Dôsôkai review (lots of screenshots)
Originally, I wanted to write a short summary. But... it's more a re-narration than a summary and has gotten quite long. Still, I feel that it's alright, because the dorama is not slow paced, and I want to do the topic justice. Needless to say, the text contains massive spoilers, so if you still want to watch this dorama (there are no subtitles available yet, though), you might want to skip this entry!
"Dôsôkai" aired Wednesdays at 10p.m. on NTV in the autumn dorama season 1993, from October to December. Cast: Saitô Yuki (Natsuki), Nishimura Kazuhiko (Fûma), Takashima Masahiro (Atari), TOKIO's Yamaguchi Tatsuya (Arashi), TOKIO's Kokubun Taiichi (Ushio), Tanaka Minako (Yuiko), Oginome Keiko (Chino), V6's Sakamoto Masayuki (Arashi's and Ushio's friend)
The first episode starts with our heroine Natsuki suffering from pubic lice (kejiramishô), which forces her to constantly scratch herself between her legs, a scene that is shown quite openly: in the women's toilet, she puts up one leg on the sink and scratches herself thoroughly, all in the presence of a co-worker who advises seeing a doctor.
During her lunch break, Natsuki's boyfriend Fûma drops by and proposes to her. She's not sure about his feelings (even going so far as to have his engagement ring examined by a professional to see if it's the real thing), but she finally agrees.
We see Fûma take a photo of a boy in swimming pants out of his wallet and look at it meaningfully. He wants to rip it apart, but can't bring himself to do it.
Fûma and Natsuki are graduates from a school in Toi, Izu, and they are still in contact with their highschool classmates from the basketball club, most of which have moved to Tokyo, like Fûma and Natsuki. When their old homeroom teacher comes to visit, they organize a spontaneous alumni reunion, though not everyone can attend. The teacher sees Fûma on a crossing, about to go into Shinjuku 2chôme (the gay bar district) and calls out to him, but Fûma doesn't hear him. Before marrying Natsuki, Fûma wants to have at least one look at the gay scene.
Fûma in Shinjuku
The JE gay club Three gay friends
Wandering the dark streets, he enters a bar called "Splash" where he gets chatted up by a young man called Arashi (Yamaguchi Tatsuya).
Arashi's friend Ushio (Kokubun Taiichi) (Notice the pixeled porn in the background)
Tortured by his sexual desire, Fûma follows Arashi into a hotel where they make love.
Arashi showering first
Fûma showering, not sure he is doing the right thing
Waiting for his lover, Arashi studies for a math exam at school
Fûma still can't accept his sexual orientation, and the lovers part after an argument. On the way out, Fûma meets an old classmate, Chino, who works here and there in order to support herself and her small daughter. Hurriedly he tells her that the boy was the son of a co-worker who he tutors in mathematics.
Arashi is totally smitten with Fûma, though he doesn't even know Fûma's name. But Fûma lost his company's badge at the hotel, and with this hint Arashi manages to find out about Fûma, helped along by his very gay friend Ushio (Kokubun Taiichi).
Meanwhile, Natsuki has met her ex-boyfriend Atari Kôsuke at the alumni reunion, who is also best friends with Fûma and still cares deeply for Natsuki. But by now he's going out with a kôhai of the group, Yuiko, who has a kind of love-hate-relationship with Natsuki and would like her to disappear from Atari's life completely.
Atari
Yuiko
Atari trying to break up the catfight between the two women, only succeeding in getting his towel stolen
Atari wishes Natsuki well for her marriage.
The classmates come together again for a sad occasion. The teacher's wife has died, and they all stay with him for the funeral. Atari and Fûma share a room. Fûma can't stop looking at Atari.
At the airport, Arashi (who has found out about the plane trip by asking at Fûma's company) steps in front of Fûma. In the men's toilet, Arashi declares his love for Fûma, but Fûma reacts with violent rage, telling him that he isn't interested in any relationship whatsoever and that Arashi should leave him alone. But Arashi won't give up.
Natsuki and Fûma leave for their honeymoon, but the flight is cancelled and they're forced to spend the night in a local hotel. Fûma tries to make love to Natsuki, but it's obvious that her female curves do nothing for him. He blames it on exhaustion. After their trip, the couple moves in with Fûma's parents who own a house. Although Fûma and Natsuki share a room, they don't share a bed, and while Fûma treats her lovingly, Natsuki soon realizes that sex with Fûma will probably never happen. To add to her misery, Fûma's mother in her curiosity has gone to visit Natsuki's mother, who is hospitalized with a mental illness and unresponsive ever since she tried to drown her daughter in the sea when Natsuki was a child. Fûma's mother is appalled (seeing Natsuki's mother as a future burden) and asks Natsuki to divorce Fûma, treating her coldly. Natsuki refuses and once Fûma gets wind of his mother's actions, he completely takes Natsuki's side.
But Fûma can't forget about Arashi. One night he goes back to the gay bar and seeks Arashi out. The two enter a love hotel.
To help Fûma with a project of his, Natsuki asks Atari for help, and they search out a creepy old guy (I didn't get what role he played, exactly) with a voyeuristic streak. He has a camera installed in a love hotel room - yes, you guessed right, coincidently it's the one Arashi and Fûma choose. Both Atari and Natsuki watch the sex onscreen. Natsuki immediately recognizes Fûma and flees the room. Atari has only glanced at the screen in passing, so he only sees Arashi's face, not Fûma.
Fûma pulling off his wedding ring
Fûma and Arashi playing around in the shower afterwards, not knowing that they've been seen.
Natsuki is totally confused and lost. She knows now for sure that Fûma is gay, and a part of her wishes for revenge, hurting him as he hurt her. Putting on bright red lipstick, she roams Shinjuku 2chôme at night. First she searches out the gay bar "Splash", where she's asked to leave, being a woman. In her despair, she wanders the streets and gets talked to by a young hooker. She has sex with the young man, who is none other than Arashi (coincidently, of course).
