CriticalCritic

C-rated version of The Glory indeed. First two episodes had all the cliches that you can expect from a Japanese drama of this genre and budget. Shibuya Nagisa does what she needs to as a cartoon villain. Sasaki Nozomi... Well... She's a great model!

You must lack reading comprehension, because I never said that it's a topic that should never be discussed. I was making a point about representation, which is valid.

And when someone who only has pictures of men on their MDL page uses words like ''woke'' unironically and tells us we shouldn't be up our own butts because we want better representation then yeah, I will call them out. Guess criticism can only go one way or something.

You're not even a lesbian, so why would YOU have critical thoughts and questions regarding lesbian representation?

No, seriously. It's not about ''woke'' (imagine using this word unironically), nor is there an issue with the topic of sexual assault; it's something that should be discussed (in a correct manner, of course). The question is WHY did they decide to go with this story when the Japanese GL/Lesbian drama industry is still at an infantile stage, and it could impact the way people look at homosexuality. Especially with some people thinking it's more about nurture than nature and that the home environment plays a huge part in a child's sexuality. The mother being the one who (sexually) abuses her child makes it an interesting point of critique (especially considering it's usually definitely not the mother figure who does so ;) ). The second question is, HOW are they going to portray it? Will it be done in a sensitive and educational way, AND how is it going to relate to the character's lesbianism and the way their relationship will be portrayed on screen in general? This is something we can't know yet, because there are still 6 episodes to go, but it's understandable some of us have questions and are a bit hesitant with accepting the premise.

Just as some (and you) think it's all fine, we are also allowed to have some opinions of our own. And FYI, we are not the only ones with these questions; Japanese lesbians on Twitter also have some concerns.

I'm sure we will all stand corrected if our concerns become redundant, but until then we are allowed to question and critique. There is a reason film studies exist.

I don't care if it was written and created by women, my OPINION still stands. You can repeat yourself a hundred times and I am still not changing my thoughts on episode 1. The upcoming episodes might be able to prove me wrong and then I stand corrected.

Of course, not everything has to be sunshine and rainbows; dark subject matters can be good and also should be told; it just remains the question if they can be handled with enough care and nuance, and Japanese production companies don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to that. Hence, it's understandable why some of us are a little hesitant. The fetishization of lesbian characters in Japanese media ain't no joke, and it doesn't help that certain tropes that we've seen in western media during the 70s and 80s are still alive and well in Japan (The psycho lesbian, creepy stalkers who are obsessed, fetishized schoolgirls, etc...). Like, was it really necessary to show her being a molesting perv in episode 1 and use those kinds of angles? Hypersexualization after sexual trauma is real, it's also a very complex topic. This is only episode 1, so it remains to be seen how they are going to handle this subject; the way they went about it in EP 1 made me raise some questions, though.

It being of ''great quality'' remains to be seen.

Either way, agree to disagree.

The straights (and some bisexuals) need to be stopped

''Because she has trauma''?? That's not an excuse for me, because the scene was shot in a titillating way. Also different ways it could be handled in terms of writing. Just read some spoilers and the reason why she has trauma is even more fucked up. Amazing representation!

I was having hopes that Japan might move into a new future with their GL media, but nope, same old shit (that's on me of course). If you don't mind, then good for you. Go watch it and enjoy it. But we are also allowed to criticize if we want.

Instantly got turned off by the first episode when garbage girl decided to molest Megumi in her sleep. Even if trash girl has trauma, why write that kind of thing in? Especially in the first episode. Not sure if i'll continue.

I thought they meant he as in men and I would have agreed with that too. lol

Gender and sex aren't the same thing.

Gender = masculinity and femininity
Sex = male and female

Someone who is a homosexual is sexually attracted to the same sex (and same sex only). And lesbian has always had the same meaning, it's another word for a homosexual woman. It's always been. You are the one changing the history of words here so you can be more inclusive while the term lesbian is inherently exclusive.

Being asexual and lesbian at the same time is queer theory logic that I don't subscribe to, but like I said, if it feels right to you go ahead.
Agree to disagree, because we aren't ever going to agree on this anyway, and I doubt you're a lesbian so whatever.

Homosexuality is sexual attraction to the same sex. If you're asexual, you do not have that. Hence why an argument can be made that an asexual can't be a lesbian. Opinions might differ though. If you feel like it does go hand in hand, be my guest.

Exactly. His character might be flawed, but he's extremely toxic, and the worst part is, he doesn't mind and knows exactly what he's doing. He needs to sort himself out before he ever approaches another woman again.

Thanks for answering!

Important question. Are the two lesbian characters also in the Japanese version or not?

She's only the male lead in the stage plays. Definitely a woman in the drama.

Does anyone know where I can find the soundtrack of all the instrumental tracks? All the songs from the performances are on Spotify, but can't find the rest of the soundtrack.

The stage performances were often used as a direct parallel to what was happening off the stage. It showed us the wants, desires, and even what the characters were going through at times. The last performance of Ok-yeong and Hye-rang was very heavy-handed in that regard (for example). Same for the very last performance of the drama, it was very much about Jeong-Nyeon and Yeong-Seo's rivalry and friendship, but also the immense loss that Jeong-Nyeon felt in Joo-ran's absence. After that play ended, Jeong-Nyeon didn't look as happy or content as the other characters, she was still mourning Joo-ran's loss. One could say that it represented Jeong-nyeon's true feelings for Joo-ran in the form of subtext.

So yeah, watching the ''musical scenes'' was actually quite important to the plot.

It can be all those things. Toxic codependency, egocentrism, and love. It was obvious their relationship was written with just enough subtext to appeal to a straight and gay audience. In the script Ok-yeong kissed Hye-rang goodbye, but they got rid of that.

Wouldn't say whatever they had was romantic though. Seemed Ok Gyeong had one leg out of the door at all times, but that was her character. Hye Rang was the one who was head over heels.

Both Okgyeong and Hyerang were selfish in their own respective ways. Okgyeong like a true past drug addict was always chasing highs and that makes addicts extremely selfish. Hyerang might have been smothering her, but she felt like she had to becayse Okgyeong was pulling away and showing no interest whatsoever.

I'm reading them as a couple too, but so far the whole thing seems awfully one-sided, and thus they can claim plausible deniability.