nhii

I've been meaning to watch Mare, I even downloaded it. But my mind is now too occupied with something else I can't fully enjoy anything. I was watching Massan 3 months ago but I had to drop because I couldn't feel it. I'll get to Mare later when I'm ready ^^

Director Ohku Akiko tweeted that the place in that scene (with the bench and the brick walls) is “Chiaki’s sanctuary” and “no one is allowed to enter”
https://twitter.com/akikoooku/status/1500616930805547008
I figured that would help a lot with our interpretation of the scene so I had to put it here.
She also posted some pics spam yesterday and there was a pic in which we can see Chiaki sitting in Shinobu’s work studio (and also a pic of Rihito’s feet lol)

Regarding the canned coffee scene in Ep7:

This is really off topic so I keep it in spoiler, but thank you for sending Rihito flowers! I know it's not my place to say this but I can't help feeling thankful lol.

lol that's also true, they love the ML. that was probably why the rating on douban dropped a little as soon as the story got harsh. I'm really glad you enjoy the drama. It's been so impressive every episode that it drives me insane xD

It's true. This drama has been getting rave reviews and reactions from Chinese (and Korean) fans. Its current rating on Douban is 8.2 (used to peak at 8.4, rated by +5K users) and higher than most doramas this season. Idk why the reaction for this drama in the international communities has been so dead. So far it's been excellent to me. I watch it with Japanese subs and have a lot of fun reading reviews from Chinese fans and interacting with Korean fans on twitter lol It's been wild. Probably the only drama that motivates me to overcome that many language barriers.

Lesson learned: Never trust MDL's ratings.

No I haven't.

I get chills every time I think about the fact that the first filmography credit in his 20s is Shijukara. Amazing. Can't wait to see what else he can bring in the future.

Ahhhh~~ So happy that you've finally watched Ep3 xD Yes it was amazing!!! The cast did a really great job in that episode, I was blown away starting from that Ep.

I wrote walls and walls of text for each episode in the comments (You wouldn't be able to read them all at first glance if you open the spoiler box accidentally lol). You can scroll down to a month ago to read them if you have the time.

Yeah lol That frying pan sound was giving me anxiety too. But I think that was why they kept it that way. It made us feel uneasy.

Hahaha to be exact, the only way to tick Chiaki off is using Shinobu. Mihiro was very close to pissed him off and Okano successfully did it.

Yep, I sense something about that bar lady too. I wonder what her intention with Yohei is, probably his money since Yohei brought that matter up in the divorce scene. Damn old geezer Yohei is too naive and blinded by women lol.

Exactly there's no way Chiaki would let Shinobu get away again after all that happened. And yeah, she did look so damn beautiful in that scene, those tears, those eyes uwu

Chiaki and his mom seem to have more history than we think, let's see how they're gonna deal with that later.

If I were to give Ep9 a title, it would be “Chiaki and the women in his life” lol. All those women that need him yet the only woman he needs doesn’t need him. And unlike Shinobu’s empty life, Chiaki couldn’t even catch a break for the past 5 years. He really had the patience of a saint for not getting angry at those people or casting them aside for all those years. But when Shinobu popped up, his patience immediately went “404 error: not found” lol

Okay, I’ll start from the beginning this time. When Shinobu saw Chiaki first, she couldn’t hide her happiness, it was written all over her face. Her eyes were gleaming with tears and she couldn’t help smiling. But it wasn’t the same for Chiaki. He looked like he was surprised with a dash of anger on his face. We could see through his expression that all the painful memories from that day 4 years ago when he tried to find her were all coming back to him at that moment. And when Okano stepped in, Chiaki stopped talking completely, his eyes couldn’t stop trying to read the relationship between them. And then the way both Chiaki and Shinobu looked at each other with their eyes wide open… is it just me or it really felt like he just asked her about her relationship with Okano and she replied back, all with their eyes?? Did I read it too far? Have I gone mad already or are they indeed insane??

