Serious social commentary wrapped in comedy wrapped in lakorn

Did all the reviewers panning this for depictions of bad behaviour fail to realise how many of them were called out, whether in the dialogue, reactions, context or consequences? Sometimes the call outs were gentle, like Chon's maa telling him something he did was wrong, sometimes they were bold, like Chon's maa in the last episode. Always appropriate to the context.

It's a clear critique of toxic masculinity in several forms, including misogyny, objectification, peer pressure, outdated attitudes and of course homophobia. It's full of good messages and positive examples too.

This deserves to be watched with more attention than most here seem to have given it, including those who see it only as light-hearted fluff. It's laugh out loud funny, with the warm, open-hearted generosity of Thailand's best comedy, but it's also delivering some important messages.

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Worth seeking out

An inquisitive, full of life young Thai woman ends up in Japan on her own and not knowing the language. The family at the farm where she'll be living and working for three weeks is warm, kind and welcoming. Two more show up and cause a bit of chaos. There's a fair bit of sightseeing and a lot of food, some out at markets and restaurants but the most memorable are at home amongst this found family.

Everything is balanced. Jook's vitality, Mee's calm steadiness; uncle Hattori's mischievous grin, his daughter Naomi's gentleness; difficulties when there isn't a shared language, the ways they find around that. All of the characters are well thought out and portrayed. They're each distinct in personality but fit together well. It's a lovely group of people to spend time with.

It's a quiet series, which might disappoint some. The emotions aren't big or dramatic, they're just very real.

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