Loved loved loved this drama until the last episode. So unsatisfying. Why did they spend 3/4s of the last episode…
I read that they had planned for 12 episodes but couldn't shoot them because the FL got sick multiple times during the shoot and the ML's schedule couldn't be adjusted. Unfortunately it shows, we really needed to see Kaoru's journey to stop hating himself for failing the test. Without that the final scene just didn't land the way it should have. Still freaking loved this drama though, and I deeply appreciate the care and attention the writer and director paid to the storytelling.
She lost me when she dumped the red wine over Raul's head. . Inexcusable. Not to mention calling Raul stupid.…
Yes, there's been problems with women accumulating enormous debts paying for hosts and then getting pushed into prostitution to pay them off. But there's different perspectives on the problem:
It's interesting that this was the only article I could find in Japanese that talks about how the patriarchy and toxic masculinity are depicted in Learning to Love. Even the writer and director of the drama didn't discuss it in interviews and neither did fans. Is it considered too controversial a topic to broach? I know that Japan has some of the lowest equality between the sexes of any developed nation in the world.
I love this quote:
>Aimi grew up at age 35 under the shackles of her father, the epitome of patriarchy and paternalism. She works as a teacher at a Catholic girls' school, and is thoroughly confined to the shackles of being a "serious and chaste woman" both at home and at work. She once tried to fly out of her cage by falling in love, but it didn't work out and she ended up attempting suicide.
>Kaworu is his stage name; his real name is Takamori Taiga. He has a learning disability that makes it extremely difficult for him to read and write, and he cannot even write his own name properly. Aimi is by his side, teaching him step by step how to read and write. He grew up being told that his inability to study is his own fault, and it is difficult for him to recognize the opportunity gap that has resulted from not receiving education or careful training. He has survived in the nightlife world by relying on his looks, physical attractiveness, and ability to communicate verbally without using letters, but he too has lived his life believing that his only occupation is to exaggerate his "masculinity."
> At first glance, the worlds in which the two characters live seem to be contrasting, but they are very similar in the sense that they are "made to believe that they have no choice but to live by exaggerating the roles of men and women." The audience unconsciously accepts the gradual twist that Juliet and Romeo, who thought they lived in different worlds, are actually trapped in the same world, and find themselves rooting for the couple's love.
The end of episode 3 is the scene where Manami goes to The Joker to find Kaoru after their fight. That alone tells…
You make great points and the voiceover was wonderful in that scene. I love it when we get Manami's thoughts.
I really think for Taiga it was when Manami said he wasn't stupid and used -san to address him. I think his offer to sleep with her wasn't just a way to thank her, he unconsciously wanted to be with her and this was the only way he knew how to get close to her.
Even though in ep 4 he tries to exploit her again it's because he's scolded by the club president and he's scared of his feelings so he goes back to behaving like Kaoru. But he's immediately ashamed when he puts 500,000 yen on her tab.
I saw some people below saying they were confused about when Manami and Taiga fell in love but I think it happened…
The end of episode 3 is the scene where Manami goes to The Joker to find Kaoru after their fight. That alone tells you she's developing feelings for him but then Akina humiliates Kaoru by telling him the stupid ones have to work harder and Manami defends him. She couldn't tolerate seeing Akina abuse him. The look on Kaoru's face in that scene shows that he's starting to have real feelings for Manami.
Manami leaves the club and Kaoru abandons Akina to run after her and embrace her. Then he offers to sleep with her because he thinks sex is the only thing of value that he has to offer but of course she turns him down because she's not a predator. After all that, Manami pushes to continue their tutoring lessons without admitting to herself what's motivating her.
It's understandable that people are missing this as a turning point in their feelings for each other because it's not a typical expression of romantic passion, instead their feelings come through when they acknowledge each other's humanity.
Tbh I think I would've preferred it if she'd started out as a straight up villain who evolves into a better person as she realizes that getting what she wants through lying isn't worth the price of her soul. Instead she's a practically perfect heroine who deserves to win the game but gets thwarted by cartoon villains so the weight of her deceptions is never really felt in a meaningful way. Because she's obviously a good person, none of her actions truly feel questionable. That of course is why the drama is such a huge hit.
Not hating but I do not get Manamis crush on Kaoru. At what point and why does she start to like him?he was using…
Sorry for the late response but I'm catching up on comments after dodging spoilers for months. I think she truly fell in love with him the night at The Joker when she tells Akina he's not stupid. That's also when he truly fell for her. She needed the provocation of Akina humiliating Taiga for her feelings to finally come together. And he didn't understand she wasn't just a target until she became the first person to say he wasn't stupid. That's why he hugged her and was willing to sleep with her even though of course she was too decent to do anything at that point.
This piece of the OST ‘Gomen-ne Chiwawa Sensei’ is just SO 'serenading' yet decimates me with so much yearning…
Episode 6 is incredible but I started a rewatch last night and after the first two episodes I was struck by how everything that led up to episode 6 is what contributed to the impact. The show really makes you feel their struggles, pain and loneliness so when they finally get one "last" bittersweet day together It feels so cathartic and yet there's an undercurrent of sadness through the whole thing leading up to the goodbye at the gate. The whole drama was put together so beautifully. I just wish they'd been able to film the 12th episode.
