It all started with Ichika being open about her feelings but then took it back shortly after. Amane got disappointed…
Piggybacking off what you mentioned about the hotel kiss and Amane’s shoulder, I also love the fact that he leans forward so that he's looking up at Ichika rather than looking down and looming. It's so non-threatening and gives her the ability to pull back if she needs/wants to. Even at the sink in the kitchen in ep 9, he bends forward and leans up. I just love Amane so much as a character and wish more people were like him. :)
tbh I am a bit confused about his feelings, on the one hand it’s obvious that he has been interested in Ichika…
Agreed. Between Amane generally being a Kuudere character and the need to keep episodes short and concise, something got lost in the process and I can’t quite tell how and when Amane started falling. Only that he did, somewhere in ep 2 most likely. I’m sure the development of feelings was more nuanced and gradual in the manga. I wish it was translated :(
It all started with Ichika being open about her feelings but then took it back shortly after. Amane got disappointed…
Ichika wouldn’t think to give Amane hints or tips on how a relationship works for several reasons.
1. Her main experience was a 2 month long marriage. We don’t know if they had any length of courtship before that and I doubt, considering customs and the time period that it was lengthy if there wasor that she had had other dating experiences. That’s not really what anyone could consider romantic expertise. They didn’t even make it out of the honeymoon phase. Honestly, Ichika doesn’t have the experience or skills to make a marriage work (like communication for starters) any more than Amane does.
2. As you said, she is Definitely thinking mainly about saving the restaurant, but more significantly -
3. Ichika is also motivated to save the restaurant so that Amane won’t feel tied down to Kuwanoki. It was the driving point that made her quit work at the hotel and forgo further training with Tajima, as well as go against an entire lifetime of restrictions her father and society had used to bar women from the kitchen professionally. (I mean the first time she went in the ryotei kitchen she apologized to her long deceased father, so you know his expectations and perceived approval from beyond the grave still hold significant sway for Ichika.)
She said, in ep 5 I think, that she felt like the marriage had ruined his future, but that he was young and it wasn’t to late for him to chase his dreams like his college friends. From her perspective, this is a temporary arrangement.
…after Ichika asks that they not sleep together since they both like other people, I think the reason he said…
I think Amane is perfectly aware of how manipulative and materialistic his family can be, and has a value system that is separate from that thought system. He values good food and knows what constitutes good food, even if he doesn't know how to make it.
He also is really pure when it comes to matters of the heart, as Ichika notes in the train home from the Yamaguchi house in Ep 4. Of course, Amane is also not above using dirty-handed tricks and manipulation in the name of machiavellian logic if it gets him the desired results for his good intentions.
I just think Amane’s character is really well developed even if his perspective isn’t narrated through the show. He is crafty enough to undermine the Yamaguchi’s family with their own tactics, while also upending traditional social constructs, and essentially herding Ichika like a sheepdog until she realizes her full potential- all for the solid reason of reviving the ryotei and Kuwanoki name.
I’m not sure if anyone else cares about this, but it mildly bugged me since there wasnt any clear reasoning…
…after Ichika asks that they not sleep together since they both like other people, I think the reason he said that was because he came there prepared to actively tank the ryotei for a land grab for his family in Osaka. At this point, he was still on board with the initial purpose of the marriage and still identified more as a Yamaguchi. Not being intimate with his wife would add a level of distance between them and make sabotaging them a little easier emotionally.
However, I do think we are well and truly past Amane going along with that plan as we see him changing the work structure in the ryotei, bringing in new clientele, and subtly messing with his brother while playing shogi. Yukari mentions that shogi is one thing that Amane has always beaten him at, showing that Amane is a quietly skilled strategist and is most likely currently outmaneuvering his family.
In retrospect, I can’t imagine him being very emotionally tied to the Yamaguchis because his childhood sweetheart ended up married to his elder brother, his father, and older brother were perfectly willing to sell him like livestock for land, and by Amane’s admission, his parents were both very busy as he grew up. None of this is to say he doesn’t love them, but I think it's just complicated for him.
I’m not sure if anyone else cares about this, but it mildly bugged me since there wasnt any clear reasoning - In Ep 2 when Amane says that “it would be helpful” ….
Just finished the first episode. I love this type of Jdrama. The food, cinematography, and music. 🥰
The cinematograpghy itself is just poetic. Its so artisitic, that the backgrounds, framing, lighting, filters -everything- is just so pleasant on the eyes.
It's funny that the FL calls him Ayrton (Sena) and in the subs they translated as Elton lol
I somehow always thought she was calling him Ailton, and I wondered why. Elton (as in Elton John probably) actully makes more sense considering he plays piano.
1. Her main experience was a 2 month long marriage. We don’t know if they had any length of courtship before that and I doubt, considering customs and the time period that it was lengthy if there wasor that she had had other dating experiences. That’s not really what anyone could consider romantic expertise. They didn’t even make it out of the honeymoon phase. Honestly, Ichika doesn’t have the experience or skills to make a marriage work (like communication for starters) any more than Amane does.
2. As you said, she is Definitely thinking mainly about saving the restaurant, but more significantly -
3. Ichika is also motivated to save the restaurant so that Amane won’t feel tied down to Kuwanoki. It was the driving point that made her quit work at the hotel and forgo further training with Tajima, as well as go against an entire lifetime of restrictions her father and society had used to bar women from the kitchen professionally. (I mean the first time she went in the ryotei kitchen she apologized to her long deceased father, so you know his expectations and perceived approval from beyond the grave still hold significant sway for Ichika.)
She said, in ep 5 I think, that she felt like the marriage had ruined his future, but that he was young and it wasn’t to late for him to chase his dreams like his college friends. From her perspective, this is a temporary arrangement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4N49Jostis
He also is really pure when it comes to matters of the heart, as Ichika notes in the train home from the Yamaguchi house in Ep 4. Of course, Amane is also not above using dirty-handed tricks and manipulation in the name of machiavellian logic if it gets him the desired results for his good intentions.
I just think Amane’s character is really well developed even if his perspective isn’t narrated through the show. He is crafty enough to undermine the Yamaguchi’s family with their own tactics, while also upending traditional social constructs, and essentially herding Ichika like a sheepdog until she realizes her full potential- all for the solid reason of reviving the ryotei and Kuwanoki name.
However, I do think we are well and truly past Amane going along with that plan as we see him changing the work structure in the ryotei, bringing in new clientele, and subtly messing with his brother while playing shogi. Yukari mentions that shogi is one thing that Amane has always beaten him at, showing that Amane is a quietly skilled strategist and is most likely currently outmaneuvering his family.
In retrospect, I can’t imagine him being very emotionally tied to the Yamaguchis because his childhood sweetheart ended up married to his elder brother, his father, and older brother were perfectly willing to sell him like livestock for land, and by Amane’s admission, his parents were both very busy as he grew up. None of this is to say he doesn’t love them, but I think it's just complicated for him.