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Engsubs for Ep6 is now up on d-addicts. You can go watch it now.

Hehe, thanks. Glad to know you’re enjoying this drama xD There were actually other details that I noticed but they’re trivial so I didn’t mention them.

I wanted to give Shinobu a big hug too. At the beginning of the episode, I was kinda disappointed in her because she gave in and cheated with Okano, but I guess she had finally reached her limit (and she still thought about Chiaki even when she was doing it with Okano lol) so my disappointment didn’t last very long. And when she stood up for herself in front of Yohei, it really hit me how hard it had been for her in those 20 years. Her love for Yuta is honestly so strong, it was the sole reason that kept her going till this day. It almost felt like she had to trade 20 years of her life in bitterness for a wonderful son like Yuta, it might have been worth it but it was still so sad because she could have had both Yuta AND a happy marriage. Otsukaresama, Shinobu.

Yeah, it looked like Yuta had been working part-time till late night even though Shinobu texted him that she would give him allowances. Seemed like he was trying to be as independent as possible to unload Shinobu’s burden. So I believe he understood how hard it had been for Shinobu and truly wished that she could be happy. The divorce would pain him but I think he saw it coming and was ready for it. *sigh* He’s amazing.

Oh… I haven’t thought about what Chiaki could draw in his next manga lol. Wow hahaha, now that you mentioned it, I wonder to what extent he’s gonna tell his story. Oh that’s interesting. I’m also intrigued now. All that denial about the male lead’s model and the “I just wanted to draw romance” from Shinobu, she really made her memory with Chiaki seem like it was only for manga material. I can’t wait for Chiaki to speak up his side of the story, it’s about time Shinobu has to face it lol Go, Chiaki, go!

And yeah, I think Okano will realize soon enough, he seemed to have very good intuition. I look forward to hearing his thoughts about Chiaki’s new manga as well hahaha. Ep9 has already seemed so fun. And I agreed, a week feels so long xD

I wonder if they’re making a parallel (?) between the 1st arc and the 2nd because Ep8 also made a lot of callbacks to Ep2. And it’s so fun looking for those details. The first time I saw Chiaki and Shinobu walk on that overpass, I was so damn excited and then 30s later they had me screaming at my screen. I can’t believe they really did that to my heart… They were like 2 parallel lines that couldn’t meet each other at the present because they were both looking at their past memory. And that memory was no other than the “chin-anago”, a throwback to Ep2 when Shinobu looked at the photo on her phone and said “They were all looking in the same direction”, little did we know back then, it was a foreshadow for Ep8!!! They really were… looking in the same direction, just like the chin-anagos on the screen :((

Then the 2nd time they were both on that overpass, a link that connected their parallel lives was revealed and it was Okano. If it wasn’t for Okano also being on that bridge and calling out for Shinobu, Chiaki and Shinobu probably would’ve missed each other again because their minds were so deep in their past they didn’t notice anything else. Their reunion scene was interrupted by Mihiro’s dark past and the theme song stopped. Then they cut back to the overpass again with the song resumed at the chorus. All the metaphors and foreshadows about their current lives and relationships were all poured into those 2 scenes on the overpass, I’ll leave it to your interpretation. And of course, I have to mention the aquarium on the screen. Whose idea was this? I just want to give them a hug. That was beautiful. This was the 3rd time they used the aquarium in this kind of shot: Ep2 marked the beginning of their relationship, Ep6 was the end and now Ep8 was a new beginning. And every time the frame gets bigger and the distance between Shinobu and Chiaki gets wider. What are we going to do if they do this again in the last episode? T_T

Speaking of Mihiro’s dark past (the lighting in this scene was amazing btw), it was… interesting. She reverted back to her younger self right when her trauma was triggered, deja vu. So Chiaki’s manga was a safe place to hide from her reality, just like how Chiaki used to hide in Shinobu’s manga before. Chiaki said in Ep2 that he wanted to make a manga that can save people, so Mihiro’s situation might have touched a soft spot in him and he probably saw himself in her. But my question is, can Chiaki really save her like how Shinobu saved him 5 years ago? Can he free her from her past?