Yuiko all but lives at Atari's apartment now. What nobody yet knows is that Arashi is actually her younger brother who still goes to highschool. Though Arashi is bisexual and has a girlfriend at school, he can't forget about Fûma and finally breaks up with her. Arashi's ex-girlfriend calls Fûma's house in a rage and tells Fûma's mother that her son is gay, which of course sends her into shock.
While Arashi has the apartment for himself (Yuiko being at Atari's), he calls over Fûma. But Fûma can't bring himself to make love with Arashi, though he's clearly attracted to him.
Driven by his need, Fûma searches out a park that appears to be a pick up spot for gay couples. While he's about to get a blowjob, a group of men with clubs enters the scene, obviously out looking for a few gays to bash up. Fûma gets hurt pretty badly, but is saved by Atari, who's been in the vicinity coincidently and has come to find out what the noise is all about.
Fûma is approached by a stranger and gets a blowjob (I do think this is Christian symbolism here, with Fûma standing against the tree as if nailed to a cross)
Atari is shocked to discover Fûma...
... and carries him home, all hero-like
He takes Fûma back to his apartment and patches him up. In tears and holding a knife to his own throat, Fûma finally confesses - it's Atari who he's loved for twelve years now, and that's also the main reason why he married Natsuki, after Atari had broken up with her: "I married her because she was your woman. Me and Natsuki, we're both like moons in your orbit." We learn that Fûma once risked his life for Atari to win a race for him. Atari is torn: "What is it I can do for you? I swore an oath that I'd do anything." Fûma: "Kiss me." And Atari does.
And one thing leads to another, the two end up in bed together. Atari: "It's strange. If people saw this, they'd probably throw up. Back in school, I once caught two guys in the club room masturbating together, and I beat them up. Feels somewhat like this, right now."
Arashi has meanwhile been bought for the night by the same old creepy guy with the video camera. But the old man doesn't want any physical favours, he just paints Arashi (and subsequently dies of heart failure).
(I swear this scene exists only for the TOKIO fangirls)
The next day, Atari offers Fûma a one time only deal. For three days, he will be all Fûma's, but then they'll go back to being friends. The two break the news to their respective partners who, of course, are everything but pleased. Natsuki feels very keenly that to Fûma, she comes only second.
(This is Atari unable to get on his briefs properly because of his erection...)
Arashi still can't get Fûma out of his head. He's caught with his hand down his pants, staring at a photo of Fûma, by his sister Yuiko. On a whim, he comes out to her, stating that he's bisexual. Yuiko is shocked and angry, but even more so when she's the photo and realizes that it shows Fûma.
Atari and Fûma share a lot of intimate moments together at some mountain retreat. They part ways again back in Tokyo, when the clock on the third day strikes midnight, both clad in tuxedos.
For some reason, there's a scene where Arashi swims naked in a pool thrown in (again, that's certainly for the fangirls...).
Fûma's mother drops her cold act in front of Natsuki, worried that the anonymous caller might have been right, but Natsuki denies the allegation and covers for Fûma. Fûma's mother is grateful that Natsuki will stay by Fûma's side even though he might be homosexual and thanks her profusely.
Natsuki has spent the evening at her friend Chino's appartment, another classmate from highschool. Chino is a very open woman, and so she readily agrees when Natsuki asks her if she may touch her breast and kiss her. Natsuki tries to understand Fûma's feelings, but she just can't figure out what he sees in other men (or how intercourse is supposed to work with two partners who have both "erect things standing out" (the Japanese language can be so vague...)).
Coming home, Fûma, still in his tuxedo, comes out to Natsuki, but also tells her: "I can't love you physically. But I do love the human being Natsuki, and I'd like you to be by my side forever." Natsuki replies: "I'll be here. After all, love that seeks recompensation isn't love, right?" They muse that with the help of Atari as intermediary, they did come together and become one.
It's a dinner at Atari's place that brings all "players" together, and naturally things get ugly quickly. Arashi is enraged to find Fûma as husband of Natsuki, yelling, "I did both husband and wife! Hey, I sucked your husband's dick, you know!" Natsuki throws a glass of water at his face, but he just laughs it off: "A bit of water won't do anything to me, I even swallowed his semen!" (At this point I'd like to repeat that this is Tokio's Yamaguchi talking, a Johnny's idol with a group that was just getting really popular. Whatever were they thinking?) He continues: "Just thinking of Fûma makes my dick leak with pre-come. It's completely different from sleeping with a woman who just spreads her legs." All relationships are out in the open now, and Arashi is angry, thinking Fûma just used him as a replacement for Atari. Atari stresses that he's heterosexual, but Yuiko can't bear it any longer: "I definitely won't marry a woman! Tell me, was it you or Fûma who played the woman's role in your tryst!?" Arashi is in despair: "Fûma, why won't you love me! You're the only one for me in my whole life!" (Nobody seems to mind the fact that he's only seventeen.) Pretty much every one has a nervous breakdown after this, a kitchen knife is wielded, but nobody gets hurt in the end - physically at least.
The next episode starts with Kokubun Ushio introducing his new boyfriend at the gay bar "Splash". There's just one problem, he laughs, they both like being penetrated. Arashi once more states that he's going to be with his beloved Fûma forever. After driving by at Fûma's house in the middle of the night, Fûma and Natsuki smuggle him in, put the two beds together and cuddle there with Fûma in the middle. I wish I could recall the "bedtime story" that Fûma tells, I just remember that it was meaningful.
Meanwhile, Atari collapses in front of Yuiko at his appartment, after being rushed to the hospital it is discovered that he has a tumour close to his heart. At night in the hospital, Atari tries to jack off with a porn magazine, but as soon as he closes his eyes, memories of the time spent with Fûma flood his senses. In frustration, he leaves the hospital to wander the streets. At a pachinko parlour he meets the ex-girlfriend of another of the classmates (who made an appearance at one of the alumni meetings in episode 5, showing everyone her beautiful breasts by pulling down her dress - I kid you not).
"You want to see?"
He takes her to a hotel, but when she stands naked before him, he realizes that she's a so-called "new half" (a she-male). Out of his mind, he verbally and physically abuses her. She's quick to gather her gay friends though, and they find Atari still wandering the streets, beat him to a pulp and gang-rape him (btw, the number one rapist, a friend of Arashi and Ushio, is played by V6's Sakamoto). In the midst of his torment, Atari cries out for Fûma.
