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Faarian
Canada, Vancouver
Walls Are Comming Toward You!
You're imprisoned in a room. This is not nice, but can be tolerable in some situations, however the real disaster is that the walls are coming toward you gradually, so your body is gonna crushed sooner or later. In other words, time is your main enemy.Then how can you enjoy this situation? How can you do anything meaningful? How can you care about others, especially those who are outside such room?
Aya, her family and the Japanese culture tell you how!
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Why Is Minori So Angry?
Minori is pretty and popular, lives in a beautiful wealthy country, earns enough money with a relaxed job, has good friends, gets supported by her family, and so forth but she is so angry, having ugly fights with assholes, even with family & friends. Why?Ok, she was abused by her father, but it was a long time ago, so why doesn't she makes her own family and find peace, like Sachi in 'Our Little Sisters' (2015), like many other characters in J-doramas and movies?
The thing is this: She has a social awareness, so it's not only about her father's abuse, it's about everyday abuse and discrimination. She's well aware of the dark side of her beautiful country:
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/sion-sono-accused-sexual-assaults-1234714367/
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/06/naomi-kawase-accused-violence-on-set-1234731431/
https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/rest-of-the-world/japanese-filmmaker-actor-caught-in-number-metoo-allegations-film-release-put-on-hold-articleshow.html
I just hope instead of ugly useless personal fights, she'll find angry women and men like herself, so collectively fight for social change.
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Falling in Love with your Wife's 'Daughter'?
It sounds terrible, 'Lolita'-like, but in 'Choki', it might be very different:Naoto & Kyoko are a happy couple. Saki, a 7-year-old girl attends Kyoko’s calligraphy class. Abused by her own mother, between Saki & Kyoko, some kind of daughter-motherly relationship grow.
10 years passed. Kyoko's died and now, Naoto lives with the memories of his beloved wife. Saki, now blind, suddenly shows up, looking for Kyoko. Kyoko isn't there anymore, but her memories bring Naoto & Saki together. Gradually, they grow feelings for each other, but this is like a taboo for Naoto: How can he be in love with his beloved's 'daughter'? How can he betray Kyoko in this horrible way?
It's up to the audience to decide if the relationship is fine. To me, though very complicated, the relationship is like a present from Heaven by Kyoko for these two aching souls: I wish them the best!
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Once Upon A Time, There Was A Shabby Hotel!
I guess we read & listen to stories to discover something new & unexpected, but this doesn't mean that a good story doesn't have repetitive & expected elements. As kids, we learn this as soon as we hear our grandmoms tell us for the second time: "Once Upon A Time ..." One role of this is to make us feel at home and friendly: "Sure, we were there before!"The short series, Nihon Boro Yado Kiko (2019), is full of repetitions: Shabby hotels, one and only one song sung at every single episode, same fights, and so many others, however, the series miraculously uses all these to make us feel at home, and as some kind of framework for its new, innovative elements. And in the end, we'll have a product One Of A Kind! Story-telling at its best!
As someone who tends to be suspicious, even hateful of, the old, I started the drama with zero expectation, but now, I'm really going to miss Haruko saying: " 'Shabby Lodgings', That's by no means an insult!" I'm now a believer!
My Rating: 10/10
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The Relationship Dynamics: Peace-> Tension -> Peace
I think the relationship can be divided into 3 phases: the Cute phase, the Ugly phase and the 'Cute' phase:1. Initial Cute-Peaceful Phase. Cute high-school romance, or it's what the girl thinks until she finds out the extreme masochistic tendency of the guy. The phase is about 2 persons.
2. Intermediate Tension-Anger-Revenge Phase: The girl is appalled by her 'pervert' boyfriend, so she left him, but deep inside she can't leave the relationship. She decides to take revenge by torturing the guy with a new guy. The thing is that no one forces her to do so. She could simply leave the guy or force him to go to a doctor or so. But she uses her power to create all kinds of extreme sadistic situations because deep inside she enjoys it. She says to herself that a new guy and a new love can solve the problem, but it doesn't work. She gradually notices the horrifying truth: she is sadistic. As the last resort, she thinks of the death of herself and then of the guy. But when the guy follows her order, she realizes that it's not what she wants. In this phase, 3 persons are involved.
