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This review may contain spoilers
I Should've Watched This Sooner
Were it not for those last 2 episodes, I think I'd have rated this higher.
I think if someone went into this hoping for a lot of romance, they'd be disappointed. Most of this story is spent navigating the issues the characters face to find their way to the love (and lives) they want/deserve, rather than on their romance.
Watching them navigate those issues is what made me binge the first 9 episodes. Only to be disappointed by the 3rd-act breakup scene. I say this about both romance books and romantic movies & TV shows, we don't always need the 3rd-act breakup. More often than not, like in this case, it disrupts the fantastic momentum of a story that the reader/viewer is invested in.
The Characters
👩🏻🏫Manami - I saw her jump into the sea in the 1st like 2 minutes of the show and got immediately invested. I thoroughly enjoyed her growth throughout the series. She starts very timid, passive, and clumsy — I'm still confused by why she was constantly stumbling on air — and slowly grows into a more confident version of herself. Able to make her own decisions and mistakes and own them. In the latter episodes, she rarely stumbles, so perhaps that was to signify a growth in her confidence? Or maybe I'm just reading too much into things🤔
Her personality is largely shaped by her upbringing. On one hand, her mother is passive and suffers in silence. On the other hand, her dad is a very sexist, misogynistic, and controlling father, who constantly speaks down to her mother both in private and in front of others. I hated that man.
Manami is the good girl. Never stepping a toe out of line (you know, aside from the whole stalking her ex and yeeting herself into the sea thing). She does everything right and is soft spoken, kinda like her mother. But she's clearly bursting at the seams, and the chance meeting with Kaoru slowly helps her break out of her shell.
Had Kaoru not come into her life, I think she'd have become another version of her mother — angrily chewing basil leaves at the sink whenever her overbearing husband did or said anything hurtful.
🕺🏻Kaoru - I knew he was the main lead, but I did not like him for perhaps 6 or 7 episodes. During this time, he remains very much a 'host' and doesn't show any prospects as a love interest. At least not one that Manami deserved. However, his backstory shows you how life has shaped him into the smooth-talking asshole that he is.
His dyslexia has crippled his life outside the club, and his mother is — as Kaoru calls her— a tick who's constantly sucking him dry to feed her 2nd deadbeat baby daddy. His insecurity over the fact that he can neither read nor write, coupled with the need to make money to feed the never ending blackhole that is his mother, pushes him to ignore what he and Manami could be.
Luckily, as the story progresses, Manami's steadfast belief in him and her assurance that he is not stupid help him try to see himself as more than. More than just a host with nothing else to give to the world. More than the dumb kid that everyone, including his mother, insulted and were frustared by. More than a pretty face. His character growth was beautiful to watch, especially once we started spending less time at the host club. He is truly a pure soul who wants someone to see him, value him, and be more.
Unfortunately, this is tainted by the 3rd act break-up. I know he was frustrated by the exam, but him bodily throwing Manami and her bag out of his house left a bad taste in my mouth. It reminded me too much of how Manami's father treated her mother, and that's just.... Ew.
The two also get back together at the very end of the show, without a proper conversation or anything. I'd have loved to have spent more time with them as a couple rather than those scenes of them away from each other.
🌸🌸PS. Something that made me uncomfortable(?) with Manami and Kaoru's relationship is how she reacted when teaching him. She used this baby voice and reacted like one would when teaching a baby. Like I expect that behaviour when teaching someone like Yuki, Kaoru's brother. He's a literal child, unlike Kaoru.
I understand that there's a 12-year age difference between the two, and that Kaoru was rather insecure about his inability to read. Kaouru is also a golden retriever personality who thrives under praise. However, he's an adult. The baby voice and overthe top rections when he got something right were not needed IMO. It made things weird.
🧑🏻🏫Sakura - I wish the story gave us more about his life and experience with love in Japanese society. He mentions to Manami that he's gay and that's why he has a lens into society's view of 'forbidden/taboo relationships'. This story focuses on the 'taboo' of Manami and Kaoru's relationship, which has to overcome their age-gap, social standing and financial differences, as well as the fact that Kaoru works as a host. However, I wish we had gotten a mini side story or something about him.
