Currently Watching: Chugakusei Nikki (Junior High School Diary)

Currently Watching: Chugakusei Nikki (Junior High School Diary)

Warning: If I come across as obsessive about this show, I probably am because I have been refreshing the MDL page for this drama every 2 hrs or so since October (except for when I’m sleeping).

The moment it all began

Now I am usually a silent lurker. I comment sometimes but I don't really go out of my way to talk about shows I am watching. However, all of this changed this October when Chugakusei Nikki came into my life. So let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

Sometime in the middle of October, I came across this article. I recommend you give it a read. To summarise, it basically says the ratings of the first episode were a shitshow. Usually, Japanese people are all for forbidden dramas but they were turning their back on this one. There was already negative feedback on social media before the show even began. The Japanese disliked the huge age gap and the fact that the student is still in junior high school aka middle school (grade 9), branding it as "unacceptable," "disgusting", and many more. The initial feedback on MDL was negative too saying that this show was glorifying pedophilia and whatnot. When I looked at the age of the male character I thought the same thing. 

The show was branded as a failure before it even had a proper start. Arimura Kasumi the lead actress even begged her fans on Instagram to give the show a chance. For me, I gave this drama a go because the manga actually beat out one my favorites for an award. So I was curious as to why if the manga is so well-loved in Japan, the drama didn't get the same love at the beginning. Also, the director for this show also did one of my other favorites from this year - Unnatural.

So now you might be wondering why am I here writing an article on a failed show. Suffice to say there has been a major turnaround in this situation. It’s almost like a miracle. While the first 25 comments on its MDL page have been largely negative the next 1800 (yes 1800, you didn't read it wrong) have been positive. Rather more than just positive. Believe me, I have read them all (except the spoilers for the latest episode. I promised myself that I wouldn't).

SOUNDTRACK

Unlike other currently watching articles, I am going to start with the theme song. Because it is one of the rare cases where the theme song is more popular than the drama causing the popularity of the drama to surge as well.

I don’t know if you know this or not but in Japan cover artists dominate YouTube. Singers singing covers of J-pop songs are some of the most subscribed channels on YouTube in Japan. (Aimer one of biggest current generation singers in Japan started her career by singing cover songs.)

So Prologue by Uru the theme song of this show got covered by a lot of YouTubers increasing the popularity of the song among the youtube community. It went viral among the young population in Japan trending on TikTok, Twitter, Insta, everywhere. People got curious about the show as well and started watching it. However, people who watch youtube, tiktok in Japan are mostly teenagers and college students and they are not really counted in the TV ratings of a show but they have a massive presence in the online world and some episodes of Chugakusei Nikki actually trended worldwide on Twitter while airing. There was even an article written about it claiming Chuugakusei Nikki to be the 'under 7 viral show'. (under 7 because the first half got below 7 ratings through the second half has picked up a lot.)

Prologue by Uru is a very beautiful song and sometimes I have played it on repeat while coming back home from university. The lyrics are beautiful too and have a lot of meaning to them. Also, the BGM for this drama is nothing short of amazing. Whoever composed these songs did a wonderful job. They make the scenes even better.

CAST

I think one of the major reasons I like this show a lot is because of the wonderful acting by the whole cast. They really bring their characters to life.

1.) Natsukawa Yui as Kuroiwa Aiko (the Mom)

She does an excellent portrayal of a single mother raising her teenage son. As a single mother, she tries to juggle his emotional well-being along with her business. She gets along very well with Hijiri until she finds out Akira is in love with her. I was really touched by her performance in ep 5 when she confronts Hijiri. You can see how much she loves her son, believing that she is protecting him. However, sadly for her, the relationship between the mother-son duo eventually worsens as the show progresses but no one can deny how much she loves him. 

I think her character was written very realistically. I think my mom would react the same way if she was in the same situation.

2.) Machida Keita as Kawai Shotaro (the Fiance)

Shotaro is Hijiri's longtime boyfriend and fiance, whom she has dated since college. They are in a long distance relationship with him living in Osaka working for a trading company. Nothing seems to be wrong with their relationship but cracks appear as talks of marriage starts with both sets of parents wanting Hijri to quit her job and move in with Shotaro. While Shotaro leaves it up to Hijiri to make the decision if he wants her to move in with him. 