When Chiaki was back to his apartment, as soon as he saw his manga lying around (previously taken out by Mihiro) he put it back on the shelf, and it had to be placed right in between Sasaki’s manga lmao. And there was this line that Mihiro said to him: “Chiaki, you’ve been acting strange lately”. This is a throwback to Ep4, Seira also said the exact same thing to him when she sensed something had changed in him. And now even Mihiro could sense it. This detail just proved that he wasn’t being strange at all, but more like the opposite of “strange”: Chiaki hasn’t changed one bit from the Chiaki 5 years ago. That’s just how he is when Shinobu is present in his life. And it seemed like even Seira had finally understood this part of him bc later in this ep she said “Chiaki, you haven’t changed at all”.

Back to Shinobu’s apartment where she was deep in thoughts holding the frog music box and we all know who she was thinking about this time while looking at it (definitely NOT Yuta again lol). This was an interesting detail that linked with some other scenes in this ep so I’ll get back to it later. And the height difference between Shinobu’s and Okano’s grounds was kinda extreme in this scene, causing Okano not able to see what she was doing (well, it was a part of Shinobu that he could never understand anyway). When Okano started talking about Chiaki’s next work, Shinobu immediately stood up and disapproved of his idea. If I recall correctly, this is the first time she actually disagreed with him? And it was about Chiaki lol. Even though she couldn’t even speak for herself when she wanted to change her manga theme before.

Alright, here it is. This episode they have finally addressed Chiaki’s mommy issues in his relationship with Shinobu (please don’t laugh, I’m being serious here). I thought they had dodged it, and they could have. But wow, they actually touched on it. Aside from the other clues and his background mentioned in previous episodes, in this episode it was first hinted when Shinobu was thinking about Chiaki while looking at the frog music box. And then hinted again in the scene with Chiaki and Seira right after that. If you notice, Chiaki was sitting in a frog pose while talking to Seira. Okay, I know that detail alone wouldn’t make any sense but hear me out. One minute later, it was revealed that Seira had a son. As soon as she said “Chiaki, you haven’t changed at all”, her son immediately went “Mama!”. Right, what could that imply? Then, when Seira started playing with her son, she asked her son jokingly “Where’s Kaeru-san?” and Kaeru-san literally means Mr.Frog. And right in that moment, if you look at that scene, Chiaki looked like a little frog staring at a mother and her son. Do you see it now? There’s no way they were all coincidences!?
Fast forward to the 2nd time Chiaki showed his manuscript to Okano, this time it wasn’t hinted at anymore, they explicitly addressed it. Okano brought it up. He asked Chiaki “Is this really a love story?” and deemed their relationship as “an admiration to an older woman or a kid seeking for a mother figure”. And I was like, wow… so they’re really gonna go there, huh? Interesting. I can’t wait to see how they’re gonna deal with it. Although I think they have already given us an answer by reusing a previous disclaimer at the end of this episode: “This story is fictional. However, the feeling of falling in love with an older person DOES EXIST.” Anyway, how many issues have they addressed in this drama so far? I've lost count.

Speaking of Chiaki showing his manuscript to Okano, there was an interesting contrast between their 1st meeting and the 2nd in this episode. The 1st one, they mostly used 2 camera angles: one was looking from above and the other was looking from below. I think this was to show Okano’s dominance over Chiaki? Like you can see how insecure Chiaki was here, he kept looking down and hiding his hands under the table, the camera angle from above made him look so small. Okano even lied about Shinobu agreeing with him to put pressure on Chiaki. But he didn’t know his last sentence had triggered something unimaginable inside Chiaki: “It’s been 4 years since your debut, how long are you going to smolder there? If you keep doing that, it will be one step further away from Sasaki-sensei, you know?”. Okano, you have officially stepped on a landmine. And then in their 2nd meeting, camera angles all switched to up-front. Chiaki’s attitude changed, his eyes were so determined looking straight at Okano and his hands stayed on the table. Though he still couldn’t win lol but that was some pretty good contrast and solid acting performances from both of them.

I’m trying to keep the chronological order here so let’s go back to the Watanukis’ divorce scene. If I rmb correctly, this is the 2nd time I’ve seen their apartment this bright in daylight? (The 1st time was Shinobu’s birthday morning when she got a Line message from Yuta) And is this the 1st time I’ve seen Yohei wearing such bright clothes? Also the 1st time his scene being the comedy relief of an episode? And he was actually being decent? Is this the Yohei we know? Even Shinobu herself couldn’t believe it lol. And the way he quickly ran off after that message, oh… He’s now smitten with that other lady I guess.

