#(i feel like i get wordier and wordier with each episodes lol)

[littleragondin]

Wednesday is here again, we all know what it means…

Absolute Zero Day!

Last week left us with Suansoon realizing how big of an impact him being in his own past might have on his future, while teen Ongsa was diving head first into his crush on Soon.

- Those tickets are dated March 5th, which means there are only 9 days between Suansoon and Ongsa’s first meeting and Soon’s birthday/Ongsa asking him out.

- Immediately feeling crushed by Suansoon's breakdown looking at that picture of him and Ongsa.

- I really like Ongsa’s little friend group. They are adorable, supportive, they feel like teens. The little documentary of the show said they were new characters created for the show (if I’m not mistaken), and I think it’s a good addition. It’s good to see him interact with peers and it emphasizes the contrast with Suansoon’s grief-fueled loneliness.

- I, too, would preen in delight if Sine complimented me, I feel you Soon. So she was just kindly housing him while he found his footing? Incredibly generous … but at least we now know where the money for Suansoon’s rent is going to come from.

- Soon saying that Ongsa’s doesn’t like coffee that much right after we see Ongsa discuss the fact that he doesn’t know anything about Soon? Loved it. Very efficient way to remind us where they both stand in their respective timeline.

- Oooh our first real big slip about time travel! Also it does something to me that he mentions the last movie he watched with adult!Ongsa ngl.

- I checked what the “My girl” (แฟนฉัน) movie was about and … well. Fitting, it seems. It follows themes of memories and nostalgia that blend perfectly with the show.

- AH YES!! I loved how, in episode 1, every time we see them watching a movie, Suansoon looks at the screen and Ongsa looks at Suansoon so you BET I noticed how this time, Suansoon is the one looking at teen!Ongsa watching the screen. I live for parallels.

- Oh, the way Soon panics and rushes away to hide when Ongsa’s parents come visit broke my heart a little. And the “we will meet eventually”?? he gained a full family when he got with Ongsa, uh...

- Okay that cut from teen!Ongsa laughing as he leans into his mother to her asleep at his hospital bed? Brutal, painful, sad. Please don’t do this to me again (I say knowing full well that’s what I signed up for)

- “You’re missing someone and that person isn’t me.” Oh boy… I like how forward Ongsa is. Like, couldn’t be me but he knows what he wants and he will reach for it. I am quietly impressed by that.

- I also liked the little ring scene, I may read too much into it but… the ring didn’t fit just like the way teen!Ongsa liking him does not fit adult!Suansoon. Still, it finds its place with Soon's bracelet, with that memory of their teenage love. Because that's what all of it is for adult!Soon, in the end. An extended sort of memory, and he finds comfort in it, of course, there is a lot to cherish here, but ultimately that's not what he really wants.

- Unsurprisingly loved the shoot with Ongsa’s hands holding the two tickets as evidence of Soon’s rejection, calling back directly to last week ending shot. Did I say I like parallels?

- “I won’t apologize, because I did it on purpose.” I was taken by surprise ngl. Tho i felt for Soon because like... Ongsa is kissing him, except it's not the Ongsa he loves right now, not like this, but it's still him. Also, that tear when he doesn't push him away for the second kiss? b y e

- That final scene had me googling smartphone apparition and distribution because I can't for the life of me date their widespread distribution - so as comparison point, the iPhone came out late June 2007 in the US (about 8 months before the show) so I do assume that specific kind of smartphone is unusual enough to justify their reactions.

Unsure of where we're being taken next week but I will be there.

I still really like Suansoon. Do I think he should have removed himself sooner/more seriously to protect what he had? Yeah, sure. But I'm not the one working through time traveling, and the grief he is carrying. I can understand that it's hard to refuse the obvious comfort he gets from spending time with teen!Ongsa, and that he gets touched and nostalgic when the boy gets all cute with him. Also I said it last week but I am just delighted by Teng Kanist and the melancholic softness he plays. Just works for me, hooks my heart and I'd forgive everything.

I still don’t think the video shop grandpa is aware of what is happening with Soon and time travel, but I do like that in the preview we see Soon still seeking him for help because it seems like it’s something he did for a long time (in ep.1 already he was saying the man had been here for all his important moments).

