets boring and by the end I just wanted to see if Nana would get with the interpreter guy. I didn’t care about Tsumugi and Sakura-kun because they just bored me to death with their tired old conversations and shallow high school cliche relationship. I’m all about the slow burn, but this series was more like a slow groan.

If it weren’t for Nana and the interpreter guy, I would have switched this off several episodes ago. At the end I don’t feel satisfied, just bored having watched that. Meh. Like having eaten a lot of calories with zero satisfaction and nutrition. I rate it one big MEH.

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Chemistry Not as Magical as Cherry Magic

Being a HUGE fan of Cherry Magic (I’ve watched the J drama, movie, and anime versions multiple times), I can’t help but compare this BL office romance with it. Honestly even if they come up with 10 more with this exact same story, I’m here for it. It was refreshing that this series only has 5 episodes, so it leaves the rest up to imagination. I didn’t like the fact that they keep harping on the older guy’s age as if 40 is on your deathbed. Carl Jung has said that 40 is when the true life really starts. Anyway I actually liked the younger guy’s acting much better. The protagonist Nozue (the 40 year old) seemed lackluster till the end, and even when he said he liked Togawa (the 30 year old), I didn’t quite believe him. He looked a bit constipated in his emotions, but Togawa was really into it. He was the “Kurosawa” character from Cherry Magic, but the protagonist- the one who feels stuck, unworthy, uninspired (the counterpart of Adachi) was neither as cute or interesting as Adachi was. I think if they had cast someone else as the lead, the chemistry could have been much better. This is what was lacking- the chemistry. Nevertheless, I still liked it, and perhaps my favorite part of the series was the intro/outro song Blue Blur" (feat. Mabanua) by Ryu Matsuyama really set the vibe- it was super romantic.

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Tries to be more interesting than it is…

This is the lowest rating I’ve given for any Jdrama- I feel like this drama tries too hard to be deep or profound. It paints the Mary Magdalene figure not just as a “sinful” woman but a serial killer, mixes some Adam and Eve in there, with the last supper. All of it divorced from their true archetypal meeting and flattened to glorify this random Maria woman. Mary Magdalene is once again trashed in pop culture with falsities. They have no depth or context for any of these Christian symbols and simply throw it all together into one big messy soup. And it tastes weird, sour, and bitter. It tries so hard to be mysterious, scandalous, dangerous, and interesting, but the show is just bad and boring. The acting is uniformly bad and the director of the show has no purpose for the story whatsoever other than to run around in circles and waste time. I watched it till the last episode hoping to find something interesting or some kind of depth or something that would “make it make sense,” but it was just utterly stupid. People die and then don’t die, Maria is glorified as this serial killer whom Akechi keeps saving, kisses in a burning building for no good reason, and falls down this deadly hole with. Akechi makes no sense either. His primary monotone dialog is “warukunai” (not bad) when tasting food and “Maria..”They try to be deep and interesting but in the end it just all falls flat and hollow. I’m not impressed with this. The lady who acts in “Marry my Husband” is also in this but far less likable- she’s annoying and screechy. Perhaps the only thing that’s good is the Utada Hikaru song that plays at the end of every episode. In the end it’s utterly pointless and left a bad taste in my mouth.

The only thing that redeems Tomoya Nakamura is that later I found out he was the same actor who plays Gon San in Nagi’s Long Vacation. I was surprised because I didn’t recognize him at all- shows how the director/screenplay determines the quality of acting.

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Can’t Get enough of these two!

Within 3 days I finished the whole Cherry Magic 12 episode series + 2 SP and the movie. Turns out I can’t get enough of these two as a couple. They are so very sweet together. They are kind and respectful towards each other, show patience, genuine care, and don’t play games. They have their moments of hiding how they really feel but it’s not done out of game playing. They are both sincere. Especially Kurosawa- his love from the beginning is inspiring. What I like about this movie is that even though there are hurdles along the way like Adachi being transferred for 8 months to Nagasaki to become a sales manager and start up the company branch there, and gets into an accident, it all serves to strengthen their bond and relationship. It isn’t drama just for the sake of having conflict. In fact, other than these two things and meeting each other’s family, the movie doesn’t have a whole lot of conflict- in other words, it depicts a good relationship that is blossoming and blooming without drama. A relationship without drama is a good sign! That’s actually what I love about this movie. Even Adachi being sent to Nagasaki for 8 months served to make him more responsible and take on more responsibility and step up to the plate, and Adachi’s accident (though he wasn’t physically hurt) also served as a reminder of impermanence and just the fact that they didn’t contact Kurosawa upon hearing the news, and that motivated them to take the next step forward to meeting each others’ families to become part of each others’ families. I was almost bracing for some horrible conflict like someone dies, and for me to be left clutching my heart J drama style, but that moment never came- it was smooth sailing and even ended on a wedding- like scene even though I don’t think gay marriage is legal in Japan, well this is an anime story so it’s legal in this world! I love it. I love their romance, their love, their relationship.