The other day I was saying that it's really heartbreaking just thinking about Chiaki drawing those pages in his manga, and now they were kind enough to actually put those flashbacks in Ep9 to break my heart. Thanks. It was when Shinobu just broke up with him, I guess. His apartment looked empty, most of the furniture he had were taken from his old room I think (well, the desk was new). And when he unboxed his debut manga, there was a ramen bowl on the table. All these details were trying to say he was doing his best, putting his life on the line even, to earn money properly and finish his debut manga so that he could show Shinobu that he kept his promise with her. And it took him one year. He was like a puppy running to Shinobu’s house only to find that she had gone. Oh god… :(( Those expressions on his face were exactly the same as when he was waiting for Shinobu outside the aquarium in Ep6. Hopeful then despair. Shinobu, you did that twice to him, you know that?

Okay, about Toko and Ryoko. I still think Ryoko is very suspicious. It seems to me that she wants to take things that belong to Toko? The snack bar and now Yohei? The way she casually mentioned how lovey dovey Yohei and Toko used to be felt like her trying to confirm their relationship? Idk maybe I’m reaching lol We’ll see.

I have to insert a little detail when Chiaki was doing the dishes while thinking about what Okano said, it was the lights reflected from the water, I think? They were flashing everywhere on him as his eyes got more and more intense. Those flashing lights were like his mind and his heart, they had finally started moving again after being frozen for so long. That was beautiful, I love it.

The hateful tweets towards Shinobu, I figure the WEB-DL raws could be very hard to read, so here are the rough trans of them (will delete later if the subber translates them):
- You said it was a pure love affair, but you old hag made a rag out of the young guy and threw him away.
- You’re just justifying your affair by saying it was pure love.
- I heard that you were called the queen of pure love affairs but I bet you’re doing it with him.
- Affairs are really impossible. Even the manga is disgusting.
- I can’t bear to read about some old woman’s cheating. Why is it even popular anyway?

And Mihiro. So Chiaki took her in. How kind of him, a little too kind, I’m afraid. And I feel so sorry for her. I don’t think Chiaki could be with her even if Shinobu didn’t exist. They remind each other of their pasts and their own wounds. As I suspected, Chiaki had never touched her or loved her, let alone saved her. He probably couldn’t bear to be the same as the ones that ruined her. When she said “But you know, you’re just as filthy as me, once you are touched, you can never erase it” and he just softly replied with “I know” T__T And he didn’t push her away or anything, he just simply… didn’t touch her. God, it was so sad :(( From the moment Chiaki unlocked the door, he had already decided to end things with her. He didn’t even bother to lock the door when he walked in. He kept his shoes on and stayed at the doorstep. He was determined to get out of there as soon as possible.
[Edit: I know the pan frying sound in this scene was anxiety inducing to some people and I think that was exactly the purpose of the sound, it was to show Mihiro’s anxiety. They actually did the same thing before in Ep6 when Chiaki showed his first manuscript to Shinobu at a cafe and there was a kettle boiling next to them, it was also to show Chiaki’s eagerness and anxiety to debut asap]

When Shinobu opened her door and Chiaki came barging in, I’m sorry but I have to fangirl a bit here. Omg he looked so hot askajlkfkajsh what is this?? Chiaki?? His eyes??? Poor Shinobu had to witness it first hand, my heart would explode right on the spot if I were her tbh. And she could barely keep it together, her voice was shaking as she said “I’ll be back soon” (like hell you will!!). And when she had already walked out, y’all see Chiaki’s eyes??? Glaring at Okano??!!! And you HAVE TO watch this scene with earphones, trust me! Because when Chiaki slammed that door in Okano’s face, the sound was HIDEOUS. I’ve watched that scene 3 times with earphones and it scared me in all 3. Chiaki’s jealousy was seen so clearly and heard so loud. Btw this scene reminds me of the legendary ending scene in Ep3 with Chiaki, Shinobu and Yohei. The only difference this time is that Chiaki’s glare was so much more mature now and he asked her to talk outside, no more hanging at the door which would eventually result in Shinobu going back inside anytime lol.