That said, at this point I brought my ticket for the “teen!Ongsa knew who teen!Suansoon was/would become when he meets him at the cinema” train. That would explain the tears at the lake, why he would keep going to the movies hoping to see him, and how deep the feeling seems to run when he tells him that he misses him when they meet in the video shop. Now my question is, in that case, how would that fit into their present life? Does it mean that adult!Ongsa has always been aware of his lover traveling back in time? How much is Suansoon going to tell him, is he going to be aware that he’ll get caught in a life threatening accident?? (Is that why he looked SO sad when they watched the movie the day before the accident??)

Now to be patient until next Wednesday ...

[theultravioletcatastrophe]

Earl’s Anime Roundup

Yes folks, it’s that time of the week again! This one’s gonna be a bit wordier since there were more different series I watched this week, but as always you can read more after the break.

So! Lots of new stuff this week, plus some updates to previous entries. Here we go! As usual, there will be spoilers, so if you want to watch any of these and haven’t, I suggest you skip the show’s entry for now.

Eromanga Sensei: This show. THIS FUCKING SHOW. I convinced Jess to watch the first episode with me and now it appears that we’re going to watch the rest of it (well, what’s out currently anyway, which is up to episode 7). I started off not liking it, and then I really liked it, and now I’m not so sure anymore. The animation and art style and overall cute tone of the series are still there, happily. However, the relationship between Masamune and Sagiri is going in the exact direction that everyone predicted and that I hoped wouldn’t be the case. It’s glaringly obvious that they both have a crush on each other (and for various reasons they’re not able to admit this yet). I feel both betrayed and stupid at the same time; there were so many things in the early episodes that were like “oh that could be taken a number of ways that don’t involve pseudo-incest” but now watching them again it’s like “ugh yeah, never mind, it’s like that, I was a fool for seeing it through rose-coloured glasses.” I’m still gonna finish the series, but I don’t think I’m gonna like where it’s going. Oh, and also, Muramasa is SO FUCKING ANNOYING GOD I HATE HER SO MUCH. The first scene of episode 7 where she was talking shit at Masamune, I was just like, man, I’m glad I’m not you, because I would definitely have gotten in trouble for backhanding that smart little bitch mouth of hers so hard that she would have hit the wall. And then near the end of the episode she has the nerve to say she’s in love with Masamune? Like, go fuck yourself.

As you can see I have strong feelings about anime characters.

Akiba’s Trip: I mostly started watching this because I enjoy the game (which is technically a sequel??) and I wanted to see if the anime was just as fun. It... isn’t, not really. It’s the same basic premise (good guys beat up bad guys and rip their clothes off to finish them), but the characters so far aren’t as likeable as the ones in the game. (They’re all different characters, just to be clear.) I’ve only seen the first 2 episodes so far, and I’ll probably watch the whole thing eventually, but I’m putting this one on the back burner for now.

Amanchu!: This is a show that I saw hyped up quite a bit on tumblr, and I’ve meant to watch it for quite a while. I’ve only seen the first episode so far and it was pretty underwhelming to be honest. The artwork is really pretty when it wants to be, but a lot of the time it’s purposely sloppy (and it’s actually kind of annoying when Pikari turns into a literal muppet, which appears to happen all the time). It’s kind of jarring, really. I’m sure it’s one of those shows that gets better the more you watch it, but right now I don’t have any real desire to continue it. I will one day, probably, but there are other shows I’d rather watch for now.

Love Tyrant: Okay this one is growing on me a lot. I think I’m kind of in love with Seiji despite myself. He’s such a good guy! Everyone else treats him like crap and he doesn’t deserve it. Anyway this one’s still as goofy as it ever was, but there’s a lot more of the dark backstory coming out now and it’s getting super interesting. I actually find myself hating Shikimi less and less, which is surprising. Or maybe not? Anyway, this one’s a keeper. I’m surprised Jess is getting into it, too - I didn’t think she would! Yay! ^_^

Bungo Stray Dogs: Whew, this series. This seems pretty out of place on this list that is otherwise full of goofy comedies and cutesy fluff, but I really enjoy this series. The basic concept (a bunch of people with special powers organize themselves into various factions and fight against each other) is certainly nothing new, but it’s really well-executed with this show. The characters are immensely interesting and likeable, the story has seventeen million layers that all somehow connect, and the animation is excellent (even the scary/creepy/gory parts look so good). I haven’t watched many thrillers lately so this is a refreshing change. I don’t even know what genre to put this in - fantasy? Psychological horror? Action comedy? It’s hard to classify. Like, there’s magic powers and guns and the Mafia and bureaucracy and capitalism and there’s just SO MUCH going on here.