Cherry Magic gives you something this world rarely offers:
a vision of love without chaos.
No trauma bonding.
No narcissistic hooks.
No ego theatrics.
Just two people who show up for each other without forcing anything.

I saw the power in that and sensed what it means for a relationship to deepen through gentleness instead of crisis.
And because this world is characterized by egoic love, seeing a story that doesn’t do that feels almost unreal, like a parallel world with different physics.

My only gripe is that they didn’t show the two kissing- no smooching needed, just that still kiss they do in the Japanese dramas, but alas there was none. I get that either the actors (especially Eiji Akaso) were uncomfortable with it, or it’s maybe a censor issue in Japan for a same sex couple to kiss? But that’s what we BL fans are here for! That elevator hidden kiss at the end of the series as the doors were closing was iconic. Kurosawa is so badass, and Adachi is so handsome and sweet. Ahhhhh. The lack of overt kissing, the soft, almost shy portrayal of intimacy: Japanese dramas excel at this. They understand that the sacredness of a connection doesn’t need to be shoved in your face. In a way, it keeps the romance suspended in that pure emotional frequency that I love so much, even if part of me wanted just one more quiet kiss to seal the moment.

And it was refreshing to see that the families accepted their son’s partner eventually- they didn’t storm off in a tantrum.. even that part was compassionate and those characters show restraint and emotional maturity. The families in Cherry Magic behaved in a way the world rarely does: they didn’t weaponize shock, they didn’t collapse into melodrama, and they didn’t turn love into a battlefield. They felt the discomfort, processed it, and then chose connection over ego. That restraint, that quiet willingness to grow, carries an emotional dignity I’ve rarely seen reflected in this world. That’s why this pure love lives in an alternate universe and I’m here for that.

For someone who has given up on human love and romance long ago, this Cherry Magic story has turned me into a pile of mush- this is like an alternate reality that shows that in some other reality, this kind of pure love is possible, and I am inspired by that. Daisuki!

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The Predecessor to Doctor X

The Pride of the Temp is a predecessor to Doctor X since it came out in 2007 (and Dr. X in 2012) - a kind of prototype story, where a woman, a lone wolf works outside of the existing hierarchical system that focuses on power, corruption, status, money, and image- as a temp or freelancer. She joins the system via an agency while remaining an outsider, where her agent declares the terms of her contract- a list of “I will not do…” aka Itashimasen. I noticed many similarities between Pride of the Temp and Doctor X. Daimon Michiko and Omae both retreat into foreign Spanish/portuguese speaking lands (Spain, Cuba, Brazil etc) where they have an unknown, mysterious past. They both also dance in their after hours- Michiko in the club with her manager Akira San, and Omae as a flamenco dancer in a restaurant. They are both blunt, assertive, and only do what is necessary for their jobs, and leave strictly at 5pm, with exact timing for lunch breaks and no overtime. They both eat alone and don’t entertain personal friendships or romances in the workplace. And both share the same drive of compassion for helping others, through their superhuman qualities and skills that can save entire companies and hospitals. It’s as if the divine is acting through this archetype, and the existing patriarchal systems of old men at the top can’t stand this woman. So they try to diminish and sabotage her despite how much she is doing for the company. They both know “powers that be” at the top who propel their opportunities forward. They both share a kind of loneliness as they operate outside of the system, but they have an inner circle that they can rely on and turn to. There is one difference however which makes me favor Daimon Michiko more. Omae is shown to harbor a kind of loneliness as if she secretly wants friends and romance despite her hardened exterior. When Shoji and Satonaka fall in love with Omae, on the outside she rejects them, but it seems that she is hiding feelings on the inside for “Mr Curly haired” Shoji or Satonaka while trying to act tough. They also make Omae unnecessarily robotic like an AI bot as if she is inhuman, which is unnecessary. Daimon Michiko on the other hand is a more evolved version of Omae- she is a lone wolf that is truly comfortable with herself and her aloneness, and is not secretly crying on the inside out of loneliness. It’s like Michiko has fully met her inner demons and conquered them so nothing can stop her, and her only vulnerability is protecting those she loves and is close to. Michiko is also a lot of more charismatic, childlike, and gorgeous compared to Omae, and is very self assured. She has a loud and brash style of speaking, whereas Omae is quieter and more secretive. Michiko has a childlike innocence in her- her only interests are “surgery and food.” And of course Mahjong and public baths and dancing in the club. She dresses like a supermodel and struts through the hospital in heels. Omae doesn’t have those qualities and doesn’t need to, but the most striking difference I see is that they left the romance angle out of Doctor X, and meanwhile that hinders Omae. And yes even Michiko does like Hachisuka towards the end of a season and vows to save his life, but that romance doesn’t go anywhere and the writers are not that interested in giving up her storyline to that romance so they end it in a comedy of errors. The story of Doctor X is a lot more polished, and is like an upgraded version of The Pride of the Temp. It’s like they took a good story and elevated it to the next level. So Pride of the Temp is a less evolved version of Doctor X, but still worth the watch.