Fûma is at home in bed and sits up straight all of a sudden - somehow he's heard Atari's cry. But it's not Fûma who finds him. Unnoticed by the gang, Ushio (Kokubun) has witnessed the whole scene, too afraid and weak to save Atari. When the rapists have left, Ushio helps Atari cover himself and gives him valuable advice: "It's best to go to the toilet quickly. Sperm is a strong laxative."
Atari thinks to himself that he doesn't understand why, but it's Fûma who he now wants to see. He returns to his apartment, where Fûma, Natsuki and Yuiko are waiting for him, having learned that he left the hospital and worried about him. In the following dialogue, Atari tells Yuiko about how he was raped, and she completely loses her mind. "First you sleep with Fûma, now with those other men - there's no woman in this world who'd marry you! Sayonara!" And with that she leaves Atari (and the dorama - though she's been living with her brother Arashi, we're just told that she moved back to her hometown looking for an omiai partner).
Atari returns to the hospital. Fûma sets out for Shinjuju 2chôme to find the gang and organizes a one-on-one fight with Sakamoto (I mean V6 Sakamoto - his role doesn't have a name, so Sakamoto it is). Sakamoto has brought some help along, though. It's Arashi. Spouting a lot of dialogue about male pride and somesuch things, Fûma and Arashi fight. Natsuki, who's figured out where the battle would take place, arrives on the scene and watches the fight, shaking her head. She leaves them to their fight.
Cut to battered Fûma and Arashi who are lying on the floor, panting heavily from exhaustion. Fûma reaches for Arashi's hand, and they start kissing. Arashi explains that when he was 12, a lady from the neighbourhood raped him, so he started to dislike women, looking for men instead. Then he wants to know how Atari and Fûma did it, and what the size of Atari's dick is, obviously jealous of Fûma's bond to the other man. He fiercly proclaims his love for Fûma. Fûma replies: "Men are just bound together by pain. Loving each other is just a sweet punishment." He takes Arashi home with him where they shower together.
Fûma's mother witnesses in shock as the two enter the bathroom together, naked, and when she wants to bring up tea later, she finds the door locked. Of course she sees her worst fears confirmed.
Worriedly, she looks up the law and finds that Fûma is actually committing a criminal act by having sex with a minor. When Natsuki also returns home, Fûma's mother all but cries for Natsuki to go find out about Fûma and Arashi. The two women enter the (now unlocked) room, and though Fûma and Arashi are lying on Fûma's bed together, they're both clothed and seemingly in the midst of a mathematical discussion.
The night brings much unresolved sexual tension for everyone. Natsuki pictures Fûma and Atari together, and so we see Natsuki, Fûma (in the bed next to hers), Atari and Arashi each masturbating.
Ushio has been worried about Atari ever since the rape incident and feels bad about not being able to help him. So he goes to visit him in the hospital, bringing him self-made apple preserves. An indefinite time later, Atari leaves the hospital, apparently well again (though it's not said what happened to his tumour...) and returns to his apartment. He finds it all cleaned up and sparkling, dinner on the table. Thinking Yuiko has returned, he's shocked to discover Ushio in an apron. "Homosexuals make me want to throw up!", he rages. He forces Ushio to show him Shinjuku 2chôme and rents a male and a female hooker for the both of them. Brutally handling the woman, he shouts at the two boys to get it going. In tears, Ushio grabs a nearby vase and smashes it against Atari's head.
Timid Ushio with the male hooker, while Atari has thrown the woman onto the bed
Arashi consoles Ushio who comes crying to him and gets more and more angry at Atari. In a rage, he storms into Atari's apartment, trying to stab Atari, but all of a sudden Ushio is there and covers Atari, catching the knife in his back.
Cut - it's Christmas. Apparently, Ushio and Atari are now living together in Atari's apartment. We get a short scene of Fûma getting angry with Atari for apparently being gay after all, but then the whole group is hanging out at the "Splash" gay bar together, with Natsuki who's disguised as a man (and promptly gets an offer from an elderly foreigner).
Afterwards, while Ushio (Kokubun who really has a cute little butt) is taking a shower, Atari gazes at the bottle of lube in his hand and puts it on his nightstand in preparation, going "Oh well, why not."
"Love Oil"
At Fûma and Natsuki's home, Natsuki gets into her bed while in the bed next to hers Fûma and Arashi are getting it on. (Arashi is very cute in this scene, shyly asking Fûma to have sex with him.)
Arashi & Fûma preparing for bed
"Sex, please?"
Natsuki listening to the sex in the background
This could have been the end. But Natsuki finds out that she is pregnant, and the father of the baby is Arashi. They decide to take this as another strengthening of the triangle's bonds. Fûma goes to meet Arashi in a park to break the news to him. Arashi arrives early and sees a man shooting at helpless dogs with bow and arrow. Angrily he tells him off. Fûma arrives on the scene, Arashi starts running towards him - and gets shot in the back with an arrow. He dies in Fûma's arms. Yeah.
Cut to Fûma and Natsuki after the birth of the baby boy. They're taking him for a stroll, when they suddenly see a young construction worker looking exactly like Arashi. Musing that he's been reborn, Natsuki goes to talk to him.
Natsuki and Fûma along with the old highschool teacher and Chino attend Atari's wedding with a "pretty OL" in a chapel. As Atari lifts the veil of his bride, we see Kokubun Ushio with make up, the two kiss. The teacher and Chino aren't aware that the bride is actually a man. As the priest leaves the church, it becomes clear that he is also gay and that the marriage has been fake.
Natsuki and Fûma visit Natsuki's mother, who recognizes her daughter after years of apathy and it becomes clear that she has loved Natsuki all along, even though she tried to kill her.
The dorama ends very strangely. First Atari addresses the audience, though I can't remember for the life of me what he said. Something very emotional. Then Natsuki takes over and shows the inside of the TV studio with the settings for various apartments, the gay bar etc. And that's it.