I want to write a review but I've got so many thoughts and feelings swirling in my head about this drama that I'm having trouble writing about it coherently 😭
ngl i thought the dad was gonna flip out at any moment and stab his wife or something. man had serious issues.…
I'm not sure it was intended to be a redemption. More like once the women stood up to him he deflated because he was always a bully who needed to believe the women were weaker than him.
I suggest you read through all of the threads in the discussion section, there's so much visual storytelling and symbolism going on in the drama that's easy to miss: https://kisskh.at/discussions/793096-ai-no-gakko
Thinking of the final beach scene with Taiga and Manami writing the kanji for love over and over again in the sand. Taiga got it wrong in his letter (representing how he unnecessarily broke things off with Manami) but then he practiced with her to get it right. It reminds me of this quote from an Ursula K. Leguin novel:
“Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
In the case of Manamii and Taiga, their love doesn't just sit there, like a stone. It has to be rewritten, like the kanji in the sand, rewritten all the time, made new. That's why I have hope that their love will last (that and the Easter eggs pointing that way).
Venting students = it's a japanese cultural thing that when you're experiencing deep and conflicting emotions…
I also interpreted it as Manami allowing herself to seem human and vulnerable with her students and so they feel angry and abandoned that she left the school. It's almost like her class was the only place they felt like they could breathe.
A month ago, I posted on Reddit’s Kdrama sub, confessing my exhaustion with formulaic shows, those predictable…
Omo was it me? 😅 I recommended the show several times on the Kdrama sub and I've gotten people on Bluesky to watch so I'm a serious evangelist for this drama!
While I actually do agree with you that this is such an overused trope in jdramas, I feel like the “break up”…
I found out they originally planned 12 episodes but the FL actress became ill during filming and Raul had commitments he couldn't change so they had to rewrite they ending. Alas it shows.
https://unseen-japan.com/host-clubs-new-law-proposed/
https://unseen-japan.com/kabukicho-host-club-expert/
It's interesting that this was the only article I could find in Japanese that talks about how the patriarchy and toxic masculinity are depicted in Learning to Love. Even the writer and director of the drama didn't discuss it in interviews and neither did fans. Is it considered too controversial a topic to broach? I know that Japan has some of the lowest equality between the sexes of any developed nation in the world.
I love this quote:
>Aimi grew up at age 35 under the shackles of her father, the epitome of patriarchy and paternalism. She works as a teacher at a Catholic girls' school, and is thoroughly confined to the shackles of being a "serious and chaste woman" both at home and at work. She once tried to fly out of her cage by falling in love, but it didn't work out and she ended up attempting suicide.
>Kaworu is his stage name; his real name is Takamori Taiga. He has a learning disability that makes it extremely difficult for him to read and write, and he cannot even write his own name properly. Aimi is by his side, teaching him step by step how to read and write. He grew up being told that his inability to study is his own fault, and it is difficult for him to recognize the opportunity gap that has resulted from not receiving education or careful training. He has survived in the nightlife world by relying on his looks, physical attractiveness, and ability to communicate verbally without using letters, but he too has lived his life believing that his only occupation is to exaggerate his "masculinity."
> At first glance, the worlds in which the two characters live seem to be contrasting, but they are very similar in the sense that they are "made to believe that they have no choice but to live by exaggerating the roles of men and women." The audience unconsciously accepts the gradual twist that Juliet and Romeo, who thought they lived in different worlds, are actually trapped in the same world, and find themselves rooting for the couple's love.
I really think for Taiga it was when Manami said he wasn't stupid and used -san to address him. I think his offer to sleep with her wasn't just a way to thank her, he unconsciously wanted to be with her and this was the only way he knew how to get close to her.
Even though in ep 4 he tries to exploit her again it's because he's scolded by the club president and he's scared of his feelings so he goes back to behaving like Kaoru. But he's immediately ashamed when he puts 500,000 yen on her tab.
Manami leaves the club and Kaoru abandons Akina to run after her and embrace her. Then he offers to sleep with her because he thinks sex is the only thing of value that he has to offer but of course she turns him down because she's not a predator. After all that, Manami pushes to continue their tutoring lessons without admitting to herself what's motivating her.
It's understandable that people are missing this as a turning point in their feelings for each other because it's not a typical expression of romantic passion, instead their feelings come through when they acknowledge each other's humanity.
"If you're wondering if the last scene with the three of them is a reasonable one,
I want you to remember how hard Kaworu has worked.
We tend to take it for granted that capable people should do the hard work of those who can't,
but that's not true. There's a huge difference between watching from the sidelines and not watching, which is why I was so frustrated."
I suggest you read through all of the threads in the discussion section, there's so much visual storytelling and symbolism going on in the drama that's easy to miss: https://kisskh.at/discussions/793096-ai-no-gakko
“Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
In the case of Manamii and Taiga, their love doesn't just sit there, like a stone. It has to be rewritten, like the kanji in the sand, rewritten all the time, made new. That's why I have hope that their love will last (that and the Easter eggs pointing that way).