Satonaka was incredibly handsome and good looking in the first season, but 13 years later in the second season, while Shoji still looks about the same, Satonaka has aged quite a bit and his hair- what happened to his hairstyle in the second season? In the first season he has this cute punk like hairstyle which turns into a grandpa hairstyle in the second season. Please someone fix Satonaka’s hair! I liked his character in the first season, but in the second season with his looks fading and terrible hairstyle, he seemed to just come across as a people pleaser. But in the end he finally found his voice and strength and does his own thing. As for Shoji, he still has a selfish and narcissistic streak in him, though he starts to genuinely appreciate Omae. They are both more like fans of her than romantic interests.

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I watched this for Kamiki!

Ok I watched this special just for Kamiki- he has stolen my heart since season 2 of The Honest Realtor. Not only is he incredibly handsome, with a beautiful smile, and such precise beautiful body language, he shows a kind of sensitivity that builds on the ending of season 2 where he breaks down from the loss of his late wife and son and is taught a new way of living and working by Nagase who says “What’s more important than being #1 is bringing joy to others and it makes me happy.” Nagase says he believes Kamiki can change. Of course no one can change overnight, but here is a turning point where Kamiki’s biggest wound is being exposed to the light and has the chance to change him. His memories are frozen in pain, and he is unable to let go. He refuses to sell this old house from his late wife Kaori which has memories of her and his son Shota when they used to visit the grandparents. His story, and seeing that sensitivity change his hardened mask just brings tears to my eyes. Seeing how it ended- where the house was sold to build a community center for children, was very heartwarming, and to see how it healed something in Kamiki’s heart was healing for me too. He was tap dancing quite a lot in this episode lol! He’s quite good, and it has the vibe of a cocky, cooky anime villain, but he’s so endearing too. Like the bank manager lady was so smitten with him, I too am smitten with Kamiki, played by Dean Fujioka. He could do a Kamiki tap dancing special and I’d watch that too.

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Love Prevails Above All

I was disappointed to see the ending of Hirugao the series (2014) to see that Yuichiro just went back to his prison warden wife Noriko as if nothing happened, and Rikako went back to her psycho controller husband like it was no big deal. Only Sawa stood by her choice for love with conviction. She got a divorce from her clown husband and moved to a new town. She lived a pure lifestyle for 3 years and then fate brings Yuichiro back to her once again. She chooses to attend his lecture and the love story is rekindled once again. Noriko’s psychopathic nature gets turned to new heights as her jealousy makes her do very bizarre things like asking them to perform their “union” in front of her in a hotel room. She is truly so weird and disgusting. She thinks that an affair is just lust and bodies in friction. But what Sawa and Yuichiro have together is pure. They actually spend time with each other in a silent bond in the forest and the creek and that lifts their love to sacred heights. It’s something that Noriko could never imagine. She simply doesn’t understand their love because she is not capable of reaching that frequency. So she just resorts to her evil and manipulative ways like throwing herself off a balcony to manipulate Yuichiro into coming back to help her. Well that short time that Sawa was with Yuichiro was so precious and beautiful- when they were living together. And even though Noriko’s evil and vengeful nature made her kill Yuichiro in the end, the last thing that came out of his mouth was “I love Sawa” and the ring he bought was passed on in love between innocent children- their love was innocent, although it was dressed up in “adultery” by the world’s definition. Love won in the end. Even though Noriko killed the form of her husband, and lied to Sawa saying that “he apologized and came back to me in the end” as she tries to control the narrative, Yuichiro’s heart was with Sawa, and God blessed Sawa with Yuichiro’s child as she says in the end the little life that is growing in her womb gave her a new meaning in life. Noriko was using pregnancy and motherhood as a form of control and manipulation (saying things like “I want that baby” like it’s an agenda item on her to do list), but the baby was born only to the one who held love as sacred. Sawa and Yuichiro’s bond was so beautiful- I wanted them to be together so much. Noriko’s anger and vengeance carried on even after killing her husband and her hatred continued even after his death as she tells Sawa that she will hate her forever, but Sawa didn’t hold any hatred in her heart towards Noriko for what she did. That shows the purity of Sawa’s heart and the evil inside the wife’s heart. That’s why a pure soul like Yuichiro left his evil wife. She was nothing but a controller and manipulator. It was a tragic ending in form, but truly it was triumphant for love. Even though adultery is seen as just s*x, this love story showed the innocence of love preserved as Yuichiro’s ring was passed on to innocent children as they shared their love.