(Some more eye candy at the end)
Thoughts:
The first half of the dorama was very interesting and well done, in my opinion. With the sole exception of Ushio, the gay men are depicted neither as your typical effeminate queer (as he is often present in Japanese TV, usually as a means of comical relief), nor as acting out of some pure hedonistic desire (in Japanese, you quite often hear someone say "I didn't know he had this kind of hobby." when talking about a homosexual). They are pulled along by their emotions and shown as being torn between the pressures of society and their true selves. Fûma and Atari are both successful salarymen who are well-off, they aren't outcasts from society. Their relationship is one of equals, they don't fall into the typical top/bottom role-pattern that is so often (ab)used in fiction and manga, not only those produced for the female audience. For '93, I think this is pretty radical, though I remember a movie from '92, called "Kirakira Hikaru" which also features a woman married to a gay man and the problems that arise out of the three trying to somehow create a new kind of family unit. Maybe the topic was hot at that time? I do know from various websites that "Dôsôkai" caused a furor when it was aired, exactly because of the topic and the many nude scenes.
I was surprised at the many nude scenes, that's not something you usually see in dorama. Even the sex is shown pretty explicitly. There's a scene where Natsuki is masturbating, which is waking up Fûma, who also starts masturbating, then the scene shifts to Atari and Arashi who are all busy with their sexual organs. The symbolism was pretty bad though and reminiscent of shôjo manga style. In the just mentioned scene, the orgasm of the four is symbolized by a petal falling off a white rose. *rolls eyes*
Water is the most obvious symbol employed throughout the story. For Natsuki, the sea is a threatening presence ever since her mother almost drowned her, but in the end she comments that even the sea now just makes her nostalgic. She has left the person behind that she was, who was caught up in her own childhood trauma and basically just interested in her own well-being. The relationship with Fûma and Arashi seems to have taught her that happiness is something you create actively and have to work for, something that you share with and for others. I think it would be wrong to evoke the Christian symbol of baptism in this context, but in a way the water has made her another person when her mother tried to kill her, and only in the end can she return to the person she feels she was meant to be. (I readily admit that I didn't get exactly why her mother did what she did. If it was mentioned in the dorama, I must have missed it.)
For Fûma, the sea makes him recall a memory of Atari swimming in the water and beckoning him to jump in, to take a leap of faith, in a sense (there's also the gay bar called "Splash" which this scene always brings to mind). In another scene, Fûma gets drenched by a passing car driving through a puddle which brings him to his senses. Water here seems to symbolize the knowledge of his sexuality, of his true self, which in the beginning he fights with all his strength.
I think the shower scenes (there are many, most of the nude scenes take place in the shower) have a twofold function. For one, they are part of the sex ritual - you take a shower before you have sex. As such, they often are used to imply sexual acts even when there aren't shown any. Then, the water not only washes away the daily roles the men (have to) play, it leaves them as they are, naked (honest) and vulnerable, in a way. This is most obvious when watching Fûma and Atari's shower scenes closely. Being doused with water exposes their homosexuality, and I think this is also the way to interpret the scene where Natsuki's throws the glass of water in Arashi's face. His remark that she can't hurt him fits with the fact that of all the men, Arashi is the one most true to himself and open about his sexuality. There is nothing Natsuki could expose.
There are a lot of other symbols, like the jidaigeki-like fantasies Natsuki has, which show Fûma and Arashi either battling or being intimate, or nature in the form of flowers or trees. When Fûma and Atari have their three days together, they hike through a forest decked out in the most splendid autumn colors. This is in strong contrast to Fûma wandering the dark and shady forest in search of sex, lost and confused. 2chôme is also always depicted as full of shadows, stark colors, or the absence of color.
Concerning the plot, I was still fine with Atari making his three-days-offer to Fûma. But after that, I just couldn't logically follow the plot anymore, even ignoring the glaring holes like Yuiko's sudden absence or Atari's miraculously vanished tumour. I could feel with Natsuki, who after her initial shock and despair, somehow finds the eye of the storm raging around her and can't be fazed in her calmness. She's decided to be with Fûma, and she sticks with this decision, as long as Fûma doesn't have any secrets and lives his relationship with Arashi together with her. It could have been the perfect triangle - Arashi likes her, too, and he's bisexual after all.
But - I cannot understand the development of Atari. Sure, he might have suppressed his homosexuality (or rather bisexuality) his whole life. But after having so many difficulties acknowledging it, why does he turn to Ushio instead of Fûma? Fûma would have been the logical choice, even if Atari didn't want to destroy Fûma's and Natsuki's marriage. How could Atari settle on Ushio? Because of his femininity? I just don't get it.
Then, there's Yuiko's reaction to Atari's experience of being raped. Yuiko isn't the hysterical type. Why does she blame Atari for the rape? Why is this topic never raised again? It comes across as if Atari really was at fault and got what he deserved for beating up the she-male.
All things considered, though some stereotypes of homosexual men are avoided, in the end the message is clear that you can't become happy as a homosexual. Arashi has to die (for such a stupid reason, too!), Fûma takes over the role as "normal" father of Arashi's and Natsuki's child and obviously doesn't look for fulfillment anymore, the same goes for Natsuki - this is arguable, of course, considering Arashi's "rebirth" which is kind of an open end. Atari can't really marry Ushio, and the dorama doesn't show what their daily life looks like. The voice of Fûma's mother seems to linger stating that it's a crime to have sex with a minor, which Ushio obviously is. And the classmates - though the dorama is called "Alumni Reunion", this is only relevant during the first five episodes or so, then the other classmates drop off the radar. Add to this the plotholes, the overused element of coincidence, the sometimes really bad symbolism, the overly dramatic score (often classical, like Mozart), and the second half of the dorama leaves an unpleasant taste in your mouth. The plot twists become almost grotesque, and one gets the feeling that the screenwriter tried to fit as much drama in the last episodes as possible, abandoning logic and credibility. Which is a shame. I would have liked to see Natsuki, Fûma and Arashi raise their kid.
