Bhavna

After watching a couple of other series starring Haruka Ayase, like “I Want to Die Alone” (Hitori de Shinitai), and Hotaru no Hikari, and seeing that our birthdate is just a few days apart in the same year, and seeing how she plays empowered, independent and quirky women characters that are very similar to my own personality and mindset, and taking into her account her exquisitely beautiful face, I’ve decided that she is one of my most favorite Japanese actresses.

This series does not disappoint. Starting with that super catchy samba style intro theme song/music, and Nami’s badass ninja fighting skills, the story goes into how she is a woman who just wants love and has been fighting and defending herself and protecting others in this dangerous world. It’s a very interesting set of stories. Except for a few, many of the “bad women” are not actually bad but are trying to create justice for a terribly unjust situation. The men on the other hand are all portrayed as selfish, bullying, narcissistic, entitled, exploiting, misogynistic, and controlling- especially in marital and family relationships. This is not far from the truth obviously. It shows how marriage is basically a soul trap for women, where they are reduced down to objects wearing a happy mask that cook, clean, and wake up the man, pouring their life and soul and love into him and the kids, while he’s busy having affairs.

I don’t understand the martyr complex that the women have. Like Kyoka- she trails and finds her husband cheating and still says that she loves him and is waiting for him even when her own mother in law kicks her cheating son out of the house. She puts on this “brave, martyr, saintly face” in from of her friends Nani and Yuri as if bearing the torture somehow makes her a good saintly person. It doesn’t. Her husband doesn’t respect or love her any more for her saintly doormat act, and nor does anyone else. Then she misses him and like a soggy doormat, she ruins her own self empowerment and leverage in the situation and calls her cheating husband crying and saying “I miss you, please come home!” While the husband basically says no and disempowers her further. Can the wives be any more powerless? Why do they have to be like this?

I wonder why everyone is so two faced- I get it, it’s part of the culture. Not just Japanese but worldwide too. In marriages and social interactions people put on a happy clown face to others and show off and brag while hiding the horrors underneath. Marriage and family are a kind of performance for show. This series exposes that so well. Even Nami finds out that her charming husband is not the person she thought and hoped he was- whatever these women are in love with is a projection of their own longing. But the men in reality are despicable as husbands. For example, Yuri’s husband was her college professor who basically decided that he wanted to “have her and keep her” so he got her pregnant immediately so that she would get married to him and never leave the house. Possessing her like an object and treating her like utter trash. He is such a loathsome creature. If it weren’t for survival and having a roof over their heads, I’m sure most women would leave these ball and chain marriages where they are treated as indentured servants who should be grateful for their servitude. It is utterly deplorable. I’m glad that Haruka Ayase brings these shows where the woman is a little more empowered- even though her characters do want love deep in their soul, they are true to themselves and authentic and to some extent, free.

As Nami starts to find out that her own husband is a shady character, and that scene where the husband comes back from home and she’s cutting the cabbage and then throws a knife at him, and he blocks it with his suitcase- that moment when the mask drops is just so satisfying and thrilling to watching as they get down and dirty in the fight. It’s bizarre how married people live together for decades and are essentially strangers wearing masks in front of each other, trying to cover up over their true identity and seething hatred for each other, all in the name of a “stable life”, status, image or for survival or financial reasons. All so bizarre and all so fake. It would be one thing if it were just a TV show- but this is exactly how it is in this world. Nishijima is the perfect charming handsome fake husband with a streak of danger. There is something terribly romantic about one party coming to arrest another party but upon meeting her he forgets his mission and falls in love. But is it romance or thrill? Well there is no better way of controlling, subjugating, and surveilling a woman than to marry her. I was very impressed and squealing with excitement at Ayase’s fighting and stunts- she’s a true badass.

A very chilling dialog between husband and wife in the last episode.
Wife: “How long will I be watched? Until I die? I’ll have to live like I have a collar around my neck right?”
Husband: “If you behave yourself and live like an ordinary housewife, the day you can take the collar off, will come.” OUCH. This is the status of women in marriages. Treated as objects, slaves to serve the man and child.

The wife says: “There are couples who can be happy without telling each other what they really think right? But I don’t want that. Because I love you. I adore you. I want us to be honest with each other. We’ve been deceiving each other until now, so I want us to fight with all our might and make up with each other. And yet you want to put a collar around my neck? Do you not love me?” The woman, the wife is trying to break free from this torture.

Then a housewife who decided to have a short affair as a way to escape her husband who was literally being an emotional abuser and acting like slave owner, then gets blackmailed and subsequently beat up by men, while the “boss” says how boring it is. These scenes are very disturbing to see that much misogyny and it made me very sad.

It did make me happy to see Nami beat up guys in the warehouse to the legendary title samba music. But why do they approach her one by one like zombies? Anyways.. Shes a true hero. And very thrilling to watch. The last scene, the last moment was.. WTF .. a cliffhanger??

With all that said, even though I did not watch it and have no plans to, it seems like the story may have been inspired by Mr and Mrs Smith- an ode to the boring middle aged married couple that are secretly assassins. It explores the idea of a double life among all the characters very well, with a Japanese twist. I can confidently say that this series would be far more enjoyable than subjecting myself to the pompous nonsense of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.