Bhavna

Makoto is NOT Worth the Trouble

In the initial episodes, Hotaru was rather endearing and “real,” but she was often a caricature of herself. I mean why does she need to have her track pants’ pockets inside out like it’s a requirement for her dress code? And then she misses her first date because she’s so stupid that she chants “Beeru! Beeru!” All the way home? Wtf kind of stupid reason is that? Is she that dense? Halfway through I started to not like her because she just seemed to be annoying just for the sake of being annoying.

But my bigger issue with this show is, the director has a chauvnistic streak where there is a “ideal woman” type called Yuka, and anyone who doesn’t fit that incredibly narrow definition of a perfect woman is basically discarded as trash. And Hotaru is called a Himono Onna or dried up fish woman and it’s a way to scapegoat and attack women for not being some dreamt up ideal by a misogynist. No good. And why is everyone obsessed with this BOT called Makoto? Yuck. He’s this dud that “returned” from London probably on a 3 week vacation and acts like he’s all that. But his acting and his lines are like a bot. He doesn’t know how to communicate- in the beginning, all he could say to Hotaru was “hai” “hai” and “hai.” I’m like which idiot wrote his dialog? And the actor plays the character with the most grating lack of expression ever. He looks like he’s not even interested in being in the show. On top of that, Makoto is a male chauvinist. He goes up to Hotaru and kisses her without her permission while she’s taking a nap, then decides that he likes her and calls all the shots. He decides when the relationship starts, and when it ends. It’s all on HIS terms, even though he literally has nothing to offer her. He never makes conversation with her, and just looks bored when they’re together, making Hotaru anxious and she starts compensating for his lack of effort. But he keeps saying he likes her as a way to keep her hooked in. Then he decides on a whim that she should move in with him. Then when he gets insecure and jealous like the usual fragile ego misogynist, he dumps Hotaru via email and says one morning “It’s over. Pack your stuff up and leave.” Wow what a cold bot this Makoto is. Hotaru would have been happier being in relationship with AI! When he was living with Hotaru, half the time he communicates with her by writing notes, or text messages. He doesn’t try whatsoever, and meanwhile Hotaru is bending over backwards. And where is she supposed to go when Makoto kicks her out on a whim? The manager’s house is about to be demolished- where is she supposed to find an apartment on a moment’s notice? And why is everyone including Yuka initially in love with Makoto? He’s not good looking, is incredibly dull as a personality, and is a chauvinist and has an extremely fragile ego. Poor Hotaru. She went through all that trouble for this disgusting person. She should have seen right through him once she saw that the whole relationship was only on his terms, and based on his whims and mood swings. He crosses her boundaries and clings to her when he wants to possess her, and then when he feels threatened he throws her away like trash. What a bad character she got involved with. At the end about a month later when she’s living in a weekly apartment, Makoto who strategically says he wants to get along with her at work (especially since she has moved up the ladder and has more influence now), is working at his desk when Hotaru comes up to him and says thank you and bows to him and says she fell in love with him and she’s changed a little. He has no expression, never initiates such meaningful conversations, and looks like he couldn’t care less about her heartfelt gesture. The manager, though he was a chauvinist in his own way, calling her a dried up fish woman, and saying her life is done as a woman, at least grew to appreciate her over time. But honestly, none of the men in this series were worth the trouble. There is nothing loving or romantic about any of these relationships. But as the men - the manager, Makoto, the other guy that likes Yuka, and the other guy that’s the manager’s divorce buddy are all talking, they discuss how Hotaru is living alone and Makoto said he thought she would go back to living with the manager. And they interpret it as a great thing that she lives alone and doesn’t go to the next guy (the manager) as soon as she is dumped. Then the manager calls her selfish, and then the other guy says “we always attract such selfish women don’t we?” They are all red flags. Hotaru is better off alone.

In the end, Hotaru doesn’t join the Christmas party of bots, but is sleeping alone at home. She tried the relationship thing that everyone harped on about, and it ended up being a disaster. And when she’s back at home, the bots go back to criticizing her. That’s why they’re not worth her time. Hotaru IS the light. She doesn’t need any bot to complete her. In the end she looks much more confident.

In the end, she comes back to the manager, well they have more chemistry together than Makoto bot.
Now I realized there is a season 2! Will it go up or downhill from here? Will find out….

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Takane No Hana

I find this concept of the flower atop a high mountain, the beautiful, unattainable woman, to be so intriguing. The main character is raised by a master flower arranger and she is expected to be the best of the best and carry on the family name and school. But her heart is yearning for something outside of the glass walls, and she meets this guy in a bicycle shop who looks like a muppet who has a heart of gold. She is basically the flower that came down from the mountain to hang out with the chickens. But I can understand her need for freedom, and in order to master something great, one has to open their heart. It’s just that I wasn’t really buying into their romance. It had this 90s Hollywood romcom feel to it that renders the romance as fake, melodramatic (mostly on the part of the female), and unnecessary. My opinion is that she should have stayed as the unattainable woman and found her true value from the divine source within. But oh well. The aesthetics were amazing. An interesting fusion of the traditional culture and the wild heart that wants to break free of it.

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Better than the Special!

I loved this movie even more than the first, and it’s because I saw a side of Shiro San from beginning to end that was vulnerable and expressive of his love to an extent that I hadn’t seen in the episodes or the first movie. It’s like his heart was cracked open- from the Kyoto trip with Kenji to staying at home for New Years to be with Kenji and standing up to his parents, saying that their withdrawal of their welcome of Kenji was “unbelievably cruel..” and then his “investigation” of what was going on with Kenji when he went to the hospital etc. to get his thinning hair situation checked out, and Shiro’s fearful assumption that Kenji was dying, and thus his pouring out of feelings in those last scenes, I was genuinely impressed. It’s very rewarding when the stoic man who doesn’t hold hands, kiss, or hug is blooming with emotion. Not to mention, his look in the sunglasses at the end, Kenji said out loud what I was thinking from the beginning: that Shiro San looks like Tom Cruise (except better).