3. Final 'Cute'-Peaceful Phase: Finally, the girl comes to peace with her sadistic tendency, and with that, also comes to peace with her boyfriend. Therefore, we have a cute-peaceful atmosphere again. The difference is that the relationship is sadistic but without any feeling of anger or revenge. Now we see them sitting beside each other and the sadistic behaviour is reduced to asking to get a drink or caressing the arm, so from a distance, they look like normal lovers. They might introduce some guy into their relationship, but just occasionally and for fun.
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An Unbelievably Equal, Lovely, & Cute Romance When All Odds Are Against You!
I think the story is open to interpretation: A realistic one and a supernatural one. Maybe it's made this way to let the viewers see it as they like, so less be hurt by the tragedy. But either way, the main theme is the same: The temporary nature of life and everything in it, also the risk of being hurt that loving someone can bring to our lives, to the point that sometimes makes suicide a very reasonable choice. What do we want to do? Can we really enjoy this?We all know the answer that a typical J-dorama gives us. And "Neko" isn't an exception. But what makes this one special is how lovely, how equal & balanced, how cute, the relationship of 'Mineko' and 'Koji' is! It's like you're on Titanic, the ship is drowning, and you sing the most heavenly song ever! What is it like? Watch 'Neko' to find out! Another question: Can humans really do this? 'Neko' thinks so! Japan thinks so! And I'm in complete agreement!
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"A Totally Voluntary Family"
I enjoyed both Hotman 1 and 2.1. Maybe the best thing is that we see "A Totally Voluntary Family". A very young man raises a newborn, found with a note claiming that it's his kid. Besides, he invites 4 of his half-siblings who have problems with their other families. So, a family of 6 that could've easily lived separately.
2. And the worst side of the drama should be about this brother's character (treating everyone else as a little kid, using physical strength, meddling in others' private life, ...). Still, in the end, everyone's smile and happiness is his ultimate priority, so he's smart enough to notice his faults, apologize and fix them up. Also, it's good that the younger siblings keep their grounds more or less. So as a typical J-drama of the 2000s, we can see this 'peaceful' clash between the old paternalistic culture and the new generation's penchant for freedom & independence.
Overall, a nice heart-warming family drama with a supercute, adorable little kid, 'Nanami'!
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Mom Hating Her Own Daughter!
The premise seems weird and creepy: The mom (Yuriku) sees her daughter (Rika) as an iguana, an ugly lizard, but this premise captures their relationship well: Rika is a remainder & reminder of the mother's traumatic ugly past, so she hates her daughter to the point of killing her and committing suicide herself. She wants to get rid of her past, but the daughter's existence doesn't let her do so. At the same time, she needs the daughter always beside herself, because by abusing her, she can deal with her uncontrollable anger; this is her revenge for her past. She's addicted to her victim-daughter.The dorama also shows well how destructive the relationship is on the daughter: Soon Rika starts to see herself as an iguana too; she's worthless, only adding pain to the world, better to not exist. Besides, the self-hatred makes her a good target for bullies & people who need to project their anger on others and so on and so forth.
On the other hand, there are things that lessen the tragedy: First, it's the father who equally loves his wife and his daughter, so can bring some hope & positivity to the family, however, because he doesn't acknowledge her wife's hatred toward Rika, he can't play an active role in resolving the issue. His denial strategy fails big time. The little sister also later joins her father to make things better, but maybe the real saviour of Rika is her angel-like friend, Nobuko, who acts as a mediator between Rika and the world she's lost connection for a long time.
My biggest problem with the story is something that's common in J-dorama: Showing sympathy when it's not called for. It's true that the mother is a big victim herself, but in any case, she hurts and ruins Rika's life. She needs to be stopped in one way or another, but the drama and the last episode, in particular, kind of normalize her toxic relationship with her daughter, as though no direct solution to the problem was needed.
The dorama's very old, so you should expect many (unpleasant?) things common in that era, but it's Gold! If I consider its production year, I'll give it 10/10, but based on our time rating criteria, 8.5/10 would be my choice!
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Is it fine if a 14-year-old girl becomes a mother?
I'd say in our time, in 99% of situations: NOOOOOOO, but '14-sai No Haha' shows that 1% exception:A wealthy society with the best medical service, decent laws, and many more favourable conditions, but let me say some words about the most important factor: The Family of this Teenage Mother!
