CriticalCritic

The gap in acting capabilities is really significant. Both giving different energies too, which makes some scenes a little awkward.

Seems she has some hang ups and her being a "stone top" (right now) is related to that. Like, if it was really just that then I don't think they would make it this complicated and show us that she's really going through something right now.

Thank god, because I just watched episode 3 and my girl Miwa deserves so much more.

Nah. The makeover will just delay what is already inevitable. Most of these people will remain destructive towards themselves without therapy. Full support isn't always the most empathetic thing to do, it's just a very very passive, agreeable, and feminine way to handle it. Kinda like modern feminism, it's so watered down now that everyone has to be included and a woman's choice (despite it being harmful) is automatically a feminist one.

The thing is, I do think it's good that they portray this side of things too, but it could have been more balanced. It truly was lacking nuance and towards the end it was far too agreeable towards it's subject matter.

Am I hating or criticizing an industry?

Does me being against prostitution mean that I hate prostitutes?

Does me hating beauty standards mean that it'll make me hate on women who use makeup?

No, it does not.

Things are more nuanced than individuals choices, there are a ton of societal and sociological aspects. People can do whatever they want, but that doesn't mean that they aren't influenced by systems that are harmful.

The "you see women as eternal victims" is such a bullshit strawman too. Same for the whole communism comment. Almost made me not want to reply.

I completely agree. The series had a genuinely interesting premise, but it felt so vapid in its treatment of plastic surgery and beauty standards that it ultimately seemed like the writers had very little to actually say about either. It kept hinting at a deeper critique without ever having the substance or conviction to follow through.

Especially the episodes with the woman who was addicted to plastic surgery were hard to watch. Was it supposed to make the lead seem empathetic? Because this woman needed a psychologist, not a Joker smile.

The most ridiculous part was indeed when Fumi asked Rin to fix her face and the writers deliberately blurred the line between reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. They are not the same thing! It completely bastardized Fumi's character, because no way she would actually think that. Honestly, how did this scene make it out of the writers’ room?

It was an alright watch, but it felt very surface-level and was obviously lacking in nuance. When the drama started, I was actually surprised that it seemed genuinely critical of the industry, but that quickly fell by the wayside, just like Fumi’s resolve and sense of self. She was such a wishy-washy character who really could have benefited from better writing — and by that, I mean having at least one woman on the writing team.
It really is one of the downsides of watching Japanese film/TV, because you just know that a female-led drama is rarely going to reach its full potential, especially when it tackles complex topics like plastic surgery and self-identity.
The worst example of this was the voice actress episode. What is it with Japan and always turning female friendships against each other in the worst possible ways? They’re constantly portrayed as jealous and scheming behind the scenes, and this time they even threw paid sugar-daddy sexual assault into the mix for good measure.

Fumi not making any distinction between corrective/reconstructive and cosmetic surgery when asking Rin to fix her face, and then going on to open her own clinic at the end of the drama, really tells you all you need to know about how uncritical this drama ultimately is towards the industry and harmful beauty standards. She even got that lovely feminine makeover at the end that always seems to happen to this type of character in Japanese dramas.

The character Rin was probably the biggest disappointment of the series. They could have done so much more with her, and I would have loved to see more interactions between her and her girlfriend. The writers could have really teased out a side of Rin that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise, making her feel more human and giving the character some much-needed duality.
I did like the way the relationship was written, it showed that Rin genuinely had a loving, understanding girlfriend and a home to return to, which made her feel much more human. But like I said, they could have done so much more with it, especially by fleshing out the girlfriend as a character in her own right. It would have been the perfect way to give us another side of Rin and actually make the audience truly root for her.

So yeah... great premise in terms of story and characters, but unfortunately the drama slowly started to collapse under the weight of its own poor writing and its reluctance to truly delve into the societal effects of plastic surgery and beauty standards. It constantly hints at having something deeper to say, only to back away from it when things get interesting. There was so much potential here to explore identity, femininity, the pressure to conform, and the way the beauty industry shapes how women see themselves and each other, but most of it remained frustratingly surface-level because the critique was shallow and hollow.

And speaking of plastic surgery... Naka Riisa’s performance could have been so much better without all the Botox. She looked visibly strained in some of the more emotionally demanding scenes, and for the rest of the series, her facial expressions barely changed. It made the whole thing feel unintentionally on-the-nose and, frankly, a little ironic.

"you guys are sheeps and that's why mental health issues and lookism persists"

Saying all that, only for you to say something totally contradictory at the end. Lookism and plastic surgery feed off each other and are interwoven with mental health. Majority of people who undergo plastic surgery are women and they do it because of bullshit beauty standards. How can you fight the system when you're ok with institutions that feed it?

Just watched episode 2 and the way Saeko approached and pressured Miwa about sex was an interesting writing choice. Miwa is obviously inexperienced and new to it all but instead of Seiko being more understanding, she just gets passive aggressive and gossipy with her friends. Drama only just begun and we're already getting this kind of BS.

That's true. I do not hide the fact that I am a lesbian and a radical-feminist. But I do believe that trans indentified individuals should do whatever the hell they want as long as it doesn't infringe on women's rights. I might come across as blunt and ''transphobic'' but at the end of the day I want what's best for women (and lesbians) and as long as I can fight for that I am ok. I do not wish you any ill health and sorry if I offended you, but AGP is a thing, whether or not you agree. Perhaps Blanchards terms are a little outdated and more nuaned than he wants people to believe, but i've seen more than enough evidence of it's existance.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend too.

Guess not then huh?

There are literally whole platforms online with men who indentify as such. Obviously it's not all trans-women, but let's not kid ourselves. And Contrapoints isn't exactly an intellectually honest source. Not if you know what his online content was like before the transition and online Contrapoints personality ;)

If you can't see how some of the scenes are written like borderline trauma ''porn'' and also can't see that the assault scenes are of an exploitative and titillating nature, then I don't know what to tell you.

I am not saying we need to censor everything and that such scenes cannot be shown, but the way they went about it in this film, especially with how she kept having sex with her assaulter and the innapropriate relationship with the student is a no no to me. Not to mention that the rapist gets his little redeeming moment too?

Seriously, the subject matter is just handled poorly and the plot questionable. Sensationalist garbage.

It's an AGP's dream storyline.

Hope she's not letting comments get to her. Health is the most important thing and getting too thin can jeopardize that.

Guess this was Chao Planoy's "transition piece". She used to write straight fiction before going the "GL" route do not entirely surprising. Reason why so many of her novels can be exchanged with straight characters and you wouldn't know a thing.

What is 4P about? Can't stand her writing so not going to read it and can't really find much info on it.

Right? She's a stalker.

I always question someone's mental state when they get a dozen tattoos only to remove them soon after.

"Implied this, actors said that, another excuse there, etc...."

They could have... you know... actually shown it on screen. There is too much ambiguity in Jaeyi's true feelings and after the dream Seulgi snooped on her phone and moved on straight away. Yeah, the dream caught her off-guard for like a second, but that was it.

Nobody here is "straight splaining" (though the only true physical romantic interaction on screen is between a young Jaeyi and a boy), I am just saying it's not as gay as some people like others to believe and if you look up the true definition of queerbaiting... It fits it to a tee. Especially if you compare the first half of the series to the second and that an audience could easily read whatever they have as a fucked up friendship.

Agree to disagree.