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Interesting but…

I should have written this review right after watching the series instead of moving on to the special. The special single-handedly wiped out any of the good feelings I had at the end of the 10 episodes season. But I do remember tearing up at the wedding scene at the very end. Yes the show is unrealistic and naive, but showing someone as incompetent as Kahoko as capable of going to college and graduating and even finding a super hot guy like Hajime is just too much. The woman can barely tie her own shoes and falls asleep mid-conversation after dinner, like what?! At first I found it cute, but like I said, because I watched the Special and am scarred by the effects of it, my impression of the entire series has gone down. But I did enjoy the series. I thought it was endearing. The only trouble is that Kahoko has no chemistry with Hajime whatsoever and Hajime does an amazing job of acting like he’s attracted to her but it’s just an impossible scenario, because it just looks like a boy who feels sorry for a toddler who has lost its toy and is crying while wagging her hands up and down. His “love” is more like sympathy. Then Kahoko tries to get married or have babies just for the sake of making her grandma happy, or intervenes in her cousin Ito’s life even though Ito wants nothing to do with her and she basically forces her aunt and uncle not to get a divorce and get back together because “Kahoko sad!” What on earth.. I’m wondering if a baby actually directed this show? And what’s the deal with ”Kahoko always tried harder than anyone else but sucked at everything anyway!” I don’t get it. As someone with a helicopter mom myself with a very similar situation, I could relate to many of the things, but a lot of it was irritating too. Realistically, Kahoko would not be getting married to this handsome young man- realistically she would be in an adult diaper still unable to tie her shoes and falling asleep drooling in her mom’s lap while watching baby videos of herself. She’s unable to take care of anyone including herself, so unless she’s mentally or physically handicapped, artificially handicapping someone like that is basically abuse.

I wish they had explored more of the dynamic between Hajime and Kahoko and how it changed her at a much deeper level. Instead it focused on Kahoko’s annoying family and it just made it more boring. I didn’t care about Ito or her parents or the other two aunt and uncle and the aunt’s shoplifting tendencies. I didn’t care about the grandma dying or the grandpa. The parents’ dynamic with Kahoko was interesting enough, but what needed to be explored in more detail was how such a sheltered child developed a romantic relationship- kind of like Tangled. They needed to show more about Hajime, because this actor did such a great job acting like he was in love with Kahoko, but it still felt unrealistic because Kahoko was always running away and answering phone calls from her parents. Such a strong relationship cannot develop on such a thin foundation. They needed to build their relationship up a LOT more, because to deal with such an annoying extended family and overbearing mother/parents is not worth it unless the relationship is truly something deep. And they missed the opportunity to showcase that, so their relationship looked more surface level. If it wasn’t for the intensity of Hajime’s character and his acting, I wouldn’t have believed in their relationship at all, based on Kahoko’s stupid facial expressions and falling asleep mid-conversation. To me she seemed like an extremely self centered big baby.

I don’t like the message that “Family is the best and you must stick with them no matter what! Do not get a divorce no matter what! Stay together to live up to Kahoko’s ideal family fantasy!” I find it highly toxic. Family = dysfunction. The best part of the series is the “Family Song” that plays at the end of each episode.

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Kahoko is a Hot Mess. Same old nonsense amplified

So after the wonderful birthday parties, weddings, and big moments are over, comes “Ordinary time” where Kahoko, Hajime, and the family have to live their regular boring lives. There’s only one problem- Kahoko talks a big talk but can’t back up any of her words with any real action that keeps her daily life or family going. Her day care business is a failure and in debt, she can’t cook, clean, or do anything except fall asleep like a big baby mid-task, just like the first series. And seriously what is up with her clothes? Why does she still dress like a cross between a 1 year old baby and a grandma? How does a fine young man like Hajime fall for a mess like Kahoko? Besides, the two have zero chemistry- they’re more like brother and sister than romantic partners.