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Incredible story

Wow… I haven’t watched a tv series like this in the west. From beginning to end its story is so gripping with suspense and the music really helps to create this kind of creepy suspense. Instead of the usual “who done it?” trope, it explores more complexity behind each of the characters, not painting anyone as purely good or evil, but rather complex characters with weaknesses and fears, who make mistakes.
Sadly some get punished while others seem to go free. But ultimately guilt and the belief in guilt is its own punishment.
The pristine quality of the shots and sets are just a treat to watch. I love seeing how all the different characters are unveiled throughout the series in layers and complexity. It’s hard to even give a review of this series with words as it creates more of a feeling within me and it’s something that I still need to process. This is one that has some rewatch value for sure

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Now This is What I’m Talking About!

I love it when J dramas solidly move with conviction outside the “norm” and take a stand for some beyond the usual romantic ego possession “being chosen” script which is so tired and annoying. This one is a slam dunk.

I prefer Takahashi playing characters that want to be left alone- like Kishibe Rohan, Bokura wa kiseki de dekiteru, and Koisenu Futari. The characters were deeply realistic and lovable. There were no “bad guys,” just characters figuring out their own inner life. This is where J dramas really excel.

I think the reason why the main leads feel lonely is not necessarily because they’re alone (one can thoroughly enjoy one’s own company), but rather because they are so misunderstood by those around them that they feel isolated and different from everyone else. But I like the fact that they found allies in each other.

I love how they showed the dysfunction of the typical “romantic” couple of Sakuko’s sister- she was in a typical broken relationship, breeding two children and a father who cheated on her during both of her pregnancies, and yet society and the family still holds this type of relationship as the gold standard because it is what all the “normies” do even though it’s incredibly dysfunctional. It’s annoying when the “normies” in the series say things like “Even if you live without love,”- love is not equal to romance! And romance fades away in a few weeks or months, and what you’re left with is a cheating parter, affairs, scandals, lies, keeping up appearances, and more dysfunction. Dysfunction is considered normal. What Takahashi San and Sakuko have is a deeper type of love- one that doesn’t rely on hormones, lust, sweating, and grinding. That type of relationship lasts only as long as the chemistry and hormones and then leads to cheating- it’s the typical animal kingdom type of relationship- centered around breeding children, status, money, saving face, etc. It is incredibly unsatisfying and is not real happiness. But even despite the fact that Sakuko’s sister is a hot mess and comes to Takahashi San’s house dragging her kid along and stays there without even asking permission, she has the audacity to look down on Sakuko and tell her that her life is empty, even though her own husband is cheating on her and she’s dragging around two kids and will soon be a single mom. And she has the nerve to try to force Sakuko to have kids and pesters her to ask Takahashi San if he wants kids. These people are so small minded it’s scary. I’m glad that Sakuko and Takahashi San did not take that route. No kids, no marriage, no agenda, no planning, just living in the NOW. Making conscious choices instead of unrealistic ideals like “We will only love each other until we die!” Which is what regular marriages are and they never live up to that. In fact they stayed loyal even till the end- their definition of love is much higher than what Sakuko’s family and the other “normals” think of love- even if they lived apart in the end, it was to support each others’ dreams and happiness and they were still family even despite the distance. Family is in the heart, being true to each other, not just living under one roof and lying and cheating.