Please tell me! Galko-chan: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Well, completely different from the series right above. This is an odd one - a collection of short (like around 8 minutes) episodes about the daily school life of the titular character and her friends. Most of this show seems to be focused around Galko’s classmates (mostly Otako but some of the boys too) asking her things or saying things to her, and her reacting to them or otherwise telling/showing them about whatever. These characters are NOT bashful at all about discussing stuff like boobs and periods and sex and pooping (not all at once of course) and it’s just... I dunno. Galko is adorable and I wanna be friends with her, but like... this show is just so weird. It’s a show about nothing. It’s just a bunch of high school kids talking about stuff. Why is it so damned compelling?

Anyway, that’s all for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s episode when I will undoubtedly... talk more about these same shows. Yay.

(Also if anyone enjoys these little ramblings I do and wants me to write something longer about any of these series, like a review or anything else, please tell me! (LOL PUN DIDJA SEE THAT ONE) I feel like some of these shows deserve a longer write-up but I lack the motivation to really write anything other than this... but if someone asked, I definitely would.)

[missmichellebelle]

so. um. hi.

I make a lot of these, don’t I? I make far more of them than I should. these... apology/update posts after I’ve fallen off the face of the planet… or internet, in this case. the funny thing about depression, and anxiety, is that something happens that triggers the depression, that makes you recede from everything and everyone you love without any rhyme or reason (at least as far as they can tell, and it usually takes me months to figure it out myself), but... it’s the anxiety that keeps you from coming back. that anxiety turns to guilt and to shame and it builds, until it becomes easier to ignore than to surmount.

to make a long story short, that’s what happened. my illnesses defeated me and they defeated me for a long time… but. I’m here. I guess that accounts for something. maybe.

but for the long story, well… this is for the people and friends I turned my back on. you never got an explanation and I dodged any attempts for one. this is far too late, but. it’s the new year, and I’m going to try this revolutionary thing where I stop running and I face the demons and destruction in my wake.

so if you decide to read it, thank you.

because I tend to be wordier than not, I’m going to fall back on my love of bullet point lists to get through this:

back in August, as massive depressive episode started to build when one of my roommates began to bully me out of our apartment.  a lot of you were actually privy to this happening, and how much it upset me, but I don’t think anyone (myself included) recognized the signs. I should have.

in fact I even tried to do something about the rapid spiral I started to go down. I was finally going to talk to my older sister about school. maybe I could move back in with her. maybe, maybe, maybe—but I got too scared. so I continued to do nothing.

I got caught up in life. I tried to drown myself in work, in spending time with my friends. anything that meant I didn’t have to be at the apartment. before my laptop became unusable, I was already hardly using it, and in trying to escape from... I don’t even remember anymore. fear? emotional pain? I left responsibilities here untended. I tried, a few times, to rectify that. I just needed more time, I told myself. I cared about these things before, why did I suddenly not care about them now? but the gaps of time I needed became longer and longer, and the longer I didn’t come back, the more guilt that started to build inside me.

October... was very hard for me.

the hard drive crashed on my laptop. I thankfully had it backed up on an external, but... I did not have the money to fix it. at this point, I had been using it so infrequently that I struggled to get the money together to fix it. or to justify it. I don’t really use it, I told myself, and it felt a little like relief for a few moments because I no longer had to keep making excuses for why I was actively not using it.

my depression hit its peak. one of my coworkers that I loved and depended on quit, and I had a mental breakdown at work the days following. I don’t know if it was really about him leaving, or if it was just the thing that pushed me over the edge.

I pushed all my friends away.

the people I love here, the ones I abandoned, who loved me and I called friends. and I’ll say I abandoned you guys, because I did. I just stopped responding. and that guilt has weighed down on me severely. especially Keth and the EBB, I... don’t. I don’t have words for how angry I am with myself for having done that.

my roommates. not just the one, but all three. I became the elephant in the room, there was so much tension between all of us. I stopped speaking to them completely. I would come home late and then go to bed immediately. it got to the point where the friend who had once taken me in told me that if I didn’t stop treating her the way I had been, I would need to find somewhere else to go.

my coworkers. work became very difficult, especially when you’re being told that the entire team you supervise has lost respect for you. I felt stuck, and unmotivated, and I stopped caring and trying, and they all noticed. I became undependable at work, and I didn’t have the words for why. I felt like I was going to die there.