This “Special” is dedicated to showing how life after the romance, honeymoon, wedding, “happily ever after” big dramatic celebration moments falls apart because it’s the boring mundane stuff of the everyday, which Kahoko and the rest of them are terrible at. After the “big wedding” or the “big birthday bash” is the time when they say “What now?” And they simply can’t sustain it. If the characters get bored for five minutes, they stir up drama like kahoko’s parents getting a divorce. Why? Just because! Every time Hajime is having a serious conversation with Kahoko, she gets a call from someone in her extended family who’s having a meltdown and she needs to run away mid conversation and give them a wide-eyed pep talk to make them come to their senses, and then all of a sudden her mom and dad who were hell-bent on handing in the divorce papers, are now lovey dovey again. These characters really resemble 2D cartoon characters and at some point -I think it was the airport scene with Ito and her parents, I realized that I don’t give a **** about any of these characters anymore. Maybe a different director made this special because it’s like the original series on steroids, but more annoying, superficial, and more unrealistic in a bad way. Kahoko gets more and more annoying and incompetent and big baby like and I really don’t see what Hajime “sees” in her at all- she’s totally self centered like a toddler and only cares about putting out ridiculous dramatic fires in her family one after another because her grandma told her to keep the family together and keep having birthday parties, without the regular care or need to tend to her relationship with Hajime- he’s essentially an afterthought and a side character in her extended family drama. She does things like get married or have kids just to make people in her family happy or “make her grandma happy” like in the series, and it’s ridiculous. Her mindset is so immature it’s annoying to watch. And for some reason, whenever anything in the show falls apart like the daycare center they started, or Kahoko’s parents’ marriage, or her own marriage with Hajime, or Ito’s plans to go to Vienna, or Tomatsu the foster kid- all it takes is for Kahoko to run over to each like like a large baby and start talking really fast about “how they should keep going because… ganbatte!” while hyperventilating like a toddler and either passing out or falling asleep mid-sentence and then all of a sudden the problems are all fixed. Kahoko keeps intervening in different situations that are none of her business just because she doesn’t want her idyllic world to fall apart, and she doesn’t want other people to get divorced because she will be sad! So she nags at everyone to keep going with whatever nonsense isn’t working just to keep her own mental ideal of them intact. What on earth am I even watching? And then she has two babies at the end, because they needed the perfect next big dramatic moment to punctuate the end of the show. This show is like a Facebook highlight reel of the “big moments,” where the little everyday moments are really not working at all and at the end of any “real” everyday conversation is “Well then maybe we should break up!” If Kahoko’s mother wasn’t there to take care of the entire family, the whole family would be f***d. Kahoko the overgrown toddler isn’t capable of sustaining a marriage, a family, a house, or anything for that matter. They should just call her “Incompetent Kahoko.” In the first season she was a bit endearing because the concept was kind of new, but to see her try to sincerely break out of her infantile state while succumbing to her impromptu naps was at least somewhat entertaining. But this special was just bad. It was the same Kahoko if she was a few years older and was the same and can’t do anything properly except fall asleep mid conversation. It shows how she’s utterly incapable of sustaining and relationship and should have never gotten married, but marriage to her is just a “big moment to make people happy!” What over-simplistic garbage. I say Hajime needs to find a better partner.

It’s funny because the series seems to be about “family is the best no matter what!” But it just shows how dysfunctional the whole family experience is, and is more like a cautionary tale to be careful when making the decision to get married and have kids instead of just falling into it because “that’s what everyone does.” In the very last scene, Kahoko’s grandpa (the dad’s dad) says to Hajime how much he is going to suffer with kids. The hint underneath the “wonderful family picture” is basically torture and suffering that people just “check out” like that grandpa.

The best part of the series is the “Family Song” theme song by Gen Hoshino- it’s very addicting and breathes life into an otherwise long dead story.

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One Big Meh.. Could Have Been Better

Ok let’s get the good things about Silent out of the way before I air out my grievances. There are so many silent moments in this J drama of just talking in sign language and it forces me to focus on the conversation as if it’s happening to me, as if I’m really there in the scene. The use of silence is nice and oftentimes there’s either total silence or a soft piano in the background and it makes the experience feel quite real.

With that said, there were many cons I found in this series. The characters were very one dimensional, their relationships, conversations, and scenarios felt repetitive and shallow, and it felt like the story wasn’t really moving at all- not to say a slow moving story is a bad thing but a slow moving story needs depth, and this series was stuck in the shallow kiddie pool for 11 episodes. If I’m going to dedicate my time to watch 11 long episodes, I’d like some more deeper exploration like character development, maturation of the characters or deep changes to happen over time. I felt like the main characters especially Sakura-kun didn’t change much from beginning to end. They were terribly boring, including their contrived yawn worthy high school story. Yes Sakura kun started to open up and became a little happier and more expressive but it was all surface level and I didn’t feel anything while watching it. He also seemed quite rigid in his thinking and was fixated on hearing Tsumugi’s voice. Something about him seemed really wooden- was it his acting or his emotional toll from the loss of hearing.. I don’t know. I guess it’s unfair to expect a hero’s journey when he’s just a regular dude going through hearing loss where he’s stuck in the past. I didn’t find his or Tsumugi’s character to be interesting at all. They were like NPCs that I don’t care about no matter what song they play on their iPod or how many CDs they arrange in their room. It felt like the whole show was a lot of regular small talk which I would yawn at and get bored with. Even after the whole show is over, I’m left with the thought- “Ok but why should I care about this relationship?” I simply don’t care- like Minato says in the end- “I don’t care if you get with SO or don’t get with SO, whatever it is just get on with it.” (My version)

On the other hand, the side characters like the sign language teacher, or my favorite Nana were far more interesting than the leads. Minato and Nana were very giving, always sharing and helping others from the heart, but weren’t really appreciated much. Minato’s relationship with Tsumugi in the beginning seemed fine and boring but as soon as Sakura kun came along he turned into an insecure mess- I guess the most badass thing he did was break up with her, but after that it felt like his character just froze and was looping and spinning his wheels like an NPC in the same ditch from beginning to end. Tsumugi was grieving for a whole 2 minutes about Minato and then the script simply dropped him and they became like wooden strangers while she moved onto the next dude as planned. So weird, predictable and …yawn! I don’t care.

I loved the story of Nana and the interpreter teacher- they were both so sweet and so was their backstory, how the guy wanted to see her smile and do more for her. And yes Nana’s smile is so bright and beautiful and I found her to be the most interesting and dynamic character in the whole series. Even though she was the only one who was deaf from birth, she was an expressive communicator and usually direct and brutally honest with what she wanted to say. I loved that about her. She was far ahead than the others. She wore her heart on her sleeve even though she got hurt twice with two different men- Sakura kun and the interpreter guy (although there is hope for them two). How is it that everyone else pretty much sucks at communicating except for Nana? Even at the end at the final scenes of the last episode on Christmas, she buys a big bouquet of flowers to give to the sign language dude (shouldn’t he be buying her flowers? She also sent him a handwritten letter!) and then gives little parts of the bouquet to Minato (who in turn gives it to Tsumugi) and to Sakura-kun. Then at the very end they both share Nana’s gift to each other. Like seriously Nana being the one who cannot hear from birth is the one who shares her heart most expressively with everyone, from her smile to her sharp words, to her flowers. I just loved Nana. And let’s not forget that she is the one who pulled Sakura-kun out of his frozen state after his hearing loss and listened to him and healed him and taught him sign language. And she was also the one who inspired the interpreter guy to become an interpreter who ended up teaching Tsumugi, so basically she is the force behind the entire series that moves everything along. They should just call the series Nana. I wished she could be happy always for being so honest and expressive. Everyone else is stuck and frozen in their characters and spinning their wheels, with repeated conversations like it just gets boring and by the end I just wanted to see if Nana would get with the interpreter guy. I didn’t care about Tsumugi and Sakura-kun because they just bored me to death with their tired old conversations and shallow high school cliche relationship. I’m all about the slow burn, but this series was more like a slow groan.

