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selbee

Eeyew....

selbee

Eeyew....
Nanyobi ni Umareta no japanese drama review
Completed
Nanyobi ni Umareta no
0 people found this review helpful
by selbee
Feb 18, 2024
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Healing by manipulation?

First and foremost, thank you for the subs HPriest! Extraordinary work, as usual!

Second and the most important: this is MY opinion and MY feelings about this drama.

I really do not know how to feel about this drama. On one hand, the story is interesting and original, the characters are so quirky and fun but on the other hand I did not like the actress playing the main lead: she somehow did not fit the role. And the more everyone swooned in front of her, the more I failed to comprehend! The FL is supposed to be someone kind, sweet and pretty. What we got was someone bland and slouchy. I know I am going to get a lot of flack for this, but this casting decision really ruined my viewing experience: I just could not see what everyone talked about in her. The actress unfortunately did not manage to convey that vulnerability and kindness: all I got was an annoying doormat! Everything she did felt somehow off!

Following a motorbike accident for which she was held responsible by her friends, Sui becomes komoribito/hikikomori, shutting herself away from the world for ten years. Looking for a way to earn some money, her father a failed mangaka, accepts to draw a story in collaboration with the hottest writer of the day using Sui's story. As she comes out of her shell and gets in touch with her highschool friends, the truth about the accident and its aftermath slowly comes out. Behind the scenes, the writer listens to everything(a bug in Sui's phone) that's going on and gives direction by gently nudging Sui where he wants the story to go.

The story is well told: we go from past to present with past events in black and white, and the truth slowly being revealed. The characters are great: the funny father, the silly photographer, the uppity editor...they are all hiding their serious side behind the quirky exterior.

The main topic of this drama is Hikikomori (Japanese: ひきこもり or 引きこもり, lit. "pulling inward, being confined"), also known as severe social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. Hikikomori refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. The concept is primarily recognized only in Japan, although similar concepts exist in other languages and cultures. Hikikomori have been described as loners or "modern-day hermits". Estimates suggest that half a million Japanese youths have become social recluses,as well as more than half a million middle-aged individuals. There is usually no other psychological problem.
I cannot say if it was represented well or if the healing process, is correctly presented but maybe, it not really being a mental disorder, the healing can be faster. Whatever it may be, the drama has made me aware of the phenomenon.

Anyway, the drama is more interesting to watch for all the support characters not the main couple! I liked the atmosphere of the drama, the laid back attitude everyone seemed to have and the fact that there was a 7yr old kid in the background of every adult conversation. They took him away only once when they discussed having kids!

Another issue I have with this drama is the music. But that is valid for the majority of j dramas: the background music which does not fit the mood of the scene. Why do japanese love classical music so much that they put it is, apparently, every single drama? Here, I learned to hate Debussy. The piano piece they featured is such a mood killer, heavy, depressing and making me want to throw myself out of the window. Figuratively speaking! But if I hear this piece never again, it will be too soon! So, why do they put in so much classical music? Don't they have any background music composers? And the only song they had was an old song by an american band The Hollies: "Bus Stop".

Watch it for the support cast and you'll have fun!
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