And it was really funny that the first thing Shinobu asked Chiaki was if Okano had read the manuscript lol So it seemed like both her and Okano were trying to avoid talking about Chiaki. The cracks have already appeared everywhere in their relationship. Anyway, back to our leads with another use of the legendary staircases with Chiaki being the one with the upper hand here (And Sayaka’s performance was absolutely breathtaking btw). This scene made a beautiful contrast with the aquarium tunnel scene in Ep6. At first, Shinobu didn’t even face Chiaki, she was trying to avoid looking at him? Or she didn’t want to face her feelings? Maybe both? Then she turned her head when he confirmed he wasn’t married. And when she faced him properly, she was saying her true feelings, finally. Then she turned around and attempted to walk away AGAIN. The last time she did this (Ep6), she disappeared for the next 5 years. So of course, he couldn’t let it happen again. And he finally confessed his feelings for her!!! No more wasting time because 5 years were enough. No more getting stuck in the past. Time had finally started moving again for both of them.
And his last line:
“もう… 黙って どっか 行ったりしないでよ…” (Don’t silently go anywhere anymore)
it was a perfect throwback to my absolute favorite line in Ep5:
“カバン… 空っぽでいいから 帰んないでよ…” (I don’t care if your suitcase is empty, just don’t go back)
Both of these lines were the closing lines of its episode, both were said by Chiaki while hugging Shinobu after one of their love confessions. Usually Chiaki uses formal speech when he’s speaking to Shinobu (still calls her “Sensei” even after 5 years) but when he actually begged for her to stay with those 2 lines, he dropped the formal speech. And he had never sounded so soft, so helpless. The Chiaki that only Shinobu knows about.

Ok, I’ll end it here. That’s why I said this episode was insane. Or more like it drives me insane. And I haven’t even started about Rihito’s acting in this episode (he was freaking amazing). Sorry, and thank you for reading.

lol if they do, I don't think they will last long as a couple. But well I guess you and I have different understanding of the movie.

Ep10 preview (30s ver): https://youtu.be/fuSuJUwKTcA
Dialogues: (rough trans)
Mihiro: I’m really a nuisance, aren’t I?
Chiaki: Where are you going?
Mihiro: Leave me alone.
Shinobu: Can Mihiro stay at my place a little longer?
Okano: So what are you going to do about your manga? You can’t just continue it like that, can you?
Toko: You’re so cute. You could’ve earned more money, like the old days (...wtf)
Chiaki: I want to read your manga, Sensei. Because I’m your fan.
Shinobu: Thank you.

Ep10 synopsis from official website: After receiving the call from Mihiro, Chiaki and Shinobu rushed back to see her. Mihiro, who was distraught at the time, had a quarrel with Chiaki. And Shinobu, who couldn’t stand seeing the relationship between them, suggested that Mihiro stay at her house. Seeing Shinobu was so happy as if she just got a daughter, Okano gradually felt uncomfortable with Shinobu. At the same time, he felt an invisible bond in the relationship between Chiaki and Shinobu, he started losing his trust and patience. And Okano decided to take some action.
(Hahaha, Okano has finally felt threatened by their bond. Sir, you were the one that brought it back to life, congratulations for successfully digging your own grave lol)

EPISODE 9: I just finished watching it on livestream. it was INSANE. I'm dead. I repeat, I'M DEAD. This episode felt like time had finally started moving again for both of our leads. And as I expected, Ep9 was all about Chiaki: his feelings, struggles, responsibilities, what he and the ones around him had been through. And it was a lot to take in just 30 minutes. I have to give the supporting cast a round of applause this time, they did a really good job here. And I did spot some similarities with Ep3, but the story was too much so my brain gave up comparing Ep9 & Ep3 half way lol. That ending was so good though (actually every episode’s ending has been amazing so far, I don’t know how they did it, they’re just so good at it).