If it weren’t for Nana and the interpreter guy, I would have switched this off several episodes ago. At the end I don’t feel satisfied, just bored having watched that. Meh. Like having eaten a lot of calories with zero satisfaction and nutrition. I rate it one big MEH.

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Chemistry Not as Magical as Cherry Magic

Being a HUGE fan of Cherry Magic (I’ve watched the J drama, movie, and anime versions multiple times), I can’t help but compare this BL office romance with it. Honestly even if they come up with 10 more with this exact same story, I’m here for it. It was refreshing that this series only has 5 episodes, so it leaves the rest up to imagination. I didn’t like the fact that they keep harping on the older guy’s age as if 40 is on your deathbed. Carl Jung has said that 40 is when the true life really starts. Anyway I actually liked the younger guy’s acting much better. The protagonist Nozue (the 40 year old) seemed lackluster till the end, and even when he said he liked Togawa (the 30 year old), I didn’t quite believe him. He looked a bit constipated in his emotions, but Togawa was really into it. He was the “Kurosawa” character from Cherry Magic, but the protagonist- the one who feels stuck, unworthy, uninspired (the counterpart of Adachi) was neither as cute or interesting as Adachi was. I think if they had cast someone else as the lead, the chemistry could have been much better. This is what was lacking- the chemistry. Nevertheless, I still liked it, and perhaps my favorite part of the series was the intro/outro song Blue Blur" (feat. Mabanua) by Ryu Matsuyama really set the vibe- it was super romantic.

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Tries to be more interesting than it is…

This is the lowest rating I’ve given for any Jdrama- I feel like this drama tries too hard to be deep or profound. It paints the Mary Magdalene figure not just as a “sinful” woman but a serial killer, mixes some Adam and Eve in there, with the last supper. All of it divorced from their true archetypal meeting and flattened to glorify this random Maria woman. Mary Magdalene is once again trashed in pop culture with falsities. They have no depth or context for any of these Christian symbols and simply throw it all together into one big messy soup. And it tastes weird, sour, and bitter. It tries so hard to be mysterious, scandalous, dangerous, and interesting, but the show is just bad and boring. The acting is uniformly bad and the director of the show has no purpose for the story whatsoever other than to run around in circles and waste time. I watched it till the last episode hoping to find something interesting or some kind of depth or something that would “make it make sense,” but it was just utterly stupid. People die and then don’t die, Maria is glorified as this serial killer whom Akechi keeps saving, kisses in a burning building for no good reason, and falls down this deadly hole with. Akechi makes no sense either. His primary monotone dialog is “warukunai” (not bad) when tasting food and “Maria..”They try to be deep and interesting but in the end it just all falls flat and hollow. I’m not impressed with this. The lady who acts in “Marry my Husband” is also in this but far less likable- she’s annoying and screechy. Perhaps the only thing that’s good is the Utada Hikaru song that plays at the end of every episode. In the end it’s utterly pointless and left a bad taste in my mouth.

The only thing that redeems Tomoya Nakamura is that later I found out he was the same actor who plays Gon San in Nagi’s Long Vacation. I was surprised because I didn’t recognize him at all- shows how the director/screenplay determines the quality of acting.

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Can’t Get enough of these two!

Within 3 days I finished the whole Cherry Magic 12 episode series + 2 SP and the movie. Turns out I can’t get enough of these two as a couple. They are so very sweet together. They are kind and respectful towards each other, show patience, genuine care, and don’t play games. They have their moments of hiding how they really feel but it’s not done out of game playing. They are both sincere. Especially Kurosawa- his love from the beginning is inspiring. What I like about this movie is that even though there are hurdles along the way like Adachi being transferred for 8 months to Nagasaki to become a sales manager and start up the company branch there, and gets into an accident, it all serves to strengthen their bond and relationship. It isn’t drama just for the sake of having conflict. In fact, other than these two things and meeting each other’s family, the movie doesn’t have a whole lot of conflict- in other words, it depicts a good relationship that is blossoming and blooming without drama. A relationship without drama is a good sign! That’s actually what I love about this movie. Even Adachi being sent to Nagasaki for 8 months served to make him more responsible and take on more responsibility and step up to the plate, and Adachi’s accident (though he wasn’t physically hurt) also served as a reminder of impermanence and just the fact that they didn’t contact Kurosawa upon hearing the news, and that motivated them to take the next step forward to meeting each others’ families to become part of each others’ families. I was almost bracing for some horrible conflict like someone dies, and for me to be left clutching my heart J drama style, but that moment never came- it was smooth sailing and even ended on a wedding- like scene even though I don’t think gay marriage is legal in Japan, well this is an anime story so it’s legal in this world! I love it. I love their romance, their love, their relationship.

Cherry Magic gives you something this world rarely offers:
a vision of love without chaos.
No trauma bonding.
No narcissistic hooks.
No ego theatrics.
Just two people who show up for each other without forcing anything.

I saw the power in that and sensed what it means for a relationship to deepen through gentleness instead of crisis.
And because this world is characterized by egoic love, seeing a story that doesn’t do that feels almost unreal, like a parallel world with different physics.