If you've read all this, I applaud your patience! :D I'm sure I forgot a hundred things I wanted to say, but writing this was quite an exercise. Of course I'd like to hear opinions, but even with this extensive summary I realize that it's hard to comment when you haven't seen the dorama. I'd love to know if there are other doramas from the 90s with a similar topic.
"Dôsôkai" aired Wednesdays at 10p.m. on NTV in the autumn dorama season 1993, from October to December. Cast: Saitô Yuki (Natsuki), Nishimura Kazuhiko (Fûma), Takashima Masahiro (Atari), TOKIO's Yamaguchi Tatsuya (Arashi), TOKIO's Kokubun Taiichi (Ushio), Tanaka Minako (Yuiko), Oginome Keiko (Chino), V6's Sakamoto Masayuki (Arashi's and Ushio's friend)
The first episode starts with our heroine Natsuki suffering from pubic lice (kejiramishô), which forces her to constantly scratch herself between her legs, a scene that is shown quite openly: in the women's toilet, she puts up one leg on the sink and scratches herself thoroughly, all in the presence of a co-worker who advises seeing a doctor.
During her lunch break, Natsuki's boyfriend Fûma drops by and proposes to her. She's not sure about his feelings (even going so far as to have his engagement ring examined by a professional to see if it's the real thing), but she finally agrees.
We see Fûma take a photo of a boy in swimming pants out of his wallet and look at it meaningfully. He wants to rip it apart, but can't bring himself to do it.
Fûma and Natsuki are graduates from a school in Toi, Izu, and they are still in contact with their highschool classmates from the basketball club, most of which have moved to Tokyo, like Fûma and Natsuki. When their old homeroom teacher comes to visit, they organize a spontaneous alumni reunion, though not everyone can attend. The teacher sees Fûma on a crossing, about to go into Shinjuku 2chôme (the gay bar district) and calls out to him, but Fûma doesn't hear him. Before marrying Natsuki, Fûma wants to have at least one look at the gay scene.
Fûma in Shinjuku
The JE gay club Three gay friends
Wandering the dark streets, he enters a bar called "Splash" where he gets chatted up by a young man called Arashi (Yamaguchi Tatsuya).
Arashi's friend Ushio (Kokubun Taiichi) (Notice the pixeled porn in the background)
Tortured by his sexual desire, Fûma follows Arashi into a hotel where they make love.
Arashi showering first
Fûma showering, not sure he is doing the right thing
Waiting for his lover, Arashi studies for a math exam at school
Fûma still can't accept his sexual orientation, and the lovers part after an argument. On the way out, Fûma meets an old classmate, Chino, who works here and there in order to support herself and her small daughter. Hurriedly he tells her that the boy was the son of a co-worker who he tutors in mathematics.
Arashi is totally smitten with Fûma, though he doesn't even know Fûma's name. But Fûma lost his company's badge at the hotel, and with this hint Arashi manages to find out about Fûma, helped along by his very gay friend Ushio (Kokubun Taiichi).
Meanwhile, Natsuki has met her ex-boyfriend Atari Kôsuke at the alumni reunion, who is also best friends with Fûma and still cares deeply for Natsuki. But by now he's going out with a kôhai of the group, Yuiko, who has a kind of love-hate-relationship with Natsuki and would like her to disappear from Atari's life completely.
Atari
Yuiko
Atari trying to break up the catfight between the two women, only succeeding in getting his towel stolen
Atari wishes Natsuki well for her marriage.
The classmates come together again for a sad occasion. The teacher's wife has died, and they all stay with him for the funeral. Atari and Fûma share a room. Fûma can't stop looking at Atari.
At the airport, Arashi (who has found out about the plane trip by asking at Fûma's company) steps in front of Fûma. In the men's toilet, Arashi declares his love for Fûma, but Fûma reacts with violent rage, telling him that he isn't interested in any relationship whatsoever and that Arashi should leave him alone. But Arashi won't give up.
Natsuki and Fûma leave for their honeymoon, but the flight is cancelled and they're forced to spend the night in a local hotel. Fûma tries to make love to Natsuki, but it's obvious that her female curves do nothing for him. He blames it on exhaustion. After their trip, the couple moves in with Fûma's parents who own a house. Although Fûma and Natsuki share a room, they don't share a bed, and while Fûma treats her lovingly, Natsuki soon realizes that sex with Fûma will probably never happen. To add to her misery, Fûma's mother in her curiosity has gone to visit Natsuki's mother, who is hospitalized with a mental illness and unresponsive ever since she tried to drown her daughter in the sea when Natsuki was a child. Fûma's mother is appalled (seeing Natsuki's mother as a future burden) and asks Natsuki to divorce Fûma, treating her coldly. Natsuki refuses and once Fûma gets wind of his mother's actions, he completely takes Natsuki's side.
But Fûma can't forget about Arashi. One night he goes back to the gay bar and seeks Arashi out. The two enter a love hotel.
To help Fûma with a project of his, Natsuki asks Atari for help, and they search out a creepy old guy (I didn't get what role he played, exactly) with a voyeuristic streak. He has a camera installed in a love hotel room - yes, you guessed right, coincidently it's the one Arashi and Fûma choose. Both Atari and Natsuki watch the sex onscreen. Natsuki immediately recognizes Fûma and flees the room. Atari has only glanced at the screen in passing, so he only sees Arashi's face, not Fûma.
Fûma pulling off his wedding ring
Fûma and Arashi playing around in the shower afterwards, not knowing that they've been seen.
Natsuki is totally confused and lost. She knows now for sure that Fûma is gay, and a part of her wishes for revenge, hurting him as he hurt her. Putting on bright red lipstick, she roams Shinjuku 2chôme at night. First she searches out the gay bar "Splash", where she's asked to leave, being a woman. In her despair, she wanders the streets and gets talked to by a young hooker. She has sex with the young man, who is none other than Arashi (coincidently, of course).
Yuiko all but lives at Atari's apartment now. What nobody yet knows is that Arashi is actually her younger brother who still goes to highschool. Though Arashi is bisexual and has a girlfriend at school, he can't forget about Fûma and finally breaks up with her. Arashi's ex-girlfriend calls Fûma's house in a rage and tells Fûma's mother that her son is gay, which of course sends her into shock.