Mihiro’s meeting with Shinobu was also interesting lol. When the camera focused on Mihiro’s eyes, it felt like Shinobu was trying to read her like how she used to read through Seira’s feelings but this time it seemed like Shinobu couldn’t see anything. Well, at least Shinobu could show her faith in Chiaki’s talent (A++ for their mutual faith in each other’s talent). But as soon as she heard the word “married”, she lost her composure, her hands started shaking, the camera focused on Mihiro’s mouth instead and the sound went muted. Shinobu’s judgment was clouded and she unconsciously believed in Mihiro’s words. And as for Mihiro, she ordered 2 coffees (so she knew about it) and she didn’t even drink it but she went on and on about how Chiaki adds sugar to his coffee, probably trying to spite Shinobu or something lol. Does she really not know he can drink black coffee? Or she knows but she was lying? Maybe Chiaki only drinks black coffee when he’s alone so Mihiro doesn’t know? Anyway, I don’t hate her, not in this episode, but I don’t like that she deliberately provoked Chiaki when she showed him Shinobu’s autograph.
Also, Mihiro was using her phone when she DMed Shinobu via Chiaki’s tweeter account. How did she get into his account?? Chiaki, don’t share your password to others like that, you hear me! And what kind of married couple that only has a single bed in their apartment? lol

Speaking of Chiaki, his presence was so strong that I didn’t even realize he only had a few lines in this ep until I was on my 3rd rewatch. (In Ep7, he only had a few minutes of screentime but he was actually everywhere in that episode) In Ep8, it was mostly his eyes that did the talking again. He looked so sad when he was reading Shinobu’s interview and when he looked up, you could see that his eyes were swallowing back the tears. Back then he said that he wanted to hurry up and be successful so that he could be with her. But he got stuck after his debut and had to live on his part-time job. Imagine how he felt every time he read the news about Shinobu getting more and more successful but couldn’t bring himself to meet her no matter how much he wanted to, for 5 years. And now he saw that Shinobu said “I just wanted to draw romance” when she was asked about Hatsukoi Once More. Can you imagine the pain he must have felt…? And his eyes when Mihiro showed him Shinobu’s autograph?? I can’t even describe them anymore, just amazing.

And Shinobu, our Shinobu. Finally moving forward. The scene with her and Yohei was so well acted, it gave me so many emotions. Even with their roles reversed, he still looked down on her through and through, and he even tried to throw things at her, like wtf?? We rarely get to hear Shinobu’s inner thoughts, either as monologues or as dialogues (she usually borrowed dialogues from her manga to express her feelings for Chiaki to us audience). But for this scene, her thoughts were pouring all out, as both monologues and dialogues. When she finally started speaking up, the way she was centered in the frame, camera slowly and firmly zoomed into her, she was so determined. In contrast to how Yohei kept moving around in his frame, the camera was hand-held and shaky, his mouth couldn’t stop bickering. She’d had enough, for the past 20 years. She was even willing to be the one who apologizes first. She bursted into tears when she thought about the 20 years of her life that she could never take back and she couldn’t stop crying even after leaving that apartment. The road was empty and she had never looked so small and lonely, it was heartbreaking :((
Gotta say the most rewarding sight after all this was Yohei crying in the kitchen all by himself.

Last but not least, shout out to the most likable characters in this drama: Yuta, Mari and Araki (Shinobu’s editor). They were amazing. I love them. I love them. I love them.

Lol seems like my comment just keep getting longer by each episode, sorry.