My only gripe is that they didn’t show the two kissing- no smooching needed, just that still kiss they do in the Japanese dramas, but alas there was none. I get that either the actors (especially Eiji Akaso) were uncomfortable with it, or it’s maybe a censor issue in Japan for a same sex couple to kiss? But that’s what we BL fans are here for! That elevator hidden kiss at the end of the series as the doors were closing was iconic. Kurosawa is so badass, and Adachi is so handsome and sweet. Ahhhhh. The lack of overt kissing, the soft, almost shy portrayal of intimacy: Japanese dramas excel at this. They understand that the sacredness of a connection doesn’t need to be shoved in your face. In a way, it keeps the romance suspended in that pure emotional frequency that I love so much, even if part of me wanted just one more quiet kiss to seal the moment.

And it was refreshing to see that the families accepted their son’s partner eventually- they didn’t storm off in a tantrum.. even that part was compassionate and those characters show restraint and emotional maturity. The families in Cherry Magic behaved in a way the world rarely does: they didn’t weaponize shock, they didn’t collapse into melodrama, and they didn’t turn love into a battlefield. They felt the discomfort, processed it, and then chose connection over ego. That restraint, that quiet willingness to grow, carries an emotional dignity I’ve rarely seen reflected in this world. That’s why this pure love lives in an alternate universe and I’m here for that.

For someone who has given up on human love and romance long ago, this Cherry Magic story has turned me into a pile of mush- this is like an alternate reality that shows that in some other reality, this kind of pure love is possible, and I am inspired by that. Daisuki!

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The Predecessor to Doctor X

The Pride of the Temp is a predecessor to Doctor X since it came out in 2007 (and Dr. X in 2012) - a kind of prototype story, where a woman, a lone wolf works outside of the existing hierarchical system that focuses on power, corruption, status, money, and image- as a temp or freelancer. She joins the system via an agency while remaining an outsider, where her agent declares the terms of her contract- a list of “I will not do…” aka Itashimasen. I noticed many similarities between Pride of the Temp and Doctor X. Daimon Michiko and Omae both retreat into foreign Spanish/portuguese speaking lands (Spain, Cuba, Brazil etc) where they have an unknown, mysterious past. They both also dance in their after hours- Michiko in the club with her manager Akira San, and Omae as a flamenco dancer in a restaurant. They are both blunt, assertive, and only do what is necessary for their jobs, and leave strictly at 5pm, with exact timing for lunch breaks and no overtime. They both eat alone and don’t entertain personal friendships or romances in the workplace. And both share the same drive of compassion for helping others, through their superhuman qualities and skills that can save entire companies and hospitals. It’s as if the divine is acting through this archetype, and the existing patriarchal systems of old men at the top can’t stand this woman. So they try to diminish and sabotage her despite how much she is doing for the company. They both know “powers that be” at the top who propel their opportunities forward. They both share a kind of loneliness as they operate outside of the system, but they have an inner circle that they can rely on and turn to. There is one difference however which makes me favor Daimon Michiko more. Omae is shown to harbor a kind of loneliness as if she secretly wants friends and romance despite her hardened exterior. When Shoji and Satonaka fall in love with Omae, on the outside she rejects them, but it seems that she is hiding feelings on the inside for “Mr Curly haired” Shoji or Satonaka while trying to act tough. They also make Omae unnecessarily robotic like an AI bot as if she is inhuman, which is unnecessary. Daimon Michiko on the other hand is a more evolved version of Omae- she is a lone wolf that is truly comfortable with herself and her aloneness, and is not secretly crying on the inside out of loneliness. It’s like Michiko has fully met her inner demons and conquered them so nothing can stop her, and her only vulnerability is protecting those she loves and is close to. Michiko is also a lot of more charismatic, childlike, and gorgeous compared to Omae, and is very self assured. She has a loud and brash style of speaking, whereas Omae is quieter and more secretive. Michiko has a childlike innocence in her- her only interests are “surgery and food.” And of course Mahjong and public baths and dancing in the club. She dresses like a supermodel and struts through the hospital in heels. Omae doesn’t have those qualities and doesn’t need to, but the most striking difference I see is that they left the romance angle out of Doctor X, and meanwhile that hinders Omae. And yes even Michiko does like Hachisuka towards the end of a season and vows to save his life, but that romance doesn’t go anywhere and the writers are not that interested in giving up her storyline to that romance so they end it in a comedy of errors. The story of Doctor X is a lot more polished, and is like an upgraded version of The Pride of the Temp. It’s like they took a good story and elevated it to the next level. So Pride of the Temp is a less evolved version of Doctor X, but still worth the watch.

Satonaka was incredibly handsome and good looking in the first season, but 13 years later in the second season, while Shoji still looks about the same, Satonaka has aged quite a bit and his hair- what happened to his hairstyle in the second season? In the first season he has this cute punk like hairstyle which turns into a grandpa hairstyle in the second season. Please someone fix Satonaka’s hair! I liked his character in the first season, but in the second season with his looks fading and terrible hairstyle, he seemed to just come across as a people pleaser. But in the end he finally found his voice and strength and does his own thing. As for Shoji, he still has a selfish and narcissistic streak in him, though he starts to genuinely appreciate Omae. They are both more like fans of her than romantic interests.

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I watched this for Kamiki!

