Liar Game, Hanayome to Papa & loooong Proposal Daisakusen comments
Japanese Dramas:
I tried hard to get caught up a little this past weekend.
o1. Liar Game episodes 8 & 9 - I love this drama to pieces, and I've been thinking about why. It's not brilliantly-written. The protagonists (Nao & Akiyama) are wonderful and have oodles of chemistry, but there isn't anything terribly deep about either one yet. Nao is almost unbearably naive and trusting and normally I don't like girls who are constantly helpless but I suppose the difference for me in Nao's case is that she behaves out of a genuinely good heart. Yes, Akiyama has some good backstory, but even that doesn't lend itself to a truly fleshed-out character - but he's as intriguing as he is pretty. I do love the cinematography and editing in conjunction with the music, as I repeat every time I mention this gem of a drama. Even the storyline is predictable...and yet it's not.
So in any case, I can only say that despite all of the things that otherwise might not draw me to the drama, here I am, and I can only think that it's because somehow they have managed to keep me interested in what happens next. Akiyama has been the character to watch so far and he's highly watchable in his enigmatic way (and not just because he's pretty), but at least by the end of episode 8, Nao suddenly surged in my approval ratings when she finally did what I have been hoping for all along: she got smart. And I love how her compassion is completely intact despite everything that has happened to her so far in the game. I also love how she seems to be taking the initiative more now - she's not sitting around waiting for things to happen to her; instead she's actively participating in her fate.
I can't wait to see the next episode!
o2. Hanayome to Papa, episodes 6 & 7 - So I caught up on what has been subbed by BNS/D-addicts thus far and I'm less than pleased with the plot developments - but I still adore the drama! The last 2 episodes are much more serious since they deal with Seiji's poor relationship with his parents and how this affects his relationship with Aiko and her father. Very angsty, but it doesn't come across as too heavy at all.
o3. Proposal Daisakusen - the drama has given me fits like no other this season, but I'm not one of those people who makes up their mind and never changes it.
The one thing that I've been asking myself over and over again when it comes to ProDai is what is this drama really about? At first glance, it's about Ken trying to get the girl. The drama begins with Ken waking up horribly late and racing to get to the wedding of his childhood friend (which sets up the running theme that haha - runs - throughout the series). During the photo slideshow at the reception, he has the opportunity to go back in time through the photos to see if he can change anything, and this is granted to him because the gentleman fairy sees a young man filled with an enormous amount of regret over how things have turned out and for all the wasted opportunities that he allowed to pass him by.
So I watched the first handful of episodes with a sense of mounting frustration because Ken is incredibly stunted - so stunted that he doesn't seem to appreciate the enormity of his good fortune. He has the chance to go back in time and change the evolution of his relationship with Rei, but over and over again he lets pride and foolishness get in the way. He's oblivious and insensitive, but while at slower-than-a-snail's-pace, he does gain a sense of self-awareness (which of course only serves to deepen his frustration with himself and also deepens his sense of disconnection). He has the words in his heart but at the crucial moments when other ordinary people would just blurt out their passion, Ken is mute, struck dumb by his self-inflicted paralysis. When this keeps happening, over and over again, when he continually does stupid things, I wonder how the production imagines that its audience can find the hero at all sympathetic.
And yet, I do find Ken sympathetic, although initially not for himself. I kept watching this drama for Yamapi's sake, and I was rewarded a little, despite my utter lack of faith that it would improve. I still think it's a mess, and I still think that the production bet too much on Yamapi's charm to carry it - because it still has problems.
And yet...I feel like the drama I've been watching is not exactly the drama I thought I was watching. Hence the question: what is this drama really about? What defines it? What drives it? So far, I've decided that it's NOT about Ken getting the girl, and to be honest, I'll be disappointed if it ends that way unless something drastic happens. And it is a bit late in the game for drastic things to happen, although I suppose anything is possible, of course.
Episode 1Fairy [voiceover]: "The key that opens the door of miracle is in everyone's hand. But the ones who realize that are far and few. A miracle great enough to change one's destiny doesn't always come. With the desire to change and the small steps you take forward, the door of miracle will open someday."