Update: I just noticed the scene where Shinobu asked Yohei for a divorce, there was a can of beer placed right on the edge of the kitchen counter. This was also a callback to a detail in Ep2 which I mentioned in my review for that episode: Shinobu’s coffee mug being placed on the edge of the table, which was a foreshadow for Shinobu falling for Chiaki 10 minutes later. As for the beer, I’m sure at this point we all know it stands for Yohei so this detail in Ep8 was a foreshadow for Yohei falling to his rock bottom or maybe falling for something else later? We’ll see. It was just a trivial detail, but I really liked it so I had to point it out. Because ain’t no way he just randomly put a can of beer like that in the middle of their argument, it had to be intentional!!! lol

Ep9 preview (30s ver): https://youtu.be/EkpHxCKB9kY
Dialogues (rough trans)
Okano: I just want to confirm one thing, is this a love story?
Shinobu: He drew while carving out his wounds, it’s not that easy to draw it.
Okano: As expected, manga artists can understand each other so well, huh?
Chiaki: Why did you lie?
Mihiro: Please don’t hate me… (She was crying I can’t hear the latter part lol)
Chiaki: What was I to you back then?
(Damn, Chiaki and Shinobu were standing on a staircase again…)

Ep9 synopsis from official website: Shinobu and Chiaki met again after 5 years when Chiaki saw Shinobu being intimate with Okano. Chiaki got worried about Shinobu while his life was overwhelmed by Mihiro who was living with him and his mother who he had to keep an eye on. However, when he learned that Shinobu had started dating Okano, he began to convey his strong feelings for Shinobu through his manga once again. But Shinobu didn’t accept it… What’s Shinobu’s true feelings?

Before I start going on about the new episode, I just want to say a few things. I watch this drama with jp subs so I’m a few episodes ahead of the current engsubs. But my homies and I have written in-depth reviews, detailed break-downs and discussions for every episode separately in the spoiler boxes below. So if you’re watching this drama and enjoy it, you’re welcome to join and contribute to our previous discussions anytime. If you don’t want spoilers, just go straight to the review of the ep you’re currently at. Of course, reading and lurking are ok too if you don’t want to discuss ^^

EPISODE 8: This episode was so good, I didn’t expect it to be this good because there was a change of director again. I LOVE how they used the ending theme song differently this time, it helped build up the tension so well and the climax was amazing, they knew exactly what we’d been waiting for, they kept us on edge and then delivered it perfectly yet still left something for us to yearn for. I had my head in my hands for almost the entire 30 minutes, and I screamed twice lol. Just when I thought I couldn’t be more impressed with their acting, they stepped up to another level and even introduced another potential performance to look forward to. So far the story hasn’t disappointed me and I trust them to make the new characters add up to the storyline properly, not just use them like a tool to deepen the leads’ miseries. Hopefully.

As usual, Ep9 preview in the first spoiler box below and detailed comment in the 2nd box.

Yeah, Chiaki was forced in his manga, the woman said something like "Your face is so pretty" and "Don't be afraid". It's really heartbreaking just thinking about him drawing these pages. I wonder if we'll get to see Shinobu's reaction when she read the whole manga.

And yesssss. I was screaming the same thing at Seira when I watched Ep4! That was so horrible of her, why would she do that to him, it was so fucked up :(( And then the next day when she visited Chiaki, she didn't even apologize to him, only asked if he was okay, like??? Girl, that was not okay, wtf makes you think that was okay??? It felt like somewhere in her mind she was still looking down on him. It was so right of Chiaki to end things with her because obviously they both will never be able to cherish each other.

The more I think about Seira, the more I'm curious about Mihiro lol I actually can't wait to see if Mihiro is really different from the women Chiaki has been with and what she's gonna do with Shinobu's existence lol. The actress who played her seems to be a pretty good actress, so I kinda expect to see some crazy situation from her, should be fun xD

Less than 24 hours until Ep8~ Let's go!

I didn't know how much I needed to see Eguchi Noriko in a horror thriller movie until I saw this one.

Fun movie. A bunch of food porn. Definitely watch if you enjoy the little things.

