rinmei

After watching Ep11, I can't help to think that this drama is built up like a spider web. Everything is intricate and interconnected from the earliest episodes: the scenes, the background sound/music, the camera angle, etc. I can't help myself from wanting to rewatch the drama from Ep1 because I always find myself wondering "I think I have watched a similar scene in the previous episode" to find out the meaning of the scene.

The drama is made in a very detailed manner that it makes me think, "Damn, I'm going to miss this drama's mysteries when this is over!" And next week, it will be over!!

Really, kudos to the team!

I'm actually scared of thinking how the story will end, based on what has happened in the story so far. But, it has been a wonderful story (though sometimes painful and creepy!), so I'm preparing myself next week for the last episode. I will remind myself to prepare a box of tissue next week, just in case.

About the subs, no worries.

Ikr. The hints so far were all doomed (tree branches, knives, Toko's "yabai", Chiaki's "I'll disappear", and if I didn't misunderstand I heard quite a few times the word "kill" calmly came out of Chiaki's mouth since Ep10) T_T

I know that almost all infidelity dramas don't have a happy ending, I'm prepared for that. But at least I'm hoping the leads can get the happiness they deserve (even for awhile, even if not being together). From Ep1-11 they haven't been together (well, they were together on that trip in Ep5 - but that was too short), so I'm actually aching to see them being together T_T

After watching the raw without Japanese subtitle, I don't think I'm ready for the last episode next week. Worst possible outcomes keep on forming inside my head. I agree with Toko, (everything is) yabai!

(Updated: Since you mentioned Chiaki scene in the beginning, I want to discuss it a little bit. It was heartbreaking to see it. Eventhough he was laughing, he seemed to be aching inside. I could sense his loneliness T_T He laughed upon seeing Okano left Shinobu's apartment. He might be thinking, "See, you leave her eventhough you like her. Unlike me, who always stays with her." And then that fetal position he made afterwards... he painfully wanted to be with Shinobu, but was stressed out because he couldn't. I totally broke down watching that, and it was only the beginning! T_T Chiaki, I wanna hug you so badly.)

Oh no! I have to prepare my heart, then.

I'm prepared for the worst outcome. Though, at the same time I'm not prepared at all! What's this feeling?! Yabai!

Wow! I think you've covered everything, lol. I don't think I have anything to add.

Oh, I just want to add, when they panned the camera from Chiaki to the sky, the view of the sky was blocked by the tree branches. It was not as clear as the sky depicted in Ep6, unfortunately. I think this depicted that Chiaki's love for Shinobu (or Chiaki's future with Shinobu) would be complicated, like all those branches.

Now, I'm anxious for Ep11!!!

Hola! I'm back xD
Ep9 was really packed with many things, but I really liked that the pacing was just right: not too slow and not too fast.
What I loved about this episode was because it showed how responsible Chiaki was. Though I had a mixed feelings watching him still coming to his mother's rescue or him still meeting with Seira with his indifferent reactions towards her, but it actually showed that he really had a big heart and was very compassionate, in his own way. For me, this episode showed how Chiaki, initially a vulnerable kid whose head and heart full of anger and revenge -- so that he didn't have more energy to take care of his appearance (messy hair, sloppy way of wearing shoes), transformed into a better and more responsible adult.
I had been comparing Chiaki and Yuta in the first arc, about how Yuta was raised better than Chiaki and those were shown in how those two's different behaviors and appearances. But now, I have to say that Chiaki was just as loving of his mother as Yuta was, in his own way.

Okay now, I'm going to head to Ep10 review above xD

Being married myself, I can say that this is the exact portray of married life. You may either grow in love or grow out of love XD
Oops, did I just scare some people off marriage? I'm sorry... (´･_･`)

Honestly, I think so, too. It's slice of life, after all. Slice of life doesn't always have a happy ending. Nonetheless, it's a good show with a great story, acting, and production. I'll take whatever they throw at me, lol

I'll definitely yearn to watch those stares-that-can-speak-a-thousand-words again!! And the canned coffee scenes!!!
Those will haunt me forever lol

I just realize that there are 3 more episodes before this drama ends. It makes me anxious and sad. What will be the future of our main leads?
(And what will be the future of my Friday midnight after this drama ends? T_T)

The tags also contributed, especially when this drama was only airing for 1 episode. I remember it was already rated 5 when it was still in the 1st episode xD If you scroll down to the earlier comments, you can see those "I can't believe it's about infidelity again, why Japanese likes to make dramas like this"-etc comments.