👴🏻Manami's father - He got a sort of redemption arc. I didn't think he deserved one. That's all I have to say about that
🪴Manami's mother - When she smacked her husband with a ladle on the back of his head, I stood and clapped. I'm happy that she eventually got a life outside the house (coz of the new job). I'm sad that she never went through with the divorce.
💼Kawahara - The story tells us that he eventually fell for her, and that's why he let her go. I, unfortunately, did not see this love they tried telling us about. When exactly did this love bloom? In the middle of all the stalking and the telling on her to her father? Let's not forget that he only wanted her because of who her dad was and what the union could do for his career. Plus, the cheating in the beginning. The man was literally planning to keep his side chick after the two were married! I just....🤦🏾♀️
🏫The School - I was flabbergasted by how this school was run. Maybe it's a difference between Japan and my country, but...
1. How is it a teacher's responsibility to go fetch a girl from the red light district? Isn't that the parents' job? Or at least people in the parents' direct employ? Like a domestic worker or a driver, perhaps?
2. When that one girl made Manami fall and hurt her head, and then everyone laughed, I was just...*mouth to the floor*. They would have murdered us if we ever did that. Maybe not the school, but a combination of the school and parents. We don't act like that where I'm from
3. Why does a school dictate a teacher's love life? I think, unless the situation directly affects the running of classes or the school in general, I've never heard of principals or parents telling a teacher who they can or cannot date or interact with. And I say this as someone who went to an all-girls Catholic high school where we had mass EVERY Thursday.
4. I also fail to understand the need to call Manami back to the school—after they forced her to resign—, only to have the girls insult her
All in all, I think it was a rather well-paced story that unfortunately faltered in the end. I am a fan of noona dramas, so this was a delight to watch. Despite the few issues pointed out, I enjoyed the progression of the story, the characters, and the relationship between Manami and Kaoru. It was a nice slow burn that tackles societal issues that many age-gap romances face
I think if someone went into this hoping for a lot of romance, they'd be disappointed. Most of this story is spent navigating the issues the characters face to find their way to the love (and lives) they want/deserve, rather than on their romance.
Watching them navigate those issues is what made me binge the first 9 episodes. Only to be disappointed by the 3rd-act breakup scene. I say this about both romance books and romantic movies & TV shows, we don't always need the 3rd-act breakup. More often than not, like in this case, it disrupts the fantastic momentum of a story that the reader/viewer is invested in.
The Characters
👩🏻🏫Manami - I saw her jump into the sea in the 1st like 2 minutes of the show and got immediately invested. I thoroughly enjoyed her growth throughout the series. She starts very timid, passive, and clumsy — I'm still confused by why she was constantly stumbling on air — and slowly grows into a more confident version of herself. Able to make her own decisions and mistakes and own them. In the latter episodes, she rarely stumbles, so perhaps that was to signify a growth in her confidence? Or maybe I'm just reading too much into things🤔
Her personality is largely shaped by her upbringing. On one hand, her mother is passive and suffers in silence. On the other hand, her dad is a very sexist, misogynistic, and controlling father, who constantly speaks down to her mother both in private and in front of others. I hated that man.
Manami is the good girl. Never stepping a toe out of line (you know, aside from the whole stalking her ex and yeeting herself into the sea thing). She does everything right and is soft spoken, kinda like her mother. But she's clearly bursting at the seams, and the chance meeting with Kaoru slowly helps her break out of her shell.
Had Kaoru not come into her life, I think she'd have become another version of her mother — angrily chewing basil leaves at the sink whenever her overbearing husband did or said anything hurtful.
🕺🏻Kaoru - I knew he was the main lead, but I did not like him for perhaps 6 or 7 episodes. During this time, he remains very much a 'host' and doesn't show any prospects as a love interest. At least not one that Manami deserved. However, his backstory shows you how life has shaped him into the smooth-talking asshole that he is.