the worst damage I inflicted was on my best friend. he was right there in the trenches with me, and he took the brunt of it. he was the one who had to swallow all my lashing out, who had to grasp at straws trying to help me and always fail because there was never a right answer. he tried everything he had ever tried to help me through every depressive episode I’ve ever had that he’s helped me through before, and... nothing worked. the things we said to one another during that time, the ways we acted... the rift in our friendship is severe, and we’re working very steadily to repair it.

finally, everything plateaued. I hated everything in my life. I found joy in no one and nothing. even doing things like going to Disneyland were bland and empty to me. even spending a day with my best friend, something that usually brings me comfort and peace, made me more angry and desolate. I had pushed him to the very edge, and he... couldn’t do it anymore. he threatened the fate of our friendship if I didn’t do something, if I didn’t reach out for help. that it was killing him to watch me slowly kill myself.

two days later, I cried out my entire story to my older sister and her husband. they were the ones who took me in after my mom passed away and raised me from 16 onwards. and we made a plan. I would quit one of my jobs. I would move home. I would go back to school. it wasn’t too late to turn my life around and to start moving again. and that night, my best friend held me and I cried, but I smiled again and it felt real.

(whoo, okay, that’s—I haven’t done this yet. laid it all out. told the whole story. I’m a little emotional and wow lol what’s the point of the bullet points when it turns into a narrative anyway, right?)

since then, it’s been a bustle of registering for school, figuring out the classes I want to take, letting my roommates know I’ll be leaving, letting the job hate know that I’m at the very least stepping down to part-time. every day, there were a million things to do, but it helped draw me forward. I was still recovering.

and then, a week before Thanksgiving, my baby sister called me while I was working. my dad, who I had last seen after he’d had his leg amputated in June, who had been in assisted living, that I hadn’t even bothered to visit yet... had died.

for a brief, terrifying moment, everything crashed down around me again. I think maybe everyone I loved grabbed me and kept me from falling back again.

I’m still... it’s difficult. my father and I had a complicated relationship, and I’m still trying to process everything that’s happened. so I can talk about it and joke about it, because that doesn’t mean I have to think too hard on it, because I cry every time that I do.

it was in this time I kind of became a Christian, but, uh, that’s a long story and journey all in its own so I won’t get into it here. but it’s important enough that it warranted mentioning.

I feel like that leaves quite a gap. I spent the next month just... grieving. healing. figuring out how to be a person again.

we just spread my dad’s ashes the Friday before Christmas, because my two younger sisters live in New York and that was the only time we could. it was raining, and we each talked about our favorite memories, and what he had done for us, and it was... difficult, my mother’s ashes are in an urn on a bookcase at my older sister’s house, and I never had to say goodbye like that. I don’t know if I ever could. but we had nowhere to keep my dad (my older sister didn’t want him in her house—he’s her stepdad, and while she’s sad for me, there was no grief on her part) and so. we spread him.

and that brings me here. on the cusp of moving home, registered for classes that I start on January 10th (wow, 8 days, omg), healing in myself and in my relationships.

but I left this place. and my friends. and I knew I couldn’t move much further forward without at least taking a step to address one of the largest weights of regret I’ve carried these last 4 months.

there’s still a lot going on. my living situation is… complicated. my laptop works, but the keyboard does not (I’m typing this in its entirety on the Nook my friend bought me for Christmas/school). I’m still grieving my dad much harder than I thought I would. there was a crest of a moment when school was not going to happen at all. I haven’t written anything since September.

but I have a solid circle of friends. I’m speaking to and seeing my family regularly. I’m excited for classes. I knit a scarf. I watched and began obsessing over Yuri on Ice. I’m finding joy in things again that I lost before and… it’s. there isn’t a word to explain the combination of relief, happiness, and shock I feel. but I was so content and happy at one point on Christmas Eve that I nearly started crying.

I’m mending. and I hope I can find a space here for me again. I guess time will tell.

I hope you all have been well. I’m sorry for leaving you, for ignoring you. but thank you. because some of you still kept trying.

thank you for not giving up on me.

[thedramafilesblog-blog]

Appearing before the Dramacourt: Boku Unmei no Hito desu Ep 6

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

Issues:

Whether Yamapi God’s suggestion for Makoto to be like 亭主関白 is right

Whether it is reasonable for Haruko to a while to accept Makoto

The Rule(s):

Nope. Feels antiquated.

Yes. (This issue was brought up before but given that we know Haruko’s full story about her painful past, I thought it’d be best to look at the issue further.)