That aside, I'm glad that you enjoy this drama! It really is a great drama with (I agree with @Popcxqueen below) some of the best acting I've seen in years. Those gestures, those stares, those unspoken words. And yessssss, the drama touches the (bitter) reality in a bold way. It's one of the most honest dramas about married life and age 40s life I've seen.

Btw, prepare yourself, the next episodes will be interesting (and sometimes painful)!!!

Oh, if you scroll down, you can read some discussions per episode initiated by @nhii in the spoiler boxes. You are welcome to join the discussion, if you like.

I think some people already rated this low because of the tag Infidelity, Older Woman/Younger Man, and Age Gap. I personally think the drama is excellent in terms of the acting, the story, the production, and the music. The acting is superb, the casts are brilliant, the production is detailed, the music is relevant to the story. I do think you should give it a try, at least the first 3 episodes to see whether you'll like it or not. And the duration is not too long per episode, which is a plus for me who is easily bored, lol. Fyi, I'm not bored at all watching this drama.

Talking about Ryoko, I think she was attracted to him because she thought he was supportive of his wife. Little that she knew that all those things came out of his mouth were lies. If Ryoko fell for him, she most likely would experience what Shinobu had experienced: being gaslighted and getting condescending words :(

I love to be surprised by them, too. I really love this drama, I end up watching only this drama this season. Usually I watch around 4-5 dramas per season. I don't have energy and love left for other dramas lol.

I wonder how close they followed the manga. But I do think that the whole production was exquisite, from the acting, the settings, the BGM, the camera angles.

Oh, no. It's sad to hear that many Japanese viewers tweeted that their husbands also said nasty things to them T_T

The black coffee... I love discussing about black coffee and canned coffee lol. I agree, only us the audiences who know that Chiaki can drink black coffee. But IMO Chiaki only drank it when he was extremely tired or frustrated and when he needed a boost of energy. So, Mihiro wasn't lying. Though I wanted to tell her: "Actually he can drink black coffee, without adding sugar. I bet you don't know that, do you? You are just as same as Shinobu." xD
I know, I'm such an evil xD

Ah, from your PoV, Ep9 seems to be intriguing. I can't wait!

I can't watch Ep9 preview. But from your translation, it seems to me that Ep9 is gonna be paralleled with Ep3. Chiaki saying "What was I to you back then" somewhat reminds me of Ep3 when Shinobu thought Chiaki teamed up with Yohei to deceive her.

And will Okano in Ep10 be like Seira in Ep4, since he knew Shinobu from a long time ago? Okay, I need to stop myself right there, because I already talk about Ep10 lol.

And I have to stop myself from wondering how the last episode will be like, if it's going to be paralleled with Ep6.... Stop, dear self. Stop. Lol.

I was rather slow this week, lol. But I really enjoyed Ep8, as usual.

You really noticed a lot of details from this episode, thank you very much. Basically I focused more details because of your post, and became somewhat lazy to write because I thought you had covered most interesting scenes xD

I love how you pointed out about the possibility that the first arc and second arc to be parallel. There surely were many scenes paralleled with scenes from Ep2, like there were in Ep7vsEp1. Other than what you had already mentioned (there were many, thank you! Lol), I also noticed that Ep8 and Ep2 were parallel in terms of Shinobu made a decision to properly face her issues (with Yohei in Ep8 and with drawing manga in Ep2).

I feel sorry for Yohei. The lies that he told Ryoko (the shopkeeper) about how he was supportive of his wife's work were pathetic. He needed to hear people praising him or to look down on his own wife and to gaslight her in order to feel superior.

Thankfully Yuta was raised almost single-handedly by Shinobu, so that he grew to be a very respectful man. I really love him when he said to his mom, "I'm fine with whatever choice you make." It must be painful for him to hear his mom saying "Arigatou ne, Yuta" with a hint of cry in her voice. I assume he asked to end the phonecall because he was about to cry, too. And because he knew his mother was holding herself back for years. Thank you Yuta, for supporting your mom. Love you!