While Arashi has the apartment for himself (Yuiko being at Atari's), he calls over Fûma. But Fûma can't bring himself to make love with Arashi, though he's clearly attracted to him.
Driven by his need, Fûma searches out a park that appears to be a pick up spot for gay couples. While he's about to get a blowjob, a group of men with clubs enters the scene, obviously out looking for a few gays to bash up. Fûma gets hurt pretty badly, but is saved by Atari, who's been in the vicinity coincidently and has come to find out what the noise is all about.
Fûma is approached by a stranger and gets a blowjob (I do think this is Christian symbolism here, with Fûma standing against the tree as if nailed to a cross)
Atari is shocked to discover Fûma...
... and carries him home, all hero-like
He takes Fûma back to his apartment and patches him up. In tears and holding a knife to his own throat, Fûma finally confesses - it's Atari who he's loved for twelve years now, and that's also the main reason why he married Natsuki, after Atari had broken up with her: "I married her because she was your woman. Me and Natsuki, we're both like moons in your orbit." We learn that Fûma once risked his life for Atari to win a race for him. Atari is torn: "What is it I can do for you? I swore an oath that I'd do anything." Fûma: "Kiss me." And Atari does.
And one thing leads to another, the two end up in bed together. Atari: "It's strange. If people saw this, they'd probably throw up. Back in school, I once caught two guys in the club room masturbating together, and I beat them up. Feels somewhat like this, right now."
Arashi has meanwhile been bought for the night by the same old creepy guy with the video camera. But the old man doesn't want any physical favours, he just paints Arashi (and subsequently dies of heart failure).
(I swear this scene exists only for the TOKIO fangirls)
The next day, Atari offers Fûma a one time only deal. For three days, he will be all Fûma's, but then they'll go back to being friends. The two break the news to their respective partners who, of course, are everything but pleased. Natsuki feels very keenly that to Fûma, she comes only second.
(This is Atari unable to get on his briefs properly because of his erection...)
Arashi still can't get Fûma out of his head. He's caught with his hand down his pants, staring at a photo of Fûma, by his sister Yuiko. On a whim, he comes out to her, stating that he's bisexual. Yuiko is shocked and angry, but even more so when she's the photo and realizes that it shows Fûma.
Atari and Fûma share a lot of intimate moments together at some mountain retreat. They part ways again back in Tokyo, when the clock on the third day strikes midnight, both clad in tuxedos.
For some reason, there's a scene where Arashi swims naked in a pool thrown in (again, that's certainly for the fangirls...).
Fûma's mother drops her cold act in front of Natsuki, worried that the anonymous caller might have been right, but Natsuki denies the allegation and covers for Fûma. Fûma's mother is grateful that Natsuki will stay by Fûma's side even though he might be homosexual and thanks her profusely.
Natsuki has spent the evening at her friend Chino's appartment, another classmate from highschool. Chino is a very open woman, and so she readily agrees when Natsuki asks her if she may touch her breast and kiss her. Natsuki tries to understand Fûma's feelings, but she just can't figure out what he sees in other men (or how intercourse is supposed to work with two partners who have both "erect things standing out" (the Japanese language can be so vague...)).
Coming home, Fûma, still in his tuxedo, comes out to Natsuki, but also tells her: "I can't love you physically. But I do love the human being Natsuki, and I'd like you to be by my side forever." Natsuki replies: "I'll be here. After all, love that seeks recompensation isn't love, right?" They muse that with the help of Atari as intermediary, they did come together and become one.
It's a dinner at Atari's place that brings all "players" together, and naturally things get ugly quickly. Arashi is enraged to find Fûma as husband of Natsuki, yelling, "I did both husband and wife! Hey, I sucked your husband's dick, you know!" Natsuki throws a glass of water at his face, but he just laughs it off: "A bit of water won't do anything to me, I even swallowed his semen!" (At this point I'd like to repeat that this is Tokio's Yamaguchi talking, a Johnny's idol with a group that was just getting really popular. Whatever were they thinking?) He continues: "Just thinking of Fûma makes my dick leak with pre-come. It's completely different from sleeping with a woman who just spreads her legs." All relationships are out in the open now, and Arashi is angry, thinking Fûma just used him as a replacement for Atari. Atari stresses that he's heterosexual, but Yuiko can't bear it any longer: "I definitely won't marry a woman! Tell me, was it you or Fûma who played the woman's role in your tryst!?" Arashi is in despair: "Fûma, why won't you love me! You're the only one for me in my whole life!" (Nobody seems to mind the fact that he's only seventeen.) Pretty much every one has a nervous breakdown after this, a kitchen knife is wielded, but nobody gets hurt in the end - physically at least.
The next episode starts with Kokubun Ushio introducing his new boyfriend at the gay bar "Splash". There's just one problem, he laughs, they both like being penetrated. Arashi once more states that he's going to be with his beloved Fûma forever. After driving by at Fûma's house in the middle of the night, Fûma and Natsuki smuggle him in, put the two beds together and cuddle there with Fûma in the middle. I wish I could recall the "bedtime story" that Fûma tells, I just remember that it was meaningful.
Meanwhile, Atari collapses in front of Yuiko at his appartment, after being rushed to the hospital it is discovered that he has a tumour close to his heart. At night in the hospital, Atari tries to jack off with a porn magazine, but as soon as he closes his eyes, memories of the time spent with Fûma flood his senses. In frustration, he leaves the hospital to wander the streets. At a pachinko parlour he meets the ex-girlfriend of another of the classmates (who made an appearance at one of the alumni meetings in episode 5, showing everyone her beautiful breasts by pulling down her dress - I kid you not).
"You want to see?"
He takes her to a hotel, but when she stands naked before him, he realizes that she's a so-called "new half" (a she-male). Out of his mind, he verbally and physically abuses her. She's quick to gather her gay friends though, and they find Atari still wandering the streets, beat him to a pulp and gang-rape him (btw, the number one rapist, a friend of Arashi and Ushio, is played by V6's Sakamoto). In the midst of his torment, Atari cries out for Fûma.