Analysis:

Jubiemon J: As much as I really like this drama and I still enjoyed this episode, there were a few parts that didn’t make that much sense to me. I don’t agree with Yamapi God’s suggestion for Makoto to aim to be like this: 亭主関白（ていしゅかんぱく). This phrase means that the wife would have to listen to the husband and the husband is the one ruling the household. Feel free to read my side note for more explanation. I’ll explain further in the issue as to why I don’t think that’s right.

Goal is to be 亭主関白

To achieve that goal, Yamapi God suggests that Makoto must only reply to Haruko in 4 words or less. I, like Makoto, hated that challenge, but Makoto still listens.

All 4 of them are at the dinner and Haruko starts asking Makoto a question

Haruko: What kind of help was Mitsukuni providing?

Makoto counting the number of words he’d use for the reply.. lol!

Helping . . . me . . . work . . . out. Lol!

Haruko: Why’d u wanna work out?

Makoto: …. Betsuni. (Nothing in particular.)

Haruko asks what fish Makoto wants.. out of the two that were suggested

Makoto picks a random fish (not suggested by the chef) that’s 3 words long. Lmfao!

Makoto is gonna pay for them all but Haruko wants to split the pay.

Makoto: Let me pay. Haruko: But.. Makoto: My treat.

Haruko ignores and goes to get her wallet.

Makoto in a ruder way of saying things: Don’t bother.

Haruko: Eh? Makoto repeats the phrase.

Later Yamapi God says if Makoto wanted to change a challenge, he could. Then Makoto ends up doing a wooden carving of two words: Osho.

Makoto rolling around the floor saying: No, impossible, never! It’s never gonna work. (for the 4 words challenge)

Though watching him struggle to complete the challenges is hilarious, at the end of the day, I didn’t really see the point of it unlike in previous episodes where I felt the challenges led to something ingenious. In this case . . . it falls flat and the deeper message within this challenge doesn’t seem to exist unless the drama is advocating that a traditional household where the male dominates the family is ideal. I honestly hope not! (Sure I’ve heard in Japan from Japanese friends that there’s still power imbalances between males and females that exist, but to propose that there should be more power given to males . . . No.)

I guess the whole idea of Yamapi God suggesting 亭主関白 bugs me because he is supposed to be a modern type of God. Look at the way he dresses, how he acts around Makoto, and how he has made seemingly silly suggestions that end up being important to Makoto. Even if he wants to push Makoto to be more assertive in an extreme way, I still don’t like this. He could have used some sort of other way of portraying this like keep the Osho as being a winner for all of them and not relate it to 亭主関白.

I still really find it hard to believe that the writer would make him suggest this outdated form of a family situation. Heck, when I googled that phrase, other words that followed were divorce, psychology, dislike, etc. There’s even some association for this which is completely mind-boggling.

Google search results – first phrase on the first column to the left is 亭主関白 boyfriend. Below that is 亭主関白 psychology.  Second row first word is 亭主関白 divorce. First column last row is 亭主関白 dislike.

What I do like is Makoto’s response to Yamapi God’s suggestion about 亭主関白. Although Makoto did promise to be that way, we see that he isn’t comfortable being like that. He’s not that controlling, aggressive type that doesn’t think about Haruko’s thoughts. He has always treated Haruko as someone equal to him and admires her. He confesses that he doesn’t feel comfortable saying words in a harsher tone which Yamapi God suggests to do. He also gives up on the 4 word limit too because he just doesn’t like acting that way. We see him roll on the ground saying it’s impossible. Plus, if he keeps giving Haruko the cold shoulder, she’d probably end up disliking him. It’s not to say that Makoto is weak; he still shows his bravery when he confesses that he likes her in this episode and is super adamant towards proving that he isn’t living with a girl in his apartment. I’ve never seen him this determined before. I think it’s just Makoto is the peaceful, gentle type, but when he does see a need to stand his ground, he will.

Yamapi God: Thought u did good job being manly.

Makoto: No! It’s my first time saying something so harsh and rude like don’t bother…

Yamapi God: And you said the phrase twice! Thought you liked that feeling..

Makoto: No! It’s all your fault that people think something’s wrong with me in the head!

Makoto: Stop making me do missions!

Yamapi God: Go make a wooden carving.