Ok I watched this special just for Kamiki- he has stolen my heart since season 2 of The Honest Realtor. Not only is he incredibly handsome, with a beautiful smile, and such precise beautiful body language, he shows a kind of sensitivity that builds on the ending of season 2 where he breaks down from the loss of his late wife and son and is taught a new way of living and working by Nagase who says “What’s more important than being #1 is bringing joy to others and it makes me happy.” Nagase says he believes Kamiki can change. Of course no one can change overnight, but here is a turning point where Kamiki’s biggest wound is being exposed to the light and has the chance to change him. His memories are frozen in pain, and he is unable to let go. He refuses to sell this old house from his late wife Kaori which has memories of her and his son Shota when they used to visit the grandparents. His story, and seeing that sensitivity change his hardened mask just brings tears to my eyes. Seeing how it ended- where the house was sold to build a community center for children, was very heartwarming, and to see how it healed something in Kamiki’s heart was healing for me too. He was tap dancing quite a lot in this episode lol! He’s quite good, and it has the vibe of a cocky, cooky anime villain, but he’s so endearing too. Like the bank manager lady was so smitten with him, I too am smitten with Kamiki, played by Dean Fujioka. He could do a Kamiki tap dancing special and I’d watch that too.

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Love Prevails Above All

I was disappointed to see the ending of Hirugao the series (2014) to see that Yuichiro just went back to his prison warden wife Noriko as if nothing happened, and Rikako went back to her psycho controller husband like it was no big deal. Only Sawa stood by her choice for love with conviction. She got a divorce from her clown husband and moved to a new town. She lived a pure lifestyle for 3 years and then fate brings Yuichiro back to her once again. She chooses to attend his lecture and the love story is rekindled once again. Noriko’s psychopathic nature gets turned to new heights as her jealousy makes her do very bizarre things like asking them to perform their “union” in front of her in a hotel room. She is truly so weird and disgusting. She thinks that an affair is just lust and bodies in friction. But what Sawa and Yuichiro have together is pure. They actually spend time with each other in a silent bond in the forest and the creek and that lifts their love to sacred heights. It’s something that Noriko could never imagine. She simply doesn’t understand their love because she is not capable of reaching that frequency. So she just resorts to her evil and manipulative ways like throwing herself off a balcony to manipulate Yuichiro into coming back to help her. Well that short time that Sawa was with Yuichiro was so precious and beautiful- when they were living together. And even though Noriko’s evil and vengeful nature made her kill Yuichiro in the end, the last thing that came out of his mouth was “I love Sawa” and the ring he bought was passed on in love between innocent children- their love was innocent, although it was dressed up in “adultery” by the world’s definition. Love won in the end. Even though Noriko killed the form of her husband, and lied to Sawa saying that “he apologized and came back to me in the end” as she tries to control the narrative, Yuichiro’s heart was with Sawa, and God blessed Sawa with Yuichiro’s child as she says in the end the little life that is growing in her womb gave her a new meaning in life. Noriko was using pregnancy and motherhood as a form of control and manipulation (saying things like “I want that baby” like it’s an agenda item on her to do list), but the baby was born only to the one who held love as sacred. Sawa and Yuichiro’s bond was so beautiful- I wanted them to be together so much. Noriko’s anger and vengeance carried on even after killing her husband and her hatred continued even after his death as she tells Sawa that she will hate her forever, but Sawa didn’t hold any hatred in her heart towards Noriko for what she did. That shows the purity of Sawa’s heart and the evil inside the wife’s heart. That’s why a pure soul like Yuichiro left his evil wife. She was nothing but a controller and manipulator. It was a tragic ending in form, but truly it was triumphant for love. Even though adultery is seen as just s*x, this love story showed the innocence of love preserved as Yuichiro’s ring was passed on to innocent children as they shared their love.

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Incredible story

Wow… I haven’t watched a tv series like this in the west. From beginning to end its story is so gripping with suspense and the music really helps to create this kind of creepy suspense. Instead of the usual “who done it?” trope, it explores more complexity behind each of the characters, not painting anyone as purely good or evil, but rather complex characters with weaknesses and fears, who make mistakes.
Sadly some get punished while others seem to go free. But ultimately guilt and the belief in guilt is its own punishment.
The pristine quality of the shots and sets are just a treat to watch. I love seeing how all the different characters are unveiled throughout the series in layers and complexity. It’s hard to even give a review of this series with words as it creates more of a feeling within me and it’s something that I still need to process. This is one that has some rewatch value for sure

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An Insufferable Case of Infatuation/Obsession/Stalking/Delusion

I feel sorry for Dr Tendo being chased by a crazy rabbit faced child who treats love as an egoistical goal that needs to be won like a race, elbowing her way to the top. Takeru Satoh deserves better. His acting primarily involves scowling, rolling his eyes, and flexing his jaw muscles to show off his cheekbones and doing his famous duck pout to show off his lips. It seems like he’s sleepwalking throughout the series and royally pissed off about his role- honestly, I have the same expression on my face as I watched. People are panicking that he keeps calling her an idiot and scowling- but literally if you were in his shoes and the script is written to kiss a rabid child 35 times throughout 10 episodes while showing zero emotion, I think “Baka!” Is the only reasonable dialog there could be.

“He’s inconsiderate, cold, and indifferent… but I love him!” This insufferable lead female Sakura has serious parental emotional trauma around abandonment and rejection and can’t take no for an answer. She needs therapy not a man. Apparently the message of the drama is “If you desire to possess someone like an object while calling it romance, charge like a bull and go for it- ganbatte!” This behavior may lead to obsession and stalking but the series calls it “securing your own happiness.” In her own words, Sakura describes the relationship: “Well our encounter wasn’t a mere coincidence. It’s more like I elbowed my way into meeting him.” Yuck- the female lead actress is the worst thing I have ever seen.