Fûma is at home in bed and sits up straight all of a sudden - somehow he's heard Atari's cry. But it's not Fûma who finds him. Unnoticed by the gang, Ushio (Kokubun) has witnessed the whole scene, too afraid and weak to save Atari. When the rapists have left, Ushio helps Atari cover himself and gives him valuable advice: "It's best to go to the toilet quickly. Sperm is a strong laxative."
Atari thinks to himself that he doesn't understand why, but it's Fûma who he now wants to see. He returns to his apartment, where Fûma, Natsuki and Yuiko are waiting for him, having learned that he left the hospital and worried about him. In the following dialogue, Atari tells Yuiko about how he was raped, and she completely loses her mind. "First you sleep with Fûma, now with those other men - there's no woman in this world who'd marry you! Sayonara!" And with that she leaves Atari (and the dorama - though she's been living with her brother Arashi, we're just told that she moved back to her hometown looking for an omiai partner).
Atari returns to the hospital. Fûma sets out for Shinjuju 2chôme to find the gang and organizes a one-on-one fight with Sakamoto (I mean V6 Sakamoto - his role doesn't have a name, so Sakamoto it is). Sakamoto has brought some help along, though. It's Arashi. Spouting a lot of dialogue about male pride and somesuch things, Fûma and Arashi fight. Natsuki, who's figured out where the battle would take place, arrives on the scene and watches the fight, shaking her head. She leaves them to their fight.
Cut to battered Fûma and Arashi who are lying on the floor, panting heavily from exhaustion. Fûma reaches for Arashi's hand, and they start kissing. Arashi explains that when he was 12, a lady from the neighbourhood raped him, so he started to dislike women, looking for men instead. Then he wants to know how Atari and Fûma did it, and what the size of Atari's dick is, obviously jealous of Fûma's bond to the other man. He fiercly proclaims his love for Fûma. Fûma replies: "Men are just bound together by pain. Loving each other is just a sweet punishment." He takes Arashi home with him where they shower together.
Fûma's mother witnesses in shock as the two enter the bathroom together, naked, and when she wants to bring up tea later, she finds the door locked. Of course she sees her worst fears confirmed.
Worriedly, she looks up the law and finds that Fûma is actually committing a criminal act by having sex with a minor. When Natsuki also returns home, Fûma's mother all but cries for Natsuki to go find out about Fûma and Arashi. The two women enter the (now unlocked) room, and though Fûma and Arashi are lying on Fûma's bed together, they're both clothed and seemingly in the midst of a mathematical discussion.
The night brings much unresolved sexual tension for everyone. Natsuki pictures Fûma and Atari together, and so we see Natsuki, Fûma (in the bed next to hers), Atari and Arashi each masturbating.
Ushio has been worried about Atari ever since the rape incident and feels bad about not being able to help him. So he goes to visit him in the hospital, bringing him self-made apple preserves. An indefinite time later, Atari leaves the hospital, apparently well again (though it's not said what happened to his tumour...) and returns to his apartment. He finds it all cleaned up and sparkling, dinner on the table. Thinking Yuiko has returned, he's shocked to discover Ushio in an apron. "Homosexuals make me want to throw up!", he rages. He forces Ushio to show him Shinjuku 2chôme and rents a male and a female hooker for the both of them. Brutally handling the woman, he shouts at the two boys to get it going. In tears, Ushio grabs a nearby vase and smashes it against Atari's head.
Timid Ushio with the male hooker, while Atari has thrown the woman onto the bed
Arashi consoles Ushio who comes crying to him and gets more and more angry at Atari. In a rage, he storms into Atari's apartment, trying to stab Atari, but all of a sudden Ushio is there and covers Atari, catching the knife in his back.
Cut - it's Christmas. Apparently, Ushio and Atari are now living together in Atari's apartment. We get a short scene of Fûma getting angry with Atari for apparently being gay after all, but then the whole group is hanging out at the "Splash" gay bar together, with Natsuki who's disguised as a man (and promptly gets an offer from an elderly foreigner).
Afterwards, while Ushio (Kokubun who really has a cute little butt) is taking a shower, Atari gazes at the bottle of lube in his hand and puts it on his nightstand in preparation, going "Oh well, why not."
"Love Oil"
At Fûma and Natsuki's home, Natsuki gets into her bed while in the bed next to hers Fûma and Arashi are getting it on. (Arashi is very cute in this scene, shyly asking Fûma to have sex with him.)
Arashi & Fûma preparing for bed
"Sex, please?"
Natsuki listening to the sex in the background
This could have been the end. But Natsuki finds out that she is pregnant, and the father of the baby is Arashi. They decide to take this as another strengthening of the triangle's bonds. Fûma goes to meet Arashi in a park to break the news to him. Arashi arrives early and sees a man shooting at helpless dogs with bow and arrow. Angrily he tells him off. Fûma arrives on the scene, Arashi starts running towards him - and gets shot in the back with an arrow. He dies in Fûma's arms. Yeah.
Cut to Fûma and Natsuki after the birth of the baby boy. They're taking him for a stroll, when they suddenly see a young construction worker looking exactly like Arashi. Musing that he's been reborn, Natsuki goes to talk to him.
Natsuki and Fûma along with the old highschool teacher and Chino attend Atari's wedding with a "pretty OL" in a chapel. As Atari lifts the veil of his bride, we see Kokubun Ushio with make up, the two kiss. The teacher and Chino aren't aware that the bride is actually a man. As the priest leaves the church, it becomes clear that he is also gay and that the marriage has been fake.
Natsuki and Fûma visit Natsuki's mother, who recognizes her daughter after years of apathy and it becomes clear that she has loved Natsuki all along, even though she tried to kill her.
The dorama ends very strangely. First Atari addresses the audience, though I can't remember for the life of me what he said. Something very emotional. Then Natsuki takes over and shows the inside of the TV studio with the settings for various apartments, the gay bar etc. And that's it.