Machida Keita is part of EXILE which is very big in Japan. His character is not perfect but he is able to get his emotions across to us. Sometimes we have sympathy for him, sometimes anger. He is actually the most conflicting character for me in the entire show.

3.) Yoshida Yu as Haraguchi Ritsu (the Boss)

Haraguchi is Shotaro’s new boss at work. Honestly, she is a badass. In a country where people think twice before saying anything, she says whatever is on her mind. She lays it all out in such simple words that characters are forced to accept that whatever she says is right. She acts as a link between the audience and the leads. Her outside perspective on the situation the leads find themselves entangled in acts as a catalyst to the story. She also provides a lot of support to the other characters as the story progresses.

I think no one other than the beautiful Yoshida Yu could have been better as Haraguchi.

Spoiler: She is bisexual too.

4.) Arimura Kasumi as Suenaga Hijiri  (the Teacher)

Hijiri is the new homeroom teacher for Akira’s class. She is one of those people who has wanted to be a teacher all their life. She wants to be the type of teacher whom the students can rely on. She teaches classic Japanese literature, not the most interesting class to be in. However, she becomes happy when she realizes that Akira listens to what she teaches in class. 

She often mentions that she wants to become better and her goal is to be on equal footing with Shotaro so that they can stand together as partners in life.

We all know that she is not able to achieve that. At first, she handles Akira’s crush on her maturely but she finds herself gazing at him as time goes on.

Arimura Kasumi picked a very tough role. She knew that she would face a lot of criticism but was brave enough to do it anyways. For that I respect her. Sometimes actors pick up uncomfortable roles to challenge themselves. Only when you take risks do you succeed. As for her character Hijri, who is bound by the rules of being an adult and cares about what people say about her, Arimura does a good job. I could feel the conflict in her heart, the shame that she carries in breaking one of the most precious rules rightly set by society, the disappointment of doing something wrong by her students and the sadness in becoming a failure of a teacher. 

4.) Okada Kenshi as Kuroiwa Akira (the Boy)

At the start of the story, Akira is a 15 yr old in his final year of Junior High, who starts having a crush on his new homeroom teacher which eventually develops into a love so strong that he can't forget even after years pass by. Being a teenager going through his first love, he struggles with these feelings knowing their age gap and the fact that Hijiri already has a longtime boyfriend who she is engaged to. Even then the only thing he wishes for is to treat her gently and make her happy even after being rejected multiple times. He doesn’t understand the social cues he is breaking by falling in love with his teacher nor does he want to until it becomes too late. We see him maturing with each episode and understand how the real world works but one thing he can’t give up on is his love for his Sensei.

His character is beautifully written. He is not perfect by any means but he makes you root for him.

As for Okada Kenshi the actor who portrays him, the Japanese media has already given him the title he deserves “The Heisei Era’s last super rookie”. In Japan, the years are divided according to the reign of the current emperor. Emperor Akihito’s reign started in 1989 and is ending next year in April after which a new era will start. Anyways coming back to the topic this is Okada Kenshi’s first time acting in front of the camera. (Like he has no guest role, supporting role, etc. Straight up lead role in his first acting gig.) He was a baseball player in high school playing in the catcher position. However, his team lost at Koshien (the Nationals). After the defeat, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. He started acting in his local theatre doing supporting roles. He auditioned for Chugakusei Nikki while in high school. The casting director wasn’t sure if this guy even wanted to enter the entertainment industry. However, the director told him that he could come for the next round of auditions after he makes a decision about whether he wants to enter the entertainment industry or not.

Luckily his decision was the right one. Props to the people involved in casting him. As for his acting, he is straight up incredible. At first, his acting seems awkward since his physique doesn’t really match a 15-yr old, but he really makes you believe that he is 15 after a few scenes. His immaturity, way of speaking, attitude problems, struggles with a first love is exactly what a typical 15 yr old goes through. In an interview, the director said that since Okada was a newbie she was expecting that she would have to help him out a lot but when she would recommend certain reactions from Okada, he would somehow react differently, but it was always unexpectedly perfect. Okada is a natural at acting. He has made Akira his own. Many critics who had written articles bashing the story before the drama even began have come out praising his acting ability. Hope he takes full advantage of what Chuugakusei Nikki has done for his career and becomes even better in the future.