His dyslexia has crippled his life outside the club, and his mother is — as Kaoru calls her— a tick who's constantly sucking him dry to feed her 2nd deadbeat baby daddy. His insecurity over the fact that he can neither read nor write, coupled with the need to make money to feed the never ending blackhole that is his mother, pushes him to ignore what he and Manami could be.
Luckily, as the story progresses, Manami's steadfast belief in him and her assurance that he is not stupid help him try to see himself as more than. More than just a host with nothing else to give to the world. More than the dumb kid that everyone, including his mother, insulted and were frustared by. More than a pretty face. His character growth was beautiful to watch, especially once we started spending less time at the host club. He is truly a pure soul who wants someone to see him, value him, and be more.
Unfortunately, this is tainted by the 3rd act break-up. I know he was frustrated by the exam, but him bodily throwing Manami and her bag out of his house left a bad taste in my mouth. It reminded me too much of how Manami's father treated her mother, and that's just.... Ew.
The two also get back together at the very end of the show, without a proper conversation or anything. I'd have loved to have spent more time with them as a couple rather than those scenes of them away from each other.
🌸🌸PS. Something that made me uncomfortable(?) with Manami and Kaoru's relationship is how she reacted when teaching him. She used this baby voice and reacted like one would when teaching a baby. Like I expect that behaviour when teaching someone like Yuki, Kaoru's brother. He's a literal child, unlike Kaoru.
I understand that there's a 12-year age difference between the two, and that Kaoru was rather insecure about his inability to read. Kaouru is also a golden retriever personality who thrives under praise. However, he's an adult. The baby voice and overthe top rections when he got something right were not needed IMO. It made things weird.
🧑🏻🏫Sakura - I wish the story gave us more about his life and experience with love in Japanese society. He mentions to Manami that he's gay and that's why he has a lens into society's view of 'forbidden/taboo relationships'. This story focuses on the 'taboo' of Manami and Kaoru's relationship, which has to overcome their age-gap, social standing and financial differences, as well as the fact that Kaoru works as a host. However, I wish we had gotten a mini side story or something about him.
👴🏻Manami's father - He got a sort of redemption arc. I didn't think he deserved one. That's all I have to say about that
🪴Manami's mother - When she smacked her husband with a ladle on the back of his head, I stood and clapped. I'm happy that she eventually got a life outside the house (coz of the new job). I'm sad that she never went through with the divorce.
💼Kawahara - The story tells us that he eventually fell for her, and that's why he let her go. I, unfortunately, did not see this love they tried telling us about. When exactly did this love bloom? In the middle of all the stalking and the telling on her to her father? Let's not forget that he only wanted her because of who her dad was and what the union could do for his career. Plus, the cheating in the beginning. The man was literally planning to keep his side chick after the two were married! I just....🤦🏾♀️
🏫The School - I was flabbergasted by how this school was run. Maybe it's a difference between Japan and my country, but...
1. How is it a teacher's responsibility to go fetch a girl from the red light district? Isn't that the parents' job? Or at least people in the parents' direct employ? Like a domestic worker or a driver, perhaps?
2. When that one girl made Manami fall and hurt her head, and then everyone laughed, I was just...*mouth to the floor*. They would have murdered us if we ever did that. Maybe not the school, but a combination of the school and parents. We don't act like that where I'm from
3. Why does a school dictate a teacher's love life? I think, unless the situation directly affects the running of classes or the school in general, I've never heard of principals or parents telling a teacher who they can or cannot date or interact with. And I say this as someone who went to an all-girls Catholic high school where we had mass EVERY Thursday.
4. I also fail to understand the need to call Manami back to the school—after they forced her to resign—, only to have the girls insult her
All in all, I think it was a rather well-paced story that unfortunately faltered in the end. I am a fan of noona dramas, so this was a delight to watch. Despite the few issues pointed out, I enjoyed the progression of the story, the characters, and the relationship between Manami and Kaoru. It was a nice slow burn that tackles societal issues that many age-gap romances face
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