I know nothing about Shogi but the tension, passion and acting kept me interested until the end. The ending was unexpectedly cute and heartwarming. Both leads did a very good job. I'm actually really impressed with Wakaba Ryuya here, his role didn't talk much but his eyes said a lot. Asakawa seemed so lonely that it was kinda sad to watch him . 8/10

This is kinda random but I've found the canned coffee BGM in Ep6-7: https://youtu.be/3GX8RxGoirc
It suits the drama so much I really thought it was an original soundtrack lol

The subs for Ep5 is up on d-addicts, you can go watch it now.

Take your time xD I actually skipped 50% of the dialogues between Shinobu and Okano lol I didn't care much about their past.

Kyaa~ I was very happy when I open your spoiler box and saw the comment xD

I've been thinking a lot about this ep after I made my previous lengthy comment below and it just hit me that Ep7 was where the story actually started: Beginning at 40. 5 years ago when Yohei collapsed and the situation started to turn completely around, Shinobu finally got the chance to start her life again at 40 with her job as a mangaka. And now at 45, she gained fame and success but without the loved ones in her life, she has lost her purpose and inspiration. I'm not so sure about whether she was rather flirtatious in the past but I agreed with you about Yuta was the reason that made her grounded when she was with Chiaki. The dissatisfaction in her life and her career was so unbearable that she had to reach out to the most convenient one that came into the picture and that was Okano, her new editor also her ex-boyfriend. So as I see it, the whole flirty thing she did to Okano was like a way to find some thrills in her life (and somewhat because she missed Chiaki). Also when she suggested to Okano that she wanted to draw something different, she was hoping that he would understand and support her, didn't expect that he would be so indifferent (he's just like any editor out there, only cares if the manga has the potential to sell and he only asked Shinobu to join his magazine because she's the queen of pure love affairs)
This is kinda off the track but I just can't help but making a little comparison: If the one Shinobu had reached out to was Chiaki, I'm sure he would have believed in her and supported her to go with something new and original. We all know that he would.

Ah, the flashbacks... Yes, they were so sad. I have to say the one she had when she saw the rain was one of my favorites in this ep. The way the camera slowly creeping up at the back of her head, the music faded and stopped for 5 seconds and then Chiaki popped up, music resumed. It was actually an unseen footage of Chiaki filmed from Shinobu's point of view, and he looked... so hot. Omg T_T I stopped breathing for 3 seconds. That was so sad but so... exquisite. I can't imagine how hard it have been for Shinobu to live with flashbacks like that everyday for the past 5 years, I wouldn't last a day tbh.

Yeah, I don't really mind seeing karma do its job on Yohei but not when he dragged Shinobu down with him. When he said "It's a great happiness when you get to come home to a delicious dinner" and I was like "Wtf is he saying does he even remember who he was 5 years ago???" lol Even with the roles reversed, his moral harassment still continues. I noticed Shinobu had her own bed in the living room and Yohei got the bedroom. Also when Shinobu came home on her birthday and Yohei ambushed her, her body language told me that she had always been scared of him (her hands were in defense mode). I have a feeling that things are kinda serious, I know he can't do it anymore but if he had the habit of attacking her like that, it must have been terrifying for her.

Well, previously in Ep6 when the camera panned up from the canned coffee, there wasn't only just the sky but also Shinobu right there in that window lol And now it was just brick walls all over. So yeah, I would go as far as interpreting that scene as his life is dull without a certain someone hahaha. And the coffee seemed to be an emotional support in his daily life.

Also, I kinda want to talk a bit about the new girl again. When she first showed up in this ep, we saw her reading Chiaki's manga (as I said it's to tell that she accepts him) and then she looked up at the clock and the manga on the shelf with an uneasy expression on her face. I'm sure anyone can tell that she likes him but it also seemed like she had doubts about his feelings? Like worrying why he came home so late and being aware of the existence of those manga on his shelf. And I can't help but wondering hmm... Chiaki, are you REALLY able to love a person properly now? lol Also the aquarium scene in Ep6, he did said "Even so, I will wait" to Shinobu so... Or maybe it's just me desperately trying to prove that girl is lying in Ep8 lol

Yes... It's been 6 years and Chiaki is still there ready to pop up in her mind anytime. And her inspiration has started running out slowly ever since he's gone. It's really so sad.

