Bhavna

So recently, I came across this genre of J dramas called Iyashikei meaning healing dramas. This is the perfect example. The original Japanese title is Shiawase wa tabete nete matte, which means “ happiness is eating sleeping waiting,” but the English title has translated it into: “Eat, sleep, then wait for happiness.” This changes the entire meaning. It almost sounds like you’re waiting for happiness to happen in the future and you’re eating and sleeping while you wait. But that is not the point of this series. The eating, the sleeping, and the waiting are all part of happiness. There’s nothing complicated about it. You don’t wait for happiness. You don’t have to do anything fancy or complicated. Happiness comes in the simplest of things. And I love that because it’s basically saying take the pressure off.
Mugimaki san reminds me of myself, as I am recovering from different bodily issues and injuries, wondering if I will ever be back to normal. She really captures the sense of despair and loneliness, and the sense of waiting that such circumstances created in the mind. When I first saw her, I immediately thought, “this actress has had way too much plastic surgery,” and I wondered how I could relate to the character when her facial appearance doesn’t look very natural, and didn’t seem to the healing nature of the drama. But her way of acting and behaving, won me over, as she is ever very sweet and so polite. At first, she comes from a place of not being able to take care of herself, and feeling overwhelmed. But as she moves into the new apartment where Tsukasa San has inspired her with food therapy, she pursue and studies the topic on her own. I find this to be very refreshing as opposed to being taught by him. In fact, he blatantly refuses to teach her about food therapy because he doesn’t want the liability how people might behave after acquiring such knowledge.
What I love about the series is that if you space for each of the characters to exist on their own, especially Mugimaki San and Tsakasa San, and does not force a romantic angle between the two. This allows both characters to breathe and exist in their own spheres, and just to be themselves, instead of playing out this romance script. It does happen with two side characters who discover that each other likes vegetarian food, and then after meeting once or twice, they decide to move in together. That story seemed a little unrealistic and rushed. But I’m glad they didn’t do it with the two main leads. I really liked how Tsukasa San went off the mountains for a week or two just to reclaim his freedom and clear his mind, while still having a place to come back to- the old lady’s apartment to call Home. All three of these characters have built a unique sense of home for themselves as they also redefine it. I love how each character has the freedom to be themselves, and do what they feel called to, while still maintaining a connection with each other. In this sense, they achieve a rare kind of balance between autonomy and connection. It is truly beautiful.
Silence is used a lot in the series, and music is used sparingly only when needed. It makes you feel like you’re really living there. It gives a really nice feeling of quiet, and relaxation. The food and dishes is a delight to look at an imagine myself tasting, but one thing that annoys me slightly not just in the series, but in J dramas overall is that when a young woman takes a bite into a new food, even before she chews for two seconds, she squeals in delight (maybe this is a social expectation to put on such a Performance), exclaiming “OISHII!!!” and they make such a big deal about it. Well, it just seems unrealistic that someone would get the full taste of something after one second of chewing. It feels fake and exaggerated. This is one thing I didn’t like about Mugimaki San- her exaggerated exclamations of how tasty the food is even before she manages to chew for more than one second. It has become a J drama, pet peeve of mine. But I can forgive that because the rest of the series is so chill, and healing, and exactly what I needed.