A lot of the story is told through the body language of both the leads and their glances at each other and if it wasn’t perfect the show would have crumbled. Man, I wish someone would look at me the way Akira looks at Hijiri.

FINAL WORDS

I know that the main plot of the story will make a lot of people uncomfortable. Heck, even I felt I was watching something wrong at the beginning. Throughout the episodes I felt conflicted, anger, happy, sad, sympathy and so much more. This is what Jdramas do at their best. They make you feel emotions in the most realistic way possible. It is an experience that should not be missed. Even if you do not watch this show, please watch some of the highly rated Jdramas. They will introduce you to a spot in your heart that you didn't know existed that could hurt so much but be filled with a lot of happiness at the same time. 

This is the first time in my life that I have gotten so over the top excited for a drama. Game of Thrones and all that stuff makes me excited too but Chugakusei Nikki is on a whole another level for me.

Now that the ending is so close I wonder if any other show is going to top this one in my heart for the rest of my life. Like I know better shows are out there and will probably come out in the future too. But I really wonder if they will be able to make feel the emotions I have felt for the last two months while watching this show. 

Please give this drama a chance. I know I am asking a lot but only for once believe in a fellow drama-watcher who shares the same hobby as you. This is one of the good ones which will take you on an emotional rollercoaster.

I would also like to thank the @aoihachi team who is subbing this drama. I remember that they picked up this show quite early on in the season when a lot of dramas were still available. A big decision to pick such a controversial drama but they struck gold.

For all those wondering about the type of relationship the leads have, like does she fall in love with him when he is 15 or after, read the spoilers below:

Yes, she falls in love with him when he is 15. She knows its wrong and tries to bury these feelings before they get deeper. She tries to avoid him at school which he catches on to. Akira gets the message and avoids her too but unlike her, he can't keep his feelings in control. 

All this time he believes that she has no feelings for him, so he asks for one night when they would pretend to be lovers and just talk throughout the night getting to know more about each other. And when the next day comes they would forget all about it and he won’t bother her ever again. But Hijri in a slip of tongue blurts out that how does he expect her to forget everything if after that night she starts liking him even more. This astonishes Akira and after a few more minutes of talking back and forth, he kisses her. She pushes him away the first time but accepts the second one. 

But immediately after that, they are caught red-handed by Shotaro the fiance and Akira’s mom. Hijiri faces the consequences of her actions instantly. Eventually, they are separated and Hijri resigns from her job as a teacher and moves to another town. Three years go by. Akira becomes an adult. He believes that Hijri must have gotten married by now but somewhere deep in his heart he still can’t forget her. This is what happens till ep 5. From there the story continues.

Fun Story

I was watching one of the episodes on TV at home over the weekends. Now my elder sister is a teacher and watches Kdramas only these days, not Jdramas. She sat down beside me and watched for one minute. She liked the acting of the male lead so she asked me about the story. As I was explaining the story, I could see the expressions on her face worsen. After listening to me she got mad. She switched off the TV and started screaming like ‘How dare they tarnish such a respectable job?’ and ‘I am going to kill whoever even thought of this.'

Now my sister is a very strict teacher and an even scarier sister. I ran away from her, locked myself in my room. We didn't talk to each other for the whole weekend. As she was dropping me off for my classes at university she told me if she catches me watching that show again she will beat me up. I just stuck out my tongue and ran. Anyways Mom got to know about this argument and tried to mediate between us. 

What my sister didn't know was Mom and I were watching this show together the previous weekend and Mom was one episode ahead of me as she can understand Japanese and I can’t. When sis got to know about this she was livid. She was mad at Mom like ‘Even you!!!!’.

Eventually, she checked the MDL page and read the comments and liked what she was reading. She binge-watched the show one evening. The shitty part is she didn't even apologize and is now a few episodes ahead of me because I am the only one in my family who doesn’t understand Japanese, so I have to wait for the subs.