I love that they say they don’t have to have everything figured out, but can take one step at a time and see how things go. Making conscious decisions based on how things are in the moment. Choosing and defining one’s own happiness for themselves. I really love this mindset of the show. No agenda for romance (a lot of J dramas push the romance and breeding angle as a way to increase the population which is so off putting). This series is perfect. True love is not possession, hormones, romance, and grinding, it is the freedom to let people be as they are and to give space for true expression. This series is a breath of fresh air. True loved it. It’s worth another watch!

I loved how it ended as well- on a light note, without any of the heaviness that I often see. The perfect slice of life drama. This is why I came to love J dramas for to begin with!

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Horribly Dull. Not for a lover of the original OVA

How does one turn Rurouni Kenshin into the most lifeless, boring soulless rendition ever? Watch this movie!

The fight scenes like the duel between Kenshin and Okita Souji are cool- undoubtably they must be incredibly difficult to execute.

The second half is better than the first- that part reminds me of the original story. Still it’s not the same and doesn’t evoke the same emotion as the anime.

This version is more “star studded” than the first one I saw (2012)- with Chishiya —I mean Nijirō Murakami and Takahashi Issey in the cast. The first thing I noticed what this woman’s horrible makeup job- with this white patchy powder on her face. It looks like some cheap makeup did that, her hair is a mess and her lipstick is all over the place. What on earth?

And what’s up with the Indian classical style flute? This is Rurouni Kenshin not the Ramayana! It’s totally out of place. The director is totally out of his element here.

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“Love at First Sight is a Horrible Thing”

After watching a couple of other series starring Haruka Ayase, like “I Want to Die Alone” (Hitori de Shinitai), and Hotaru no Hikari, and seeing that our birthdate is just a few days apart in the same year, and seeing how she plays empowered, independent and quirky women characters that are very similar to my own personality and mindset, and taking into her account her exquisitely beautiful face, I’ve decided that she is one of my most favorite Japanese actresses.

This series does not disappoint. Starting with that super catchy samba style intro theme song/music, and Nami’s badass ninja fighting skills, the story goes into how she is a woman who just wants love and has been fighting and defending herself and protecting others in this dangerous world. It’s a very interesting set of stories. Except for a few, many of the “bad women” are not actually bad but are trying to create justice for a terribly unjust situation. The men on the other hand are all portrayed as selfish, bullying, narcissistic, entitled, exploiting, misogynistic, and controlling- especially in marital and family relationships. This is not far from the truth obviously. It shows how marriage is basically a soul trap for women, where they are reduced down to objects wearing a happy mask that cook, clean, and wake up the man, pouring their life and soul and love into him and the kids, while he’s busy having affairs.

I don’t understand the martyr complex that the women have. Like Kyoka- she trails and finds her husband cheating and still says that she loves him and is waiting for him even when her own mother in law kicks her cheating son out of the house. She puts on this “brave, martyr, saintly face” in from of her friends Nani and Yuri as if bearing the torture somehow makes her a good saintly person. It doesn’t. Her husband doesn’t respect or love her any more for her saintly doormat act, and nor does anyone else. Then she misses him and like a soggy doormat, she ruins her own self empowerment and leverage in the situation and calls her cheating husband crying and saying “I miss you, please come home!” While the husband basically says no and disempowers her further. Can the wives be any more powerless? Why do they have to be like this?

I wonder why everyone is so two faced- I get it, it’s part of the culture. Not just Japanese but worldwide too. In marriages and social interactions people put on a happy clown face to others and show off and brag while hiding the horrors underneath. Marriage and family are a kind of performance for show. This series exposes that so well. Even Nami finds out that her charming husband is not the person she thought and hoped he was- whatever these women are in love with is a projection of their own longing. But the men in reality are despicable as husbands. For example, Yuri’s husband was her college professor who basically decided that he wanted to “have her and keep her” so he got her pregnant immediately so that she would get married to him and never leave the house. Possessing her like an object and treating her like utter trash. He is such a loathsome creature. If it weren’t for survival and having a roof over their heads, I’m sure most women would leave these ball and chain marriages where they are treated as indentured servants who should be grateful for their servitude. It is utterly deplorable. I’m glad that Haruka Ayase brings these shows where the woman is a little more empowered- even though her characters do want love deep in their soul, they are true to themselves and authentic and to some extent, free.