A man and a woman marry & live with love, so they could bring up their kids as best as one wants. This means, even at 14, 'Miki' (Mirai Shida❤️) is full of love, confidence and power. She begins a romantic relationship with a nice 15-year-old guy. Due to inexperience, her first and the best possible experience of sex leads to pregnancy, but soon she grows strong motherly feelings that make abortion out of the question. It's true that she can't be a normal junior high-schooler anymore, but her family & society are ready to support her and she can have everything necessary at her own pace. Because of her age, I don't think 'Miki' is able to be a full-time mother, but she's totally capable of being a good part-time mother. As her family and others do the rest, there shouldn't be a real problem. Overall, both 'Miki' & the baby, 'Sora', will be fine, I think.
More generally and even in normal cases, I think it's a good idea if parenthood is shared by more and more people. It's too much for one or two persons!
There are many things about the drama that I don't like, like that journalist story. I'm also not a big fan of its over-dramatization approach, but I think the main theme is elaborated well enough that I can recommend the drama to people who like this topic of teen pregnancy.
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Last Friends (2008): 'Failed' Friendship, To Some Degree!
When I first watched Last Friends, I didn't feel great at the end. I wasn't sure why, but now after rewatching, I know why!It's all about friendship, friends who are ready to do everything for their friends. As a 'friendship guy', I was supposed to enjoy it, however, I ended up with a bitter feeling. The reason is that despite all efforts and sacrifices, they can't really come closer emotionally to each other, so in the end, they still live their own distinct lives. And this is more obvious in the relationship between Michiru (Nagasawa Masami) & Ruka (Ueno Juri). They're supposed to be best friends, even more than that, but from the beginning to the end, they are clueless about each other feelings.
So, a very good drama in depicting that friendship can fail big time sometimes, even if friends do their best. And this is not what we can often see in J-dorama, tending to show the magical side of friendship.
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Becoming 'Father' without Committing any Crime!
'Daughters' (2020) is about two young girls, Koharu and Ayano, living together in Tokyo. They have good jobs and enjoy their carefree lives and friendship till one of them, Ayano, becomes pregnant from a one-night stand. This is a big shock for Koharu. There are two options available for her:
1. Not accepting any responsibility: Ayano has made all the decisions by herself, not asking for her friend's opinions, so it makes sense if Koharu goes with this option.
2. Accepting a role like 'the father', as Ayano doesn't tell the real father about the story.
Sadly, there is no third option between these two extremes for her: All or nothing.
Koharu goes with the second option, so she constantly has to adjust her life to fast-changing situation of the mother. This is not fun for sure! And the main story is about this: HOW THIS PREGNANCY PERIOD AFFECTS THE GIRLS' FRIENDSHIP.
As I just finished it, I can't say how good the movie is (disregard my ratings, MDL made me give some ratings!), but the theme was really new and interesting to me!
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So many Half-baked Stories!
I didn't like 'Yakuza and The Family'. Maybe because it tries to cover too much, there are lots of half-baked stories that don't make sense. For example, both the guy's best friend and his woman_adults with decades of life experience_show extreme behaviours: one moment totally rejecting him and then immediately helping and accepting him into their lives; and then when things go wrong, leaving him alone and putting all the blame on him. What exactly did they expect?In any case, I wish he would talk to me after his prison time: I have a simple suggestion for him: Don't show up for 1 or 2 years, maybe travel to some distant city, but keep connection with friends and family. And then gradually coming back to normal and family life. I swear to God that I could guarantee a happy family life for the father, mother and the kid.
Last but not least, it was nice to see that Japan slowly but surely has reduced the Yakuza problem. This slow disappearance is the best!
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A Messed-up Family & A Sister As Your Saviour
I love J-drama: best at showing how family should be, but to know how a messed-up family looks like, we need a work like the Korean movie, "House of Hummingbird" (2019) to shine and enlighten us!Eun Hee's family might seem fine: hard-working parents, caring for their kids' future; but looking more closely and you see a messed-up family: The foundation-father-mother relationship-is deeply damaged, hence other problems like emotional neglect, even physical abuse (of the older brother toward Eun He) come; A Cold Family, Indeed!