What I also enjoy in this episode is the emphasis on fate. During one of the dinner parties between the two companies, we see fate being played out as other co-workers find out that they have similar interests or one even follows another’s cooking blog. Contrast that with the female boss who thinks that there’s fate because the male boss and she keep having many coincidences (ie eating lunch at the same place and ordering the same dish, meeting at the elevators often, etc). Then we learn that the male boss actually has a wife and a daughter. What a surprise! In the previous episodes we were led to believe that there could be something going on between them due to fate and then this episode that whole premise is demolished! It’s a twist to fate, I think. Sometimes you have fated moments, but it doesn’t mean that you’re fated to be with that someone. The timing might be off etc.

Overall, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this episode. I love the comedic scenes and the two parts I mentioned. I like how Mitsukuni and Makoto really have become friends and have no hard feelings between each other. I still enjoy the banter between Makoto and Yamapi God even though how this drama advances is getting a bit predictable in the grand scheme of things (ie. Makoto has to complete a mission, we think something will happen but it doesn’t and something else happens, we realize the whole point of his mission, and then the cycle starts again.)

Yamapi God wanting to give Makoto a “God Punch”. Lol!

Yamapi God being a prankster and saying that if she had seen the apron, things would have been even worse! Hahaha!

I also really like how the drama continues to slip in symbols throughout the drama like the blue t-shirt’s idiom and the rice that starts spilling. Throwing rice at a wedding is a tradition. This action symbolizes giving fertility (Read more here.) It’s cute how Makoto is all dreamy and sees how this is a sign for them to be fated together while Haruko is super practical and just wants to stop the rice spillage.

However, the message behind the 亭主関白 mission still bugs me. Sigh. Not going to repeat myself here…

(Side note: I’ve been on the hunt for the meaning of this Japanese phrase because I felt the translations of the episode I saw gave the wrong meaning. The translator translated that phrase to mean “to be a man of his word”. However, as I watched the drama, I just felt like . . . that wasn’t what that phrase meant. I decided to do some searching myself and came across several different translations.

This website translates the phrase as the “husband who rules the roost/domineering husband”. This one also gave a similar answer: “he rules his wife”. The translator also explained how it’s hard to translate a Japanese idiom (4 words) into an English equivalent without providing a longer explanation. English tends to be wordier. This other website translated the Japanese phrase into a Chinese one and said that it was male chauvinism. This meant that a woman must listen to the man; the man’s words are final. I actually looked into more websites, but they all came up with the exact translation/similar phrases. When you break the Japanese idiom into two parts, 亭主 and 関白 and examine their meanings, the meaning from the three translations are equivalent to what the two parts represent. 亭主 has a few meanings but here it means husband. 関白 is the chief advisor/senior regent to the Emperor and sometimes even wielded more actual power than the Emperor. A family that was famous for being kampaku was the Fujiwara clan. Now you put the two together and everything sort of falls into place: husband and chief advisor to the Emperor. The husband rules the household.

Then I skimmed some Japanese articles explaining the signs of a man who exhibits 亭主関白 and some included “being the eldest son in the family”, “refusing to do household work”, “calling the girl by ‘omae’ ie you”, “controlling guy”, “believing that women should look after the children instead of working” etc. I’ve only linked one article because other ones I’ve found list similar signs.

All of these prove to me that this phrase is all about the traditional household we’ve seen in the past where the male dominates the household and the female stays at home to work. The male makes all the decisions and the woman just listens to him.)

Issue 1: Whether Yamapi God’s suggestion for Makoto to be like 亭主関白 is right

Jubiemon J: No! Absolutely not. I don’t think Makoto should aim to be the man of the household to get Haruko to go to his place. I’m not even sure if inviting a girl over . . . is really necessary? They haven’t even had a few nice dates so potentially sleeping over at a guy’s place might not be the best…

Yamapi God sharing the plans

Although I agree with Yamapi God that Makoto sometimes lacks the initiative to ask a girl out and needs to be less shy about it, I disagree with the approach that Yamapi God advocates. I watched the scene where Yamapi God proposes to Makoto to aim to be like a 亭主関白 guy in order to get Haruko to go to his apartment. Yamapi God first says to look at Mitsukuni who got Mitsue to his apartment; the two didn’t sleep with each other and Mitsukuni brought her over because she got really drunk at the bar and was sleeping. Mitsukuni didn’t want to wake her up so he decided it’d be best for her to sleep over at his place. Yamapi God then says that what Makoto seriously lacks is the manly attitude to keep forcing her to go forward and therefore if Makoto aims to be a 亭主関白 guy then he’ll be able to advance their relationship. Yamapi God also adds that instead of using long words, it’s better to use shorter, direct words to win a girl’s heart; this advice is fine and I agree with it.