Well, to be honest, Yohei did change. He remembered Shinobu's birthday and even planned to celebrate it with her even though she had already said she would be home late. But that's exactly what made his possessiveness even worse than before. Even with the roles changed, he's just so pathetic.

That's right. Chiaki's mood definitely changed there. I also noticed they used the airplane sound fx right before he drank the coffee in Ep7, which I'm sure we all remember how they used that sound fx to express his anger and anxiety before in Ep3. The coffee has become a part of his daily life I assume. And I also noticed him wearing shoes properly hahaha, that was actually the detail I looked forward to seeing the most in Ep7 xD

Yeah, the new girl was ok in Ep7 but in the preview for Ep8 she's just giving red flags everywhere lol

I tried to sort my thoughts out but my words jumbled everywhere. Sorry T_T

First of all, I love how the entire Ep7 was built on the same structure with Ep1: from the beginning at Shinobu’s studio to the near end with her “I turned 46 year old today”; giving us a quick look to the Watanuki’s current situation through their conversation at the dining table (where Shinobu and Yohei have changed their seat positions); introducing the new character Okano the same way with how they did Chiaki before; Shinobu flirting with Okano in the exact same way with how Chiaki did with her (with the touchy legs and deliberately getting herself wet in rain) etc. All these similarities not only marked a new beginning for the story but also emphasized the contrast with Shinobu’s life from 5-6 years ago. It almost felt like I was watching a parallel universe (Even Chiaki is a proper member of society now lol). But even with her world completely changed, Shinobu’s still stuck in the same place, or even in a deeper mess, and there hasn’t been a day that she hasn’t missed Yuta and Chiaki, it’s so sad. Just look at how happy she was when Yuta sent her a Line message :(

Secondly, damn old geezer Yohei’s still alive and kicking. I really thought he would be unconscious somewhere in the hospital but he wasn’t. His possessiveness over Shinobu just gets worse and worse. It’s even harder to get a divorce now. That little medical bottle on their table seemed to be nitroglycerin spray, it turned out he has coronary heart disease which causes episodes of angina? So he can’t either work or do heavy activities and has to stay home, living on Shinobu’s income, how ironic. And you can tell that she’s staying with him out of pity. Even Yuta had to move out and work part time to unload her burden.

I have to throw back real quick to Ep3, there was a contrast between Fujiwara Tomori - the mangaka who followed Shinobu’s Pancakes in Hell, divorced her cheating husband, became a successful mangaka, and Hakase - Shinobu’s friend who also divorced her cheating husband but was struggling to make a living, even saying “Marriage was the best security in life”. These 2 characters were like the 2 opposite sides of the divorce matter that somewhat affected Shinobu’s decisiveness back then. But now 5 years later, after all that hard work and partly thanks to Shinobu’s manga, things are going well even for Hakase. The whole thing with Yohei might have been the “two steps back” for Shinobu, but Hakase can be one of the reasons that will motivate Shinobu to take another step forward with her divorce.

