Me: Caged Again looks super cute, lemme just go to mydramalist and check it out...
Plot: The tale of Junior, a young penguin who defies the odds by transforming into a human to break out of the zoo and reach his ultimate goal, the North Pole, only to find himself trapped once again in a mysterious boarding school.
Every time I think I have seen every plot possible lol...
The insane attention to detail is generally one of the strengths in Japanese shows. It seems like nothing happens by coincidence. Everything is connected and tied up neatly, even if it not in a morally correct way or resembling a fairy tale. I noticed many new details on my second and third rewatch and I will definitely rewatch this again in the future. I'm just so in awe of this kind of storytelling.
I'd like to comment on a few criticisms I've seen in the comments... Not even to defend the show, because everyone is entitled to their own experience and opinion. Obviously.
Re: the "conclusion" to the ~Fujisawa assaulting Sei~ordeal.
Was it pleasant to watch or felt righteous? No. But it felt authentic - and thus, satisfying - at least to me. Abuse and manipulation aside, Sei had a lot of love for Fujisawa and that is not going to vanish in a flash. That's just a fact. Obviously in the real world, I would have liked to see Fujisawa punished for what he did, but in a way, being torn out of Sei's life seemed like a pretty devastating punishment in itself (if seen from Fujisawa's point of view). He's left as a lonely and damaged person.
I'm not justifying the action or denying the fact it was assault because it clearly was. But at the same time, I didn't walk away with the feeling that the show was trying to glorify assault or abusive relationships, quite the opposite. That's why I enjoyed how they dedicated a big part of the finale on Sei 1) breaking free from his old life (Fujisawa) and 2) the widdening of his world as part of his new life (his old school friend and Hagiwara). It was a very hopeful ending.
I actually found the finale very satisfying which hardly ever happens...
My only complaint is the same complaint I've had throughout the entire show: The acting is so goddamn compelling that you'll get so swept up in a scene and then blink once and suddenly 2/3 of the episode has passed. What's up with that?
I'm left with a lot of feelings about this show overall but perhaps the strongest is that Hagiwara is kind of the character of all time. What a guy.
the preview for episode 7 has now been released however it isn't subbed!https://x.com/dramatokku_mbs/status/1890325122650673595
@khadija Thank you! Looks like they will be following the source material pretty thoroughly. My guess is they will be apart for the entire episode and reunite in the last couple of minutes which kind of makes me sad.
I would understand the physical assault because Fujisawa is an angry character but sexual assault really ?? It…
@Jameslogancarlitos I accept this point of view but why is it so difficult to understand that SA is about control and not sex? Fujisawa is a deeply manipulative and controlling character so SA seems completely in line with his previous behavior, that we know of, in my opinon. It's simply an escalation.
That had to be the most awkward sex between Kazuaki & Sei. *cringeAnd for anyone calling it SA. Sei tech consented…
@StarSoul414 You're joking, right? I see sex education still has a loooong way to go. Giving up on resisting physically or even not resisting at all for whatever reason does NOT equal consent. By that logic, it would be okay to have sex with an unconscious person. The reason it was "cringe" is that it wasn't a sex scene, it was an assault.
In the novel, Fujisawa was in love with Sei since they were children. On the day Sei’s parents died in the car…
Thank you so much for sharing this. Jesus, that's messed up. A small part of me sympathizes a bit with Fujisawa after knowing this which is always a sign of an antagonistic character being written well.
When Sei was rejecting Fujisawa's advances because "we won't be able to come back" and Fujisawa was like "Come back? To what?" before going ahead and assaulting him ... that was so chilling and heartbreaking at the same time. This show is really well written.
So, in the new official description from netflix, a love story isn't mentioned. "Pains and joys of the soul" is so ambigious and so is the trailer. I thought getting new info would be magical but it's just making me nervous. Still looking forward to it no matter what but I just want to know if it's romance or not.
If you don’t mind me explaining 🙏🏼…Actually, Haguwara Kazuaki was supposed to send the email to himself,…
@Vadie Thank you! I think it would be very impractical to use your crush's name in an e-mail address so I don't understand it at all but I will accept this explanation.
Yes! Eager to find out what he has been hiding all this time and why he's so bizarre.
@etoks21 Lol yeah, the serial killer thing is definitely a bit much but he has a dark aura around him I didn't really notice on the first watch. I thought he was just an antisocial guy who was overly protective of Sei. And a weird dude who doesn't like TV and acts weirdly fascinated with Sei's foot injury (that scene also gets even weirder on the second watch).
The thing he said to Sei in the past about never wanting to date anyone is probably the most interesting thing. Nothing wrong with not wanting to date but it's bizarre that he's made a religion out of it and instead establishes this strange codependent non-relationship with someone he knows has romantic feelings for him.
I like the thing you say about him possibly having a dark secret that makes him feel unworthy of intimacy or maybe even love. What an oddly fascinating character.
1 
Plot: The tale of Junior, a young penguin who defies the odds by transforming into a human to break out of the zoo and reach his ultimate goal, the North Pole, only to find himself trapped once again in a mysterious boarding school.
Every time I think I have seen every plot possible lol...
I'd like to comment on a few criticisms I've seen in the comments... Not even to defend the show, because everyone is entitled to their own experience and opinion. Obviously.
Re: the "conclusion" to the ~Fujisawa assaulting Sei~ordeal.
Was it pleasant to watch or felt righteous? No. But it felt authentic - and thus, satisfying - at least to me. Abuse and manipulation aside, Sei had a lot of love for Fujisawa and that is not going to vanish in a flash. That's just a fact. Obviously in the real world, I would have liked to see Fujisawa punished for what he did, but in a way, being torn out of Sei's life seemed like a pretty devastating punishment in itself (if seen from Fujisawa's point of view). He's left as a lonely and damaged person.
I'm not justifying the action or denying the fact it was assault because it clearly was. But at the same time, I didn't walk away with the feeling that the show was trying to glorify assault or abusive relationships, quite the opposite. That's why I enjoyed how they dedicated a big part of the finale on Sei 1) breaking free from his old life (Fujisawa) and 2) the widdening of his world as part of his new life (his old school friend and Hagiwara). It was a very hopeful ending.
My only complaint is the same complaint I've had throughout the entire show: The acting is so goddamn compelling that you'll get so swept up in a scene and then blink once and suddenly 2/3 of the episode has passed. What's up with that?
I'm left with a lot of feelings about this show overall but perhaps the strongest is that Hagiwara is kind of the character of all time. What a guy.
I recommend it to others, it's so freeing not having to see the comments from those obsessive people on a mission commenting on every single post.
Giving up on resisting physically or even not resisting at all for whatever reason does NOT equal consent. By that logic, it would be okay to have sex with an unconscious person. The reason it was "cringe" is that it wasn't a sex scene, it was an assault.
Why is every second thing said in this show low-key the most romantic thing I've ever heard 😭
The thing he said to Sei in the past about never wanting to date anyone is probably the most interesting thing. Nothing wrong with not wanting to date but it's bizarre that he's made a religion out of it and instead establishes this strange codependent non-relationship with someone he knows has romantic feelings for him.
I like the thing you say about him possibly having a dark secret that makes him feel unworthy of intimacy or maybe even love. What an oddly fascinating character.