I just don’t think advocating to aim to be a 亭主関白 guy is right. That’s backwards thinking which I’ve mentioned before. I don’t think that sends out the right message to society–males should dominate females. No. I think we’re at the stage where we are still striving for gender equality. Let’s not go back to the early days. Sure, Makoto is more passive when it comes to dating and does need a push, but there’s no need for him to be forceful as Yamapi God suggests. Yamapi God says a 亭主関白 guy only uses two words to command what he wants from the girl and in this case, all Makoto needs to say is: “Come here. My place.” I admit that the way the dialogue is delivered in the drama is funny, but after learning more about what it means to really be a 亭主関白 guy, I really dislike Yamapi God’s approach in this case.

Makoto: Can you please not talk to me while I’m carving?

Yamapi God: Don’t talk to me is more like what a man of the household would say. (Ugh. No.)

Pissed Makoto shouts in a ruder tone: You! Shut your mouth! You’re so noisy!

I also don’t see 亭主関白 working out for Makoto and Haruko as a couple. Makoto has a gentle, honest personality that’s quite innocent and dreamlike. Haruko is more practical and grounded. She is also honest; we see her telling him how upset she was when her ex boyfriend told her he was married. She is more cautious because she has been hurt in the past and she just seems like the type that would not take a lot of risks. She admitted before that she can’t see herself being with Mitsukuni who we all know is someone that is more self-centered and aggressive compared to Makoto. I just can’t picture Haruko being okay with 亭主関白 and Makoto being comfortable with that either.

Yamapi God: A house with a King and a God … don’t u think miracles can happen? (King in this case refers to . . . Makoto probably.)

Makoto: Nope. Absolutely not.

Though I’m glad that the four-word replies stopped, I don’t like how Makoto still carved out the words 王将 (ōshō/winner/king general) if it’s supposed to be a replacement for how to embody 亭主関白. Oshō is the winner of a shogi tournament and also the piece that’s called king general. It feels like Makoto wants to be the King of the household, meaning the highest rank out of the other pieces. That implies that Haruko is below him if they place it in their future household which Makoto says he would do. Ugh.

However, I do see how the ōshō part also works to signify that Haruko is a winner in life. This interpretation is something that I prefer. When Haruko tells Makoto about the day where she learned that her ex-boyfriend had a wife and that he dumped her. On that day, there was also a soccer tournament (Japan vs some country). Makoto and his co-workers went out drinking to watch the game and they were interviewed by a reporter after the game ended. Japan had lost this game.

Look! Haruko is behind him in the interview!

Haruko felt like the world went crashing on her on that day and it just so happened that the drunk Makoto came up to her and mistook her as a fan that was depressed that Japan lost. Makoto told her not to be upset and to keep her head high to move on. Haruko felt offended that he mistook her as a sports fan just because she was wearing blue and white that day.

She also was kind of annoyed at his t-shirt’s text which said “When it rains, it pours.”

The English idiom has the same meaning as the Japanese one. 弱り目に祟り目 ( yowari-me ni tatari-me; よわりめにたたりめ) means misfortunes never come singly.  Another Japanese equivalent idiom would be 泣き面に蜂 = Nakitsura ni hachi. She felt like the text was mocking her situation which she found kind of pitifully hilarious and sad too. She even used that phrase as her new email address.

At the end of her story, she asks Makoto: “Will I win?” That’s a hint for Makoto to confirm that their relationship will be fine. Her asking that shows that she wants to be able to get out the negative impact that her past relationship left her with and wants to succeed in love. Of course, Makoto confirms that she’ll win. It’s fitting then for the wooden carving to have the winner phrase if that’s implying that the two will have a successful relationship and that Haruko will win. Unfortunately, if it really is the case that this is what the script writer meant, I think that message is lost due to the emphasis on 亭主関白. I wished that Makoto had more adamantly voiced that he didn’t like 亭主関白 and not perhaps shown through his personality/actions that 亭主関白 is not what’s ideal for him and Haruko. I think he only said it once or twice that he didn’t want to continue being 亭主関白, yet he still goes through with the missions.

(Side note: In case you’re wondering what the song Yamapi was talking about, it’s this one 王将 – 村田英雄 (“ōshō” by Murata Hideo).)