(Some more eye candy at the end)
Thoughts:
The first half of the dorama was very interesting and well done, in my opinion. With the sole exception of Ushio, the gay men are depicted neither as your typical effeminate queer (as he is often present in Japanese TV, usually as a means of comical relief), nor as acting out of some pure hedonistic desire (in Japanese, you quite often hear someone say "I didn't know he had this kind of hobby." when talking about a homosexual). They are pulled along by their emotions and shown as being torn between the pressures of society and their true selves. Fûma and Atari are both successful salarymen who are well-off, they aren't outcasts from society. Their relationship is one of equals, they don't fall into the typical top/bottom role-pattern that is so often (ab)used in fiction and manga, not only those produced for the female audience. For '93, I think this is pretty radical, though I remember a movie from '92, called "Kirakira Hikaru" which also features a woman married to a gay man and the problems that arise out of the three trying to somehow create a new kind of family unit. Maybe the topic was hot at that time? I do know from various websites that "Dôsôkai" caused a furor when it was aired, exactly because of the topic and the many nude scenes.
I was surprised at the many nude scenes, that's not something you usually see in dorama. Even the sex is shown pretty explicitly. There's a scene where Natsuki is masturbating, which is waking up Fûma, who also starts masturbating, then the scene shifts to Atari and Arashi who are all busy with their sexual organs. The symbolism was pretty bad though and reminiscent of shôjo manga style. In the just mentioned scene, the orgasm of the four is symbolized by a petal falling off a white rose. *rolls eyes*
Water is the most obvious symbol employed throughout the story. For Natsuki, the sea is a threatening presence ever since her mother almost drowned her, but in the end she comments that even the sea now just makes her nostalgic. She has left the person behind that she was, who was caught up in her own childhood trauma and basically just interested in her own well-being. The relationship with Fûma and Arashi seems to have taught her that happiness is something you create actively and have to work for, something that you share with and for others. I think it would be wrong to evoke the Christian symbol of baptism in this context, but in a way the water has made her another person when her mother tried to kill her, and only in the end can she return to the person she feels she was meant to be. (I readily admit that I didn't get exactly why her mother did what she did. If it was mentioned in the dorama, I must have missed it.)
For Fûma, the sea makes him recall a memory of Atari swimming in the water and beckoning him to jump in, to take a leap of faith, in a sense (there's also the gay bar called "Splash" which this scene always brings to mind). In another scene, Fûma gets drenched by a passing car driving through a puddle which brings him to his senses. Water here seems to symbolize the knowledge of his sexuality, of his true self, which in the beginning he fights with all his strength.
I think the shower scenes (there are many, most of the nude scenes take place in the shower) have a twofold function. For one, they are part of the sex ritual - you take a shower before you have sex. As such, they often are used to imply sexual acts even when there aren't shown any. Then, the water not only washes away the daily roles the men (have to) play, it leaves them as they are, naked (honest) and vulnerable, in a way. This is most obvious when watching Fûma and Atari's shower scenes closely. Being doused with water exposes their homosexuality, and I think this is also the way to interpret the scene where Natsuki's throws the glass of water in Arashi's face. His remark that she can't hurt him fits with the fact that of all the men, Arashi is the one most true to himself and open about his sexuality. There is nothing Natsuki could expose.
There are a lot of other symbols, like the jidaigeki-like fantasies Natsuki has, which show Fûma and Arashi either battling or being intimate, or nature in the form of flowers or trees. When Fûma and Atari have their three days together, they hike through a forest decked out in the most splendid autumn colors. This is in strong contrast to Fûma wandering the dark and shady forest in search of sex, lost and confused. 2chôme is also always depicted as full of shadows, stark colors, or the absence of color.
Concerning the plot, I was still fine with Atari making his three-days-offer to Fûma. But after that, I just couldn't logically follow the plot anymore, even ignoring the glaring holes like Yuiko's sudden absence or Atari's miraculously vanished tumour. I could feel with Natsuki, who after her initial shock and despair, somehow finds the eye of the storm raging around her and can't be fazed in her calmness. She's decided to be with Fûma, and she sticks with this decision, as long as Fûma doesn't have any secrets and lives his relationship with Arashi together with her. It could have been the perfect triangle - Arashi likes her, too, and he's bisexual after all.
But - I cannot understand the development of Atari. Sure, he might have suppressed his homosexuality (or rather bisexuality) his whole life. But after having so many difficulties acknowledging it, why does he turn to Ushio instead of Fûma? Fûma would have been the logical choice, even if Atari didn't want to destroy Fûma's and Natsuki's marriage. How could Atari settle on Ushio? Because of his femininity? I just don't get it.
Then, there's Yuiko's reaction to Atari's experience of being raped. Yuiko isn't the hysterical type. Why does she blame Atari for the rape? Why is this topic never raised again? It comes across as if Atari really was at fault and got what he deserved for beating up the she-male.
All things considered, though some stereotypes of homosexual men are avoided, in the end the message is clear that you can't become happy as a homosexual. Arashi has to die (for such a stupid reason, too!), Fûma takes over the role as "normal" father of Arashi's and Natsuki's child and obviously doesn't look for fulfillment anymore, the same goes for Natsuki - this is arguable, of course, considering Arashi's "rebirth" which is kind of an open end. Atari can't really marry Ushio, and the dorama doesn't show what their daily life looks like. The voice of Fûma's mother seems to linger stating that it's a crime to have sex with a minor, which Ushio obviously is. And the classmates - though the dorama is called "Alumni Reunion", this is only relevant during the first five episodes or so, then the other classmates drop off the radar. Add to this the plotholes, the overused element of coincidence, the sometimes really bad symbolism, the overly dramatic score (often classical, like Mozart), and the second half of the dorama leaves an unpleasant taste in your mouth. The plot twists become almost grotesque, and one gets the feeling that the screenwriter tried to fit as much drama in the last episodes as possible, abandoning logic and credibility. Which is a shame. I would have liked to see Natsuki, Fûma and Arashi raise their kid.
If you've read all this, I applaud your patience! :D I'm sure I forgot a hundred things I wanted to say, but writing this was quite an exercise. Of course I'd like to hear opinions, but even with this extensive summary I realize that it's hard to comment when you haven't seen the dorama. I'd love to know if there are other doramas from the 90s with a similar topic.