Since I'm in love with the canned coffee BGM (lol), I noticed that this song was also in this episode when Chiaki told Mihiro that he was about to go to his part-time job. Mihiro was definitely not Chiaki's wife (or if she was, like she said, she might not be someone making him happy), because this "happy" song was played when he was about to run away from her.
Oh, and wasn't there a guest futon on top of the single bed in their room? How could a happy married couple sleep on different beds? I don't believe you, Mihiro! Lol.

Oh, about Mihiro's meeting with Shinobu, I have a different take on the camera focus during their conversation. IMO, the camera focus was from Mihiro's PoV instead of Shinobu's. I'll get back to this later.

Shinobu was mostly looking down to the table when talking to Mihiro, it seemed to me that she wasn't confident to face Mihiro because she wasn't sure what was Mihiro's relationship with Chiaki. She started to look at Mihiro when she answered Mihiro's question about how Chiaki was struggling after his debut manga. I assumed she was more confident because thinking that Mihiro might be Chiaki's good friend/colleague who knew about his manga. However, she went back looking nervous and staring at the table once Mihiro said about marriage.

Now, back to the camera focus. Because of the nervousness Shinobu showed during the conversation, I assumed that the camera focus didn't convey Shinobu's PoV. Instead, it was about Mihiro's PoV. When the camera focused on her eyes, it seemed to me that Mihiro was trying to see what Chiaki was to Shinobu. But Mihiro couldn't see through Shinobu because she kept looking at the comic book/table. But after Mihiro asked whether Chiaki was helping Shinobu for "Hatsukoi Once More" and Shinobu said yes, the camera changed focus to Mihiro's face. It seemed to me that at that time Mihiro knew that the male lead in the manga was modeled after Chiaki, and she was determined to shoo her rival away.
IMO, the camera focus being Mihiro's PoV was also confirmed by how Mihiro kept glancing at Shinobu when she went on and on about the sugar Chiaki added to his coffee. Mihiro was deliberately trying to brag that she knew more about Chiaki compared to Shinobu, during the coffee talk. But Shinobu wasn't triggered yet, like she knew it wasn't a significant matter to discuss.
After the marriage talk, the camera focused on Mihiro's mouth rambling words Shinobu didn't hear anymore because she was back to nervous mode (maybe because of her regret for leaving him 5 years ago which made her loosing him for good). Mihiro's mouth was a metaphor of how she was confident that she had successfully got rid of her rival.

I really loved how the ending song stopped at the lyrics "The night I had too much time on my hands and the tears came out like decorations disappear." The scene when the lyrics were on was Mihiro sitting on the floor holding her smartphone and then quickly escalated to her trauma being triggered which caused her to cry. And then, the ending song resumed at "Regret, I don't want it anymore..." when Shinobu was aware of Chiaki's presence on the bridge. And it was Shinobu who noticed Chiaki first, so the regret mentioned in the ending song was definitely Shinobu's.
These scenes were definitely thought through by the director. Hats off to the production team!

Sorry for a very long reply. Lol. And I haven't talked about Chiaki! Lol. But I think you already covered all interesting scenes related to Chiaki.

Can't wait for Ep9 tonight!

It must have been really hard for him to draw the pages, indeed. Luckily he got a hug from the "canned coffee".

Indeed Seira was looking down on him, maybe thinking that he was easy or such, as long as money was involved :(

Yes, it should be fun to watch Shinobu meeting with Chiaki and Mihiro. I can't wait for Ep8.

Hi! I'm back! Lol.
After a few days of trying to get a better understanding of Ep7, I don't have anything to add lol.

I agree with most of your comments on the above spoiler box.

There's one thing that I want to comment, though. About Mihiro, I would like to give her a benefit of the doubt, lol. But like you, I also remember that Chiaki said to Shinobu in Ep6 that he would wait. So, it would be interesting to find out why he was living with Mihiro.

One more thing. When I saw a glimpse of Chiaki's essay manga when Mihiro was reading it, I felt nauseated because of the drawing. Though I wasn't sure about the wording because my eyes didn't cooperate to read the small-and-rather-blurry kanji lol. But from the drawing, it seemed to me that Chiaki was raped, wasn't he? Whereas in Ep4, Seira said that he prostituted himself. I just wanted to yell at Seira (lol), "No, Seira, your mother raped him! And you, who claimed to be his childhood friend and who had always been with him, also tried to rape him!!" Poor Chiaki. He was led to believe that he wanted to have sex with older women for money, when actually he was raped :(

As expected from you, you can always find interesting things xD Thanks!