Issue 2: Whether it is reasonable for Haruko to a while to accept Makoto

Jubiemon J: After hearing Haruko’s in-depth story and seeing how upset she was about her ex-boyfriend dumping her and saying that he was already married, I think it is reasonable for Haruko to take a while to accept Makoto. Plus, Makoto said that he thinks they’re going at a good speed; only a month and a half has passed before she decided to date him! Unfortunately, this is a drama where we need some conflict to speed things up, so Yamapi God states that Makoto only has one more month left to marry Haruko before the world will die.

Yamapi God: No time to waste!

We also are starting to know Haruko more as the episodes progress. She started off as a seemingly cold, nonchalant, and unfriendly female character, but slowly, we see that that’s an armour she has built up over the years due to failed relationships. We’ve seen her fan girl over a sumo wrestler, meaning that she also has a childish, cute side to her. (I think everyone has their cute moments of course. Hehe.) We’ve seen her reveal more emotions to Makoto as the episodes progress as well. In this episode, she smiles a lot more at Makoto during the dinners that involve Makoto and she also seems more curious about what Makoto’s interests. She even asks him what type of fish he wants or why he got interested in working out with Mitsukuni. Now in this episode, we see her break down in front of Makoto and explain why she has been so scared of getting into a relationship again.

Smiley Haruko!

I think overall Kimura Fumino has done a good job with portraying Haruko. However, she and the drama production team didn’t really deliver the emotional crying scene that well. Sure, I know the scene was there to make us understand Haruko more, but the way Fumino was reading her lines almost felt robotic.  I understand that Haruko is more of a practical, analytical, logical type, but even with really emotional scenes, these types of people arguably would break down even more. They’re generally so used to bottling up their feelings or putting up a front to act like they’re okay because they know that they should move on. As a result, when they do end up crying, they’d probably feel confused, ashamed, silly, and perhaps foolish. They’d choke up much more and maybe even ask why they’re still crying over something that’s probably trivial in other people’s eyes. (Look at the screenshots below. She’s not even trying to wipe away her tears out of embarrassment or hide her face. I think this would have been a wonderful opportunity for her character to have kept having an overflow of tears while trying her best to restrain them. Then she’d give up and they’d all keep flowing down and down. Nope. She only lowers her head slightly and like two tears roll down…)

Even the script for that scene was too straightforward. She was narrating her story without a huge climax where she’d break down and choke on her words. Moreover, when she was saying how rude Makoto was when she met him that night, I really couldn’t feel her anger or frustration. The lines that she read to explain why she felt he had been rude wasn’t very convincing as well. The premise of him being rude that night was understandable–a drunk guy came up to her, mistook her as a soccer fan, and started lecturing at her to stop crying and to move on because the team will win next time. Yes, having a random drunk guy come up to you is freaky and annoying. I just think the script writer missed the chance to write that part in a more convincing manner and Fumino didn’t seem to voice Haruko’s frustrations that well. Haruko ended up with the line: “Will I win?” I understand that that’s supposed to tie with the soccer tournament that was going on and likely the osho wooden carving. However, that line just seemed so so . . . forced.

Will I win?

I think what also made this crying scene less emotional was that we also had an explanation from Mitsue before about Haruko being lied to by her boyfriend who was actually married. Therefore, this scene wasn’t so…touching and felt kind of repetitive. I honestly felt like I was actually more touched by Kame’s crying even though as Makoto, he has cried like N times in this drama. Makoto was crying in one of the previous episodes when the sumo wrestler was talking about his mother. I felt teary at that time too. Even when he cried this time after Haruko accepted him, I was convinced with that emotional scene. We’ve seen how hard he has tried to get Haruko to give him a shot like the scene before they got to his apartment. He was saying how he has to prove his innocence by showing his apartment to her. We’ve always seen Makoto as a sincere, honest guy, so seeing him cry out of happiness matches his character. (See below to take a look at Kame’s crying scenes. Kame goes from being surprised about her saying that she likes him too to being overwhelmed with happiness in the end. That’s convincing.)

  Shock due to hearing her say that she likes him too

Realization of what she just said so he cries

Can’t stop the crying…

Too grateful so he bows down and says thank you. (Look at how nervous he has been all this time. He hasn’t even taken off his backpack!!!)

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed. 

Rating: 3 = MM. Okay. Fine. (I still like this drama of course, but the flaws in this episode bother me.)

File No: Boku-Unmei-no-Hito-desu-Ep-6 Appearing before the Dramacourt: Boku Unmei no Hito desu Ep 6 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***