And, Chiaki. Omg Chiaki T___T Wow. His subtle entrance at the beginning… what a way to make people (me) scream with just 5 seconds. His screen time wasn’t much in this episode but the impact he left was huge. And he’s actually working at the restaurant where Shinobu and Mari were having lunch??? Also yesss, our beloved canned coffee was back with another scene. It’s just a canned coffee, Chiaki, why didn’t you drink it at work or at home? Why did you have to drink it somewhere alone all by yourself, on a certain someone's birthday? Yeah… that was definitely NOT implying anything at all. And damn, he indeed looks so mature now what is this magic? Especially the scene where he came home to that girl, no trace of Chiaki the sloppy kid was found??? Amazing… Is this what black coffee does to a person? lol

Also, let me talk a bit about that girl Mihiro lol. She was reading his essay manga so we can assume that she knows about his past and accepts him. That classical music and the way she looked at him, oh she’s down bad for him, isn’t she lmao. Aside from Yuta and Shinobu’s editor, I have doubts about every adult in this drama so of course this girl and Okano are no exception.
[Side note: the classical music at the end was the same with the bgm when Shinobu and Mari were at the restaurant at the beginning, I wonder if they want to make this music Chiaki’s theme or something lol EDIT: just saw Ohku Akiko’s tweet, she said this episode featured Magic Flute music and Chiaki is Papageno, so yeah i guess it’s really his theme hahaha]

Last but not least, probably the best detail in this episode: they both keep each other’s manga on their bookshelves :((

Ep8 preview (30 secs ver): https://youtu.be/FPHBMKEnkVk
Dialogues rough trans:
- Shinobu: Infidelity is really foolish, right?
- Mihiro: We're married, me and Chiaki.
- Shinobu: Yohei, you had always treated me like a fool, huh?
- Yohei: I'll kill myself (with chopsticks lol) if you get a divorce.
- Shinobu: If you want to die then go die by yourself.
- Okano: Can you be with me seriously?
- Mihiro: Do you love that person?
(Also, that scene @0:23 in the video, the aquarium on the screen omg 😭)

Ep8 Synopsis from official website: Shinobu who's ashamed of her pride and decide to face her manga seriously again. She has a romantic relationship with Okano in her private life. At first glance, it seems that Chiaki is now just a memory to her. Then, she gets to hear shocking news from a woman who calls herself Chiaki's wife, Mihiro. And by chance, Shinobu and Chiaki reunite for the first time in 5 years.

(As I gathered from news articles before I watched Ep7, the character Konno Mihiro was said to be Chiaki's housemate (同居人) so yes, they're living together but no one mentioned anything about marriage lol either she was lying or the articles were avoiding spoilers idk we'll see.)

EPISODE 7: Entering the 2nd arc with the whole situation completely reversed. I still can't believe it, they really did THAT to the storyline lol That was really bold of them, things just got more complicated. Shinobu's in deep mess now, completely lost herself and free-falling, like she's just a pretty vessel struggling to catch any happiness in her life, it's kinda hard to see her like that :(
The direction was as excellent as always, I'm so glad the drama still stays true to its brand with all the suspense sound fx, camera works, details and music. Though it felt like we're back to square one now, totally clueless about what's gonna happen next lol

As usual, I'm gonna leave the preview for Ep8 under the spoiler below. Might do a more detailed comment later after some more rewatches xD

Yes, his character in Two Psychos was queer, the hints were everywhere. You could even tell he was attracted to that roommate lol. Issei has played gay roles before, one of them was in Love My Life (2006) if I remember correctly.

And I agreed, he's a very versatile actor. It's always a joy to watch him on screen ^^

If I remember correctly, she actually never read the manga every time she opened the Spice magazine, she just opened it, looked at it and put it away. And as you said, the only time she read the manga was when she picked up the tankoubon of her short stories collection and then Chiaki saw it.

Your interpretation is definitely not too wild, that was what I thought too but I couldn't put it into words. It just makes so much sense when we think of it that way. I've seen some people who have read the original manga said that "Manga has always been the core of the relationship between Shinobu and Chiaki" and when we actually think about it, "Don't chase the rabbit" really connected them more deeply than we had thought. It was the escape that they couldn't reach in reality :(

The Original Soundtrack Album composed by Hidetoshi Takumi is now available on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5xPqrx6ROq7mCzaGxxa6tb?si=izFrnjWSQp6hfTag-F5VAA
On other music platforms: https://linkco.re/YAtTbB9p