Bhavna

My ratings are primarily based on the weakest link which also happens to be the most integral role in the show- the female lead. I can’t say enough how poor the casting here was. Ok I get that the female lead character Nastumi is supposed to be “quirky” or whatever, but there’s a difference between adorably quirky and downright weird. If I could describe her acting in one word, it would be: Ridiculous and idiotic. I guess the actress is trying too hard to be relatable or whatever in the old period drama, but her expressions and acting are totally unnatural. She ends up looking like a total weirdo in most of her scenes, and it’s so offputting. It’s the actress that’s the problem- in her other show Takane No Hana, where she plays the insecure younger sister, she was a little more in the background since she was not the focus, but still looked like an insecure mess in her role. But in this series with her playing the lead role, she’s a downright disaster. My low rating is primarily because of her horrible acting job, that makes the rest of the cast look out of place next to her as well. I get that her character Natsumi is inexperienced in romance etc. but her expressions are so exaggerated and overacted, like she’s having a heart attack multiple times a day, that she leaves nothing, no subtlety in her performance whatsoever. Even in the romantic scenes where you’re supposed to feel the magic of their connection, she ruins the moment with her awful derpy expressions. She acts like Mr. Bean- even his facial expressions and body language are more graceful than hers. When she’s trying to be cute, she wrinkles up her nose and squints her eyes and juts her teeth out, and sometimes does this weird wide eyed blinking thing with sound effects- it’s not cute or natural- it looks forced and scary. From episode 7-8 onwards I stopped looking at her face and focused only on the subtitles. Unfortunately in episode 9 there’s a scene where one lady says how she couldn’t have children and married her husband without the plan to breed. Then Natsumi starts blubbering and crying like an idiot- that was an extremely annoying moment. Somehow this character gets more annoying as the episodes go on.

There are scenes around episode 5-6 where Natsumi sticks her head into this other single lady’s business just so she can witness a love matchmaking situation because she’s bored and needs excitement in her own life. Just like many typical housewives tales where they spend so much thought and energy to set up other people so they can land in the same marital bondage as the rest. Even the husband says “You seem to be really enjoying this…” yes because she has nothing else to do in life. And this is how a nosy, toxic housewife is born. It’s really not cute.

Episode 6: there’s a scene when Natsumi and her husband meet a childhood friend, and the friend talks about a man in the past that Natsumi was searching for to thank him, and Natsumi looks flustered trying to stop the friend from talking so that it wouldn’t upset her husband, but she follows her friend around with an expression and body language as if she desperately needs to use the bathroom. Very poorly done. Another star off for poor acting of the female lead.

Actually the male actor is much better- though his character Takimasa is also inexperienced in romance, his expressions and mannerisms are much more natural looking and he is far more likable. But the two together are an odd pairing and come across more like neurotic brother and sister, rather than husband and wife.

The whole focus is on husband and wife’s nightly activities- sexual activity, breeding, having children, etc etc. All the usual boring nonsense that every other drama focuses on too, except this one in a period drama- same old story dressed up in different clothes. There was also a childbirth storyline with Natsumi’s sister (?) which was so boring- how many times have I seen this drama in every other newly wed show? Yawn. There’s a scene where Natsumi starts drinking and again she starts acting like a twitching, glitchy bot with the most idiotic facial expressions and body language. How can a grown woman act like a perpetual 2 year old? It’s not sexy in the least, but taking advantage of a drunk person is the next logical step in this J drama I suppose. She says a classic line: “Blame it on the alcohol!” Lol. What a derp.

They should have gotten a different lead actress. Believability is a big part of acting to create the world of the drama for the viewer, and if the actor does a bad job, it just ends up looking cheap and bad.

In episode 10, Fumiko visit Natsumi as they’re all afraid for their husband/fiancée’s lives. Her fear and regret at parting ways with Fukami with a cold remark can be felt, even though she doesn’t say much. But Natsumi starts squealing/crying and it doesn’t make me feel sorry for her at all- it’s just irritating. Less is more- the actress doesn’t understand subtlety.

What I did enjoy: The second couple. The interactions and romance that develops between Fukami (the good looking apparent Navy playboy) and Fumiko San (the independent single working woman) are a lot more natural, understated, and subtle compared to the main couple. I enjoyed watching their scenes, as they slowly learn about each other while holding reservations. For example the scene where they are sent by the derpy Natsumi to buy some forgotten ingredient, and they encounter a poor boy stealing, and how they both handle the situation teaches them about each other. Their stolen glances, the quiet question of sending another letter- while the exterior of the woman seems cold, there’s actually real chemistry that can be felt there. It’s not in your face. That was quite subtle and beautiful. I also really enjoyed their matchmaking scene- how they were communicating through their eyes and the “air” but giving diplomatic responses to appease the crowd. Fukami has this cheeky Shia LaBeouf vibe, and Fumiko is a headstrong woman who still has that girlish side of her. Their chemistry and desire underneath all their nonchalant performance is strong that I could see him sweeping her off her feet in a heartbeat. It was almost like a chess mind game. I wouldn’t necessarily call this love either- more like the dynamic of a playboy and a woman playing hard to get in a larger game of Russian roulette (marrying someone in the Navy who can die any moment). Nevertheless it was interesting to watch. Koseki Yuta was my favorite actor in this series- his expressions were multilayered and he exuded a charisma with ease, while harboring conflicting emotions of yearning towards his fiancée.

The difference between the reunion between Takimasa and Natsumi and Fumiko and Fukami is like night and day. Natsumi starts wailing and screaming that I had to mute my device and turn away, while the reaction of unexpressed feelings and relief at his return between the second couple was truly something I could feel. That was beautiful. Those moments between the second couple made the drama tolerable.

I had to skip the last half of episode 10 because it was all about the rings and the main couple and I just couldn’t tolerate the bad acting any longer. But I got the point.

Why couldn’t they have done a more interesting kind of treatment with the main couple? It could have been something so subtly beautiful and sweet, instead of watching a weird glitching anxiety attack in the form of Natsumi. She has an anxiety attack/heart attack every 5 minutes and can’t act natural even for one scene. She just gives me the ick. Her friend Fumiko is so much more refined and beautiful.