Medical ethics and basic workplace boundaries have completely flatlined in An Incurable Case of Love, a drama that attempts to package a textbook case of clinical stalking as a whimsical office romance. The narrative kicks off when 18 ish-year-old Sakura encounters Dr. Tendo while still wearing her high school Sailor Moon uniform and smiling with her rabbit teeth. He is already a fully fledged, established doctor, making him at least 28-30’s given the rigorous medical training timeline. Instead of a normal career motivation, this fleeting encounter triggers a five-year romantic obsession, inspiring Sakura to enter the nursing profession solely to corner him into a romance. Upon arrival at the hospital, she immediately forces her intense infatuation onto him, demanding validation from a man who literally has no idea who she is. When he sets a basic professional boundary, she labels him a sadistic devil. Her behavior is an exhibition of total emotional immaturity, where the right to refuse a romantic advance is treated as a lack of virtue.

As a medical professional, Sakura is a walking malpractice suit. She cannot draw blood, clumsily rams medication carts into doctors mid-consultation, and brings down the operational efficiency of the entire cardiology unit. Her primary defense mechanism is bowing deeply fifty times a day and weaponizing excessive apologies and politeness, a tactic that serves only to inflict guilt on her colleagues who actually showed up to practice healthcare. The show frames her obsessive stalking as romantic perseverance, completely ignoring the valid criticisms of her fellow rookie nurse who points out that a hospital is a place for learning patient care, not a stage for a manufactured love affair.

The narrative programming becomes even more insufferable in the episodic subplots, particularly the heart failure patient in the 4th episode. This elderly woman repeatedly refuses life-saving bypass surgery because it interferes with her attendance at her daughter’s wedding, proudly declaring she is willing to drop dead at the venue just to see a white dress. This represents the absolute peak of the sentimental nonsense of the romance script, framing a gaudy, singular wedding event as the unquestioned pinnacle of a woman's entire existence (for herself and her daughter). The entire medical apparatus is dragged down and guilt-tripped by a patient staging a theatrical medical crisis for a daughter she apparently has not even bothered to see in two decades. It is an archaic, deeply manipulative narrative device that unironically celebrates reckless self-destruction for the sake of a sentimental nonsense theater production where the groom is likely already lukewarm/mentally checked out. She wants to make sure to stage a drama/heart attack in the middle of the venue as a grand finale of attention seeking behavior. Her daughter in the legendary wedding dress looks deeply uncomfortable upon seeing her- is that what she came there for? The old woman’s dialog, “What will I even live for?” Implies that her entire life is not worth living until she can see her daughter wearing a wedding dress and walking down the aisle to a lifetime of domestic servitude. Making it into some virtuous peak of human existence. Then Sakura starts bawling and when Dr Tendo asks her “Why are you crying?” She says “How can you watch that and not shed a tear? You really are the devil!” What absolute nonsense and insulting to everyone’s intelligence. She insults him so casually and says he’s the devil instead of examining her own obsessions. I don’t understand how any human being can like or love this awful character who is so ugly inside and out. Sakura’s enabling of this exhausting emotional martyrdom confirms that the series is less about medicine or actual love, and more about glorifying martyrdom and parasitic behavior along with boundary-blind obsessions.

Then Sakura pulls a ridiculous sentimental martyrdom stunt by getting in the way of some metal bars so it doesn’t hit Dr Tendo- better her than him I say. Then she does this dramatic dialog in the ambulance like “I love you Dr Tendo, I wish I could kiss or go on a date or kiss you or whatever and I’ll say it a hundred times I love you!” Like this weird guilt tripping blackmail on her dramatically acted fake deathbed which forces Dr Tendo to say “If you get through this I’ll grant you any wish you want! I’ll kiss you or go on a date!” And then she goes to sleep and he thinks she’s dead lol. And afterwards she tries to milk that incident for all it’s worth like “I bled so much and was going to die and I didn’t get the proper care!” She wanted the full medical dramatic theatrical production where you give a dying speech on the deathbed and say “I’ve always loved you Dr Tendo!” And then breathes her last. Then she holds Dr Tendo to that statement he made in desperation in the ambulance. What a guilt tripping blackmailing manipulative woman. Then when Dr Tendo caves in and gives her a kiss and says he will be her boyfriend, she goes around the hospital the next day with the attitude “I just want to announce it to the whole world!” She’s just obsessed with the status and image of dating Dr Tendo that she fantasizes a press conference which just highlights her own narcissism and delusional nature. Being together gives a dose of reality so to the actual person rather than a delusion fantasy. She wants him to be the way she wants him to be and doesn’t love him for who he truly is.

Add Dr Kisugi in there and you have the usual tired old love triangle that shows up in J dramas. And the ridiculous script demands that all the patients fall for this pathetic nurse.

The only redeeming moment for her has been in episode 5, where Sakura points out during the surgery that the patient Shinji, the head nurse’s son has asthma and to handle things accordingly- which ended up saving the patient. Of course she had to make a blunder by misunderstanding Dr Tendo first when the head nurse requests him not to choose her as a nurse for the surgery.

For some reason when the room gets quiet, everyone in the hospital staff whether it’s the chief or the head nurse or whoever else goes into romance mode and has some sort of romantic advice to give- aka “Don’t keep your work and love life separate. Enjoy the chaos of daily life!” What on earth. Just let Dr Tendo do his work.

But Dr Tendo caves in because of his script and so he publicly declares that Sakura is his girlfriend and Sakura smiles the ugliest rabbit teeth smile and hopping around him like an annoying child while the nursing staff around chants “You did it!” As if it’s a video game milestone to reach. This is so pathetic. And then pops out the ex-girlfriend lookalike. The trope is so typical.

