Taboos , societal repressions and suffocating expectations
I watched this drama a long time ago and decided to revisit it to refresh my memory. Oh, dear, oh dear-this drama is rather daring! I didn't realise that back then, which shows how dangerous youthful ignorance can be (we really need to be protected/safeguarded until we reach full brain development, lol). It explores many taboo topics. It didn’t help that the boy really looked around 16-17 years old, but at least it didn’t pretend to be something it’s not and maintained its realism. I still felt for all the characters involved, I felt for FL cause she was so desperate to break free, I could relate to her being slowly suffocated by the society's expectations ... however, the ML's mother was downright creepy! Couldn't stand her! Her gaze was so unsettling, especially the way she looked at her son-so possessive and incestuous, yuck. That made me feel like it was the most uncomfortable aspect of the drama, which is quite telling considering the inappropriate age gap between the leads. Saying that, it does not mean I was not conflicted about their relationship. But yeah, the point remains ,the drama was about breaking taboos and escaping societal expectations. The FL was on the verge of a mental breakdown...flirting between romantic schoolgirl fantasy and a bitter, mundane reality. I was just hoping she would make a better choice (even though she had tendency to quickly fold under pressure) cause it is difficult to expect from a youth to make informed decision when they are still growing ,maturing and can't differentiate between passionate infatuation and a genuine love. She wasn't that mature either and was clearly unprepared for an adult life. The other aspects of their intimacy...it's just...I refuse to acknowledge that the age of consent is still so low in Japan. It's very icky. But overall, who are we to judge when to comes to love , sometimes I think...there's plenty of adult in their 30s and 40s that are completely clueless about that no matter how old they get .The passage of time won't guarantee emotional and mental maturity. Nonetheless, I love 90s J-dramas-they feel nostalgic to me now and they are often thought-provoking...Also, as many people has pointed out this drama is not exactly about the romance. It is about much more than that. The OST was also very good.
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