As Nami starts to find out that her own husband is a shady character, and that scene where the husband comes back from home and she’s cutting the cabbage and then throws a knife at him, and he blocks it with his suitcase- that moment when the mask drops is just so satisfying and thrilling to watching as they get down and dirty in the fight. It’s bizarre how married people live together for decades and are essentially strangers wearing masks in front of each other, trying to cover up over their true identity and seething hatred for each other, all in the name of a “stable life”, status, image or for survival or financial reasons. All so bizarre and all so fake. It would be one thing if it were just a TV show- but this is exactly how it is in this world. Nishijima is the perfect charming handsome fake husband with a streak of danger. There is something terribly romantic about one party coming to arrest another party but upon meeting her he forgets his mission and falls in love. But is it romance or thrill? Well there is no better way of controlling, subjugating, and surveilling a woman than to marry her. I was very impressed and squealing with excitement at Ayase’s fighting and stunts- she’s a true badass.

A very chilling dialog between husband and wife in the last episode.
Wife: “How long will I be watched? Until I die? I’ll have to live like I have a collar around my neck right?”
Husband: “If you behave yourself and live like an ordinary housewife, the day you can take the collar off, will come.” OUCH. This is the status of women in marriages. Treated as objects, slaves to serve the man and child.

The wife says: “There are couples who can be happy without telling each other what they really think right? But I don’t want that. Because I love you. I adore you. I want us to be honest with each other. We’ve been deceiving each other until now, so I want us to fight with all our might and make up with each other. And yet you want to put a collar around my neck? Do you not love me?” The woman, the wife is trying to break free from this torture.

Then a housewife who decided to have a short affair as a way to escape her husband who was literally being an emotional abuser and acting like slave owner, then gets blackmailed and subsequently beat up by men, while the “boss” says how boring it is. These scenes are very disturbing to see that much misogyny and it made me very sad.

It did make me happy to see Nami beat up guys in the warehouse to the legendary title samba music. But why do they approach her one by one like zombies? Anyways.. Shes a true hero. And very thrilling to watch. The last scene, the last moment was.. WTF .. a cliffhanger??

With all that said, even though I did not watch it and have no plans to, it seems like the story may have been inspired by Mr and Mrs Smith- an ode to the boring middle aged married couple that are secretly assassins. It explores the idea of a double life among all the characters very well, with a Japanese twist. I can confidently say that this series would be far more enjoyable than subjecting myself to the pompous nonsense of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

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Fascinating

I really enjoyed this episode. It’s very mysterious and has all this wonderful aesthetic. It’s beautiful to look at and interesting to watch. So this guy Chef Tonio from Italy lands in Japan and mysteriously opens up this one table restaurant with no menu. Rohan and his side kick Izumi (is that her name?) show up and they have an experience of a lifetime. Tonio studies their hands and finds the exact ailments in their body and spirit. Then he prepares just the right dish for each of them. Then they start to experience .. things. Healing things! Izumi’s eyes explode with tears as she drinks the amazingly tasty water- turns out her eyes are healing from the lack of sleep. That scene almost reminded me of Alice in Wonderland where Alice starts crying and flooding the place. Then her old cavity tooth is discarded and a new one grows in in the spot! At first it’s hard to tell if this Chef Tonio guy was an evil mastermind or just an altruistic soul trying to help people. Turns out it’s the latter. But his handsomeness and mannerisms make him seem fishy. I’m surprised Rohan didn’t do a Heaven’s Door on him, but instead joins him in a poaching exercise after Chef talks about how his partner is dying with a grapefruit size turbot in her head and needs the healing powers of the Abalone, in the same way he uses poison from other plants and animals to heal them through his cuisine. Rohan believes in him so they both go for a poaching trip and almost get poached themselves. Why Chef Tonio insists on wearing his ridiculous chef hat while on the poaching mission where they’re supposed to be invisible, is beyond me. But since he’s handsome and his Japanese and acting is decent compared to the other white foreigners in J dramas, I’ll give him a pass. So back to poaching. While they’re both getting devoured and killed by Abalones, Rohan does the most badass Heaven’s Door on an Octopus and tells it to devour the Abalones that are about to kill him and Chef Tonio. So they repay the octopus the favor and use it in their next dish (which happens to have plenty of abalone healing properties after eating so much of it).

I found this episode interesting because it’s about food but more specifically, a magical healing power behind food and the love that comes through it all. Bravo!

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