And what’s with Dr Tendo’s older sister? She’s a failed doctor who apparently does nothing but get drunk all day and encouraging rabbit woman’s stalking behavior. And what sister books a hotel room for her brother and rabbit stalker girlfriend with the message “Gambatte ne!” And then packing negligéein in her suitcase with the note “Fighting!” EW. When Dr Tendo goes on a business trip to Osaka to give a talk with ex girlfriend lookalike is also speaking at, Sakura follows him along and ends up looking like a child on a field trip, “AHHH I’ve never been to Osaka! Waaaahhh!!” Then ends up entangled in this old guy’s heart attack episode and her cover is blown as Tendo comes along too. Then back at the hotel room she hopes to get lucky with Prince Tendo, and ends up looking like a giddy child about to pee its pants around an adult. Speaking of chasing children, Tendo’s older sister is also going after a child nurse- that makes both brother and sister doing the same thing. Apparently “getting to know someone” is about finding out what kind of food they like- so amateur. Sakura makes these stupid handwritten/hand-drawn pamphlets for each of her patients so that they will obsess over her rabbit face.

When Sakura finds a rival in someone who likes Tendo, she drinks herself into oblivion because she has to elbow her way into a relationship while faking perfect manners to cover up her awful personality. Then she finally admits that she’s not good enough for him and she’s just a pawn in chess, a joker in a pack of cards, a useless rock. Why should a pawn elbow its way into a relationship? Oh look! Dr Kisugi adds himself to the love square! How original! And the other nursing chick who likes him is now PO’d.

The blast from the past ex-girlfriend’s look alike sister has decided she’s in love with Tendo and even if she gets rejected, but like all the idiots in the show she doesn’t accept the rejection and move on. Instead she goes “It sparked a fire in me! When I find someone, I pursue them. I don’t give up. And I’ve decided on him!” What is wrong with these females? Why do they need to elbow their way into a relationship? Sheesh.

Oh look! Another patient in love with Sakura! Everyone’s in the romantic mood apparently and it’s raining men. This one requests Sakura to be his exclusive nurse like he’s requesting a geisha, giving her gifts, saying “Be with me!” and hugging her. Seems like he’s trying his best to make Tendo jealous. Lol romance and clownery is the life blood of this hospital and show.

Sakura can’t shut up for even 2 seconds- she always has to say some “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” or “I could stare at you for hours, so don’t mind me” or “mmm Oishii!!” or some other filler platitudes in front of Tendo to keep the noise machine running because she can’t stand silence. She’s like a buzzing bee that won’t stop making noise. Tendo’s forever irritated expression really sums up my own feelings towards her rabbit face & teeth. She then says “If I win this bowling round then let’s make a bet that you have to stay with me forever!” And somehow she wins and she starts singing a creepy song. This woman, her smile, her way of manipulating a man into romance is actually scary. Meanwhile with a forked tongue, she quits her job and leaves Tendo for the sake of a jealous patient that treated her like a private geisha. She acts like a martyr and goes to work somewhere else while acting like such a virtuous person.

The tragedy of Tendo meeting Sakura’s uncouth family - while they bombard him with questions and openly drool over his good looks, Tendo looks visibly uncomfortable and can’t manage to say a word. Then her family sets up a two person futon and watches through the screen hoping to catch a glimpse of.. what? Their daughter getting _____? What kind of Hentai family is this?

Because rabbit teeth is a drama queen she stages a dramatic “I’m dying, I’m in a coma! Everyone pay attention to me!” act with everyone bawling over her. Then Tendo tearfully “confesses” his love for her. Yawn. But I haven’t seen every J drama trope yet. There’s more!

Let me guess, rabbit teeth is going to America to study because of an “amazing opportunity”.. she might tearfully go for 1 year and then come back shinier than ever, and then they embrace once again. Let’s see how far off I am.

But before that, rabbit face goes up to Tendo’s family and randomly starts stuffing her face with xiao long bao, inciting Tendo dad to make the comment, “How shameful! Don’t butt in, since you’re not even part of our family!” My words exactly. Then when Tendo comes in and introduces her as his girlfriend, she starts jumping up and down like she has rabies. What is wrong with this woman?

So I started to watch the show on mute because rabbit face was getting on my nerves so much. I really don’t need to hear the voices say “I’ll tell the world- the doctor is mine! Using a megaphone!” Yeah we know your “love” is about achieving a trophy and showing off. Who in their right mind decided this was love? Then we come to the “passing by the Tiffany & Co.” trope. So predictable. Let’s not forget the desperate running to the airport trope either. But wait, there’s a new one! Someone dying on the wedding chapel floor and needing emergency surgery! lol! Back to the ER they go and finishing their wedding there. Good grief is it over yet?

Till the end, I am wondering: “Why did Takeru Satoh act in this trashy drama? Did he really need a paycheck?” I haven’t seen him do that many slobbery kisses in other dramas but something about smooching this child person makes the scenes look rather dubious.

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Beautiful, Healing Love

Though it’s only 6 episodes, the impact it had on me was tremendous and profoundly healing. This series showed the painfully lonely life of Kouki, which is very relatable. One doesn’t have to be a drug dealer to know that loneliness, because what is shown is not circumstantial; it is existential and innate to the human existence. When the angel started to heal him from the inside out, and Kouki started to feel alive and happy for the first time, and could feel a sense of giving and receiving in a loving way, it was as if his soul was being healed of his own past. I really liked how they handled the angel’s departure- not some long dragged out sentimental process- in fact, there is nothing sentimental about this series at all. The love shown here is not sentimental- it is holy and spiritual. It felt “real” in the sense that this could be the way it really happens, and one is not sure if it was all imagination. But even if it was, the healing of the loneliness and misery was real, and the love that blossomed inside was real- more real than the crude, harsh world around him. When Kouki cried towards the end, I cried along with him. It was a very powerful scene. And to see his once cluttered apartment being emptied out for the first time in the series, was a kind of self emptying process.

I didn’t quite understand the final scene though.. I guess it’s open ended and will have to read around to find out what it means…

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