Expectedly, for Eun Hee, finding warmness outside is the main issue, but unlike many kids in her situation, she is not hopeless & desperate, entering abusive and all kinds of addictive relationships. On the contrary, there is something beautiful, something powerful in her which attract people. But from where she got this? The answer should come from her older sister, Soo Hee: Despite the fact that she has her own problems and can't support Eun Hee as one wishes, there is something warm flowing between them. In truth, 'Family' only begins with Soo Hee and the love she's has shown to her younger sister, so now we see a strong sisterly bond. And it's not just this: The sister with her nice boyfriend provides a good healthy relationship model for Eun Hee, showing her what exactly she should look for. In fact, this three make a beautiful trio, promising us that the sisters are going to break the cycle of neglect and abuse.
The rest is Eun Hee's constant attempts to find warmness outside her home: with her good buddy, with her not great-not terrible boyfriend, with the girl who expresses her love for Eun Hee, and surely, with her Chinese teacher who acts as a mother-friend, giving us something full of delight to watch.
Sometimes Eun Hee fails, sometimes she succeeds, but in all these, you can see that she is taking strong steps toward a bright future full of love and dreams. It's impossible to not be an optimist!
I just want to finish with repeating my big admiration for the unsung hero, the sister: Soo Hee. In a scene, she said, "I'm not good at anything". I wish I'd been there telling her: "Don't say this again, it's the opposite, everything good starts with you, you're the best."
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Starting promising, but then failing at everything else
As a lover of Japan, I'm curious to know why many Japanese people, especially the young, admire the western countries and even wish to live there. The movie gives me some good answer, at least some clues. I mean if the depiction of the working environment captures more or less what is happening now in some Japanese workplaces , I personally can't bear it for a week. So, I'm happy that I saw the movie. However, aside from depicting the working atmosphere and how it pushes people to the edge, the movie fails at everything. Let me just discuss the most important one: Its 'solution': leaving the job and finding joy in working in some poor country for the poor. Is this really a solution? I can see two main problems:First, I'm fine with leaving the job, but not in this passive way, with just a smile. So what will happen to the next young man or woman who is going to replace the guy? If the guy feels responsible for some poor people in a foreign country, why doesn't he feel sympathy for his replacement? For this reason, I dislike the way he left his workplace. He didn't have to punch that shitty superior, but he really needed to take some measures, maybe a formal complain letter or something else. At least, he should try, if he had some respect for all the pain and misery he went through, and if he felt responsible to other and future employees.
Secondly: If the guy, after being born, growing up, and living for years in Japan, can't change things in his own country and working environment a bit, how can he change things in other countries? Now, if someone tells me that this Japanese young man can't even try to change things a bit in his own country, I would just conclude that nothing can be changed in our world. So, it's better to not fool ourselves with the fantasy of making some poor people in a foreign country happy.
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17 year-old 'Akira' and her 45-year old Saviour
Here, I'm writing something like an extended synopsis to set out the scenery, the rest is on yours:The 17 year-old runner 'Akira' has the future in her hands. But all the dreams get shattered by an injury. As a 'strong' girl, she doesn't show any weakness, no crying! But deep inside: a different story, a story of desperation and anger. She shows her anger toward classmates and friends by avoiding them. More importantly, there is an anger against herself and her situation: she spends all her free time by working her 'part-time job'. This is her addiction and self-destruction. On the other hand, we have 'Masami Kondo', Akira's manager and a divorced 45-year-old man. Story short, his life seems to be a total failure to the point that even his employees look at him pitifully.
However, Akira sees something different in her manager: A kind, attentive, mature and reliable man, some oxygen in her suffocating situation. She fells in love.
Now, it seems that everything is ready for an 'unpleasant', but fiery relationship between 17 and 45, as each side has something to gain. We already know what Akira needs, and it's not hard to see that Masami facing all kinds of life crises, can kind of experience a new youth and life in Akira.
You can watch the movie yourself, just let me say that I think this Masami Kondo guy is an angel sent to save Akira. Or better to say, Akira's eyes are strong enough to see and find her saviour, when no one else could see her real 'tomodachi'.
Maybe the movie has nothing sparkling to absorb widespread attention, but I think it's about a very real and serious problem: Many young girls in our world face similar situation, as the world is too cruel and unfair to let them follow their dreams. And I guess many times, in their desperation, like 'Akira', they start to look for some saviors. Sadly though, there are not many people and men like 'Masami Kondo'.
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