This review may contain spoilers
Passsion... for photography, not much else!
I don't understand why some Japanese boys' love series have the main characters dealing with big adult topics like starting a serious relationship with someone and moving in together, but still has those characters unable to adequately manage even the most basic physical displays of affection. It might be cute in high school, it's not cute after that. I know that touching people isn't done as casually in Japanese culture as it is in many others, but this situation is absurd: Two adult men have been best friends for 10 years, have already confessed that they like each other as more than friends, and yet they can't kiss each other properly or even go in for a hug without it being awkward.
Yes, Wataru in the final episode struggles with being too shy to hug Minato, his best friend of a decade (and now his life partner that he's planning to move in with). Yet, given their history, their age, their mutual affection and how they are both very gentle people, Minato and Wataru should be exceptionally comfortable with each other. Indeed, the show goes to great lengths to show us how very comfortable they are with each other if they're eating, hanging out, laughing, or taking photographs... but then it falls apart in every moment that could be considered romantic. Where exactly are those feelings? The problem seems to be that Wataru is afraid to lose their friendship, but then it seems that the friendship must be more important to him than the romance. and thus it no longer feels like they should be boyfrends.
So, this is a romance story between the two most reserved people I've ever seen in a show (yes, even for a Japanese show). In a new romantic relationship, people are usually eager to show affection. That is why the first stages of a relationship are known to be the most passionate. In a situation where two friends have secretly wanted each other for years, I would think that they would already be comfortable enough with each other to simply find joy in their mutual affection. Maybe Wataru needs therapy for his inhibitive fear and anxiety?
Or maybe Minato needs treatment for his narcolepsy: He asked Wataru if they could finally kiss (something like "can we do what we couldn't do before?" as though he had been craving it for years), and then they pressed their lips together for the least passionate first kiss I've ever seen in my whole life - like, less of a kiss than I give to my cats every morning - and then he simply rolled over and fell asleep. I was in disbelief. How does a scene like that show us the longing of forbidden desire, of so many years of repressed love? Seriously? That was their moment to come together? Well, it was definitely the moment I knew this show would ultimately fail to deliver. Given the scenario of best friends becoming lovers, I expected there to be longing. There is none of that, only stalling.
The pacing: It is slow and often repetitive, with many contrived and overly sweet scenarios that are so often predictable, like in the final episode where Wataru's mother tells Minato about the "truth hotline" to get Wataru to speak more openly, and we can predict instantly that Minato will then use it to get Wataru to open up (and it's weird that it still works on him becuase he isn't a kid anymore). Or the scene where Minato and Wataru are about to text each other photos of the same thing, but then both change their minds and delete the photos, and it turns out they're walking past each other, and then they text each other the exact same message at the exact same second. Always cute to the point of being corny.
It's clear that Minato and Wataru love photography. The intention was to show us that Minato's love for photography was an extension of his love for Wataru (as we saw in not one but two rather cloying scenes showing the "taking photos of the one I love every day for the rest of my life" scenario with Minato's grandparents). However, neither Minato nor Wataru ever seemed to show nearly as much passion for each other as they did for their chosen art form. It felt like a wasted effort.
Still, there was nothing egregiously bad about this show. What it got right: It was pretty. Staging and cinematography and style were good. The music was not bad. Also, I think the actors were capable, even if their characters were so limited. I almost regret giving it a rating of 6, but it failed to deliver the substance of a good romance. I do not understand how the writers and directors thought it was a good idea to make a romance that's as tepid as possible.
Yes, Wataru in the final episode struggles with being too shy to hug Minato, his best friend of a decade (and now his life partner that he's planning to move in with). Yet, given their history, their age, their mutual affection and how they are both very gentle people, Minato and Wataru should be exceptionally comfortable with each other. Indeed, the show goes to great lengths to show us how very comfortable they are with each other if they're eating, hanging out, laughing, or taking photographs... but then it falls apart in every moment that could be considered romantic. Where exactly are those feelings? The problem seems to be that Wataru is afraid to lose their friendship, but then it seems that the friendship must be more important to him than the romance. and thus it no longer feels like they should be boyfrends.
So, this is a romance story between the two most reserved people I've ever seen in a show (yes, even for a Japanese show). In a new romantic relationship, people are usually eager to show affection. That is why the first stages of a relationship are known to be the most passionate. In a situation where two friends have secretly wanted each other for years, I would think that they would already be comfortable enough with each other to simply find joy in their mutual affection. Maybe Wataru needs therapy for his inhibitive fear and anxiety?
Or maybe Minato needs treatment for his narcolepsy: He asked Wataru if they could finally kiss (something like "can we do what we couldn't do before?" as though he had been craving it for years), and then they pressed their lips together for the least passionate first kiss I've ever seen in my whole life - like, less of a kiss than I give to my cats every morning - and then he simply rolled over and fell asleep. I was in disbelief. How does a scene like that show us the longing of forbidden desire, of so many years of repressed love? Seriously? That was their moment to come together? Well, it was definitely the moment I knew this show would ultimately fail to deliver. Given the scenario of best friends becoming lovers, I expected there to be longing. There is none of that, only stalling.
The pacing: It is slow and often repetitive, with many contrived and overly sweet scenarios that are so often predictable, like in the final episode where Wataru's mother tells Minato about the "truth hotline" to get Wataru to speak more openly, and we can predict instantly that Minato will then use it to get Wataru to open up (and it's weird that it still works on him becuase he isn't a kid anymore). Or the scene where Minato and Wataru are about to text each other photos of the same thing, but then both change their minds and delete the photos, and it turns out they're walking past each other, and then they text each other the exact same message at the exact same second. Always cute to the point of being corny.
It's clear that Minato and Wataru love photography. The intention was to show us that Minato's love for photography was an extension of his love for Wataru (as we saw in not one but two rather cloying scenes showing the "taking photos of the one I love every day for the rest of my life" scenario with Minato's grandparents). However, neither Minato nor Wataru ever seemed to show nearly as much passion for each other as they did for their chosen art form. It felt like a wasted effort.
Still, there was nothing egregiously bad about this show. What it got right: It was pretty. Staging and cinematography and style were good. The music was not bad. Also, I think the actors were capable, even if their characters were so limited. I almost regret giving it a rating of 6, but it failed to deliver the substance of a good romance. I do not understand how the writers and directors thought it was a good idea to make a romance that's as tepid as possible.
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