As always, preview for Ep10 in the 1st spoiler box below, detailed comment in the 2nd box later.
(Ep10 actually seems very interesting lol)

That's true hahaha. I really can't enjoy any other drama this season as much as I want to because my mind is so obsessed with Shijukara. But I have to watch them to fill the void while waiting, I'd go crazy if I keep rewatching only Shijukara everyday lol

From what I read around, the drama has been very faithful to the manga actually, to the point that the readers keep asking "To what extent are they gonna follow the manga??? Is there enough screentime??" lol The only differences I saw they mentioned are: the original FL is more of an ordinary chubby middle-aged woman (Sayaka is too beautiful), the husband is more indifferent than irritating and some situations are more cruel in the manga.
But yeah, the drama has been excellent so far. I've never been this satisfied watching a drama before. From what I read on Director Ohku's twitter, it seems like she's doing her best in the last 3 episodes. I don't think I'm ready for what's to come T_T

Haha, I didn't mean to say Mihiro was lying about Chiaki putting sugar to his coffee, I meant she didn't know about Chiaki as much as she thought she did so there's a high chance that "we're married" was a lie. Only us know about Chiaki's secret lol xD And it's ok, you're not evil, I want to bully her too hahaha.

That bar woman actually seemed very suspicious to me. There's no way someone would feel attracted to that geezer. I wonder what her intention is hmm.

So glad to see your comment xD

Yep. The possibility of the 2 arcs being parallel just keeps getting higher the more I think about it. Because I’ve noticed a few more similarities between Ep1 & Ep7 and it seems that Ep9 is gonna put more weight on Chiaki like how Ep3 used to be. Even the way they brought up Mihiro’s past at the end of Ep8 also reminds us of Chiaki’s past at the end of Ep2 and also Shinobu’s determination in Ep2 & Ep8 as you said. If they can pull off this parallel structure cleverly and tastefully (which is not easy to do), they can take advantage of it and surprise us with some twists later I think. And I loveee to be surprised by them! Bring it on! xD

That’s right. After Yohei met Ryoko, his ego just surged back up. He even had the nerves to blame Shinobu for his cheating with Toko by saying it was because Shinobu had always been irritating and he had wished she could be more kind?? Like, wtf?? And you know what, the saddest part of it all is that I saw a lot of Japanese viewers tweeting that their husbands also say those nasty things to them everyday. I can’t believe this is reality to them, I can’t believe it T_T

Yuta really just went from being the one that needed to be protected at all cost to being the one that protects his mother at all cost. He is the real MVP in this show, honestly.

Haha I noticed they used the canned coffee BGM this ep too and was wondering why they put it there. Now that read your interpretation, yeah, that makes sense lol

And I love your take on the camera angles in Shinobu and Mihiro’s conversation, very interesting. That could be the case. Funny how only us audiences know the truth that Chiaki can drink black coffee which made us the only ones that saw through Mihiro’s lies and felt a hint of Chiaki’s actual feelings lol.

YESSS. I love their use of the ED song in this ep so much. It was perfect down to every word in the lyrics. Building up the tension and emotion so well just by one song! With the combination of the aquarium details, it just made their reunion scene all the more beautiful. Their minds are so powerful that it scares me sometimes lol

Ep9 in a few hours haha. I really can’t wait. Pretty sure there will be a lot of Chiaki to talk about xD

Yeah, usually I have to switch to Japan VPN to watch those previews.
But their official twitter just uploaded the 30s preview a few hours ago:
https://twitter.com/tx_shijukara/status/1499666456031735808
It's actually not that different from the one included in the episode, they just added Chiaki & Mihiro's dialogues ("Why did you lie?" - "Pls don't hate me!")

And lord... let's hope that won't happen lol

The English softsubs for Ep6 are available at d-addicts: https://www.d-addicts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=165999
The raws for all 8 episodes are here: https://justpaste.it/34i5f
Ep9 will be updated tonight (about 8~9 hours after this post lol)

If you enjoyed the 2003 version then don't bother with this one, since most 2003 version lovers seems to disapprove this version.
It depends a lot on which version you watch first, even if you try not to compare them. I think both version has its own good and bad sides. Personally, I didn't dislike 2017's Sumire but I did find 2003's Sumire very charming and amazing. Tbh 2003's Momo kinda kept me from enjoying that version because I found him quite annoying ^^" (no offense to MatsuJun tho)