Little kid: That's why I think adults are hopeless. Always trying so hard to catch hold of love, it makes happiness seem even futher away.
Fairy: [after Ken comes back] Did you think that you could tranform your life by changing her crying face to a smiling one? Couldn't you have made more dramatic changes? Something outrageous or whatnot? Couldn't you think of of anything else? [in exasperation] Was that your best performance?
Ken: I didn't think that there really would be any changes.
Fairy: History has proven that making excuses is what humans do best.
Ken: Please give me another chance! I'll DEFINITELY do better this time.
What to say about this episode? It introduced everyone and their dynamic, and we watched Ken's first time slip to a crucial baseball game that ended badly. Ken manages to make Rei feel a bit lighter, but he certainly doesn't do anything to indicate to her the depth of his feeling.
Episode 2
At the beginning of this episode, we see for the first time the recurring flashback from episode 9 of Rei and Ken facing each other after she tells him that she will marry Tada-san. As Ken tells us at the end of episode 8 and again in episode 9, it's the last time she ever called him by her childhood nickname for him, Ken-zou.Rei: Even though we've always been so close to each other, Ken-zou really doesn't understand a thing. You don't understand at all.
The fairy says something interesting in the beginning of this episode: "contrary to the myths, fate is not something that can be changed so easily." I'm glad that the idea of fate was brought up here because the concept is explored increasingly throughout the drama, particularly in the later episodes as Ken begins to feel more and more that his efforts are futile. We as the viewers may think that with so many missed opportunities and crossed signals that Rei and Ken aren't meant to be. At least until episode 9 it certainly seems as though fate has conspired to keep them apart. In the beginning of the drama, Ken wants to be sitting in Tada-san's place beside Rei - he wants to marry her. But over and over again he can't even tell her he loves her, so how can it be possible that Rei would want to marry him?
Episode 2 is the one where Ken thinks that getting the coffee milk for Rei will make her happy, and in his obliviousness he almost misses the clue Rei placed inside the borrowed CD she returned to him - which would lead to his birthday present. I think her idea was cute and would have been awesome for a different person - but Rei knows Ken is oblivious, so how could she really expect him to open the CD, find the clue, and then interpret it correctly in order to find her gift (Bass figurine)? Knowing Ken as we do, and presumably as Rei does, it seems quite a stretch for him. It's a bit heartbreaking that slow, slow Ken actually does try to confess to Rei, but as is his way, he chooses the indirect path of leaving such an important message on the blackboard at school, which is of course erased by Rei's future husband, student-teacher Tada-san.Fairy: [after Ken comes back] Being able to get married is not as easy as you think it is...at the very least finding Bass didn't mean that you and her are going to get married.
Episode 3
Here, Ken goes back to the time just before Tada-san finishes his student-teaching stint. He can't remember why he's crying in the photo taken before Tada leaves - he only remembers that everyone was very sorry to see Tada leave. It's just a measure of Ken's obliviousness that he doesn't remember the events surrounding these early photographs, which are all supposed to be important moments in Rei's past. In any case, this is the first episode where we see Ken really setting himself against Tada as his rival.
Tada is boring and alienates the students - Rei doesn't like him and no one thinks that he cares about them as students. What I find fascinating is that the way that everyone (including Ken) observes and describes Tada sounds familiar - it almost sounds like Ken. Tada lives in his own world, is oblivious to anything outside of the math that he's teaching, and he keeps missing the cues from the people around him. When Tada goes off on some complicated convoluted explanation about why two particular curved lines will never meet, Rei tries to prod Ken into halting Tada's excessiveness, but like Tada, Ken is lost in his own world and misses her cue when she pokes him about cleaning the blackboard - so Rei does what she always does when Ken disappoints her: she takes care of it herself. And when Tada protests, she tells him off.
This leads (finally) to Ken's revelation and understanding of what happened in the past - when Rei asks for his help in cleaning the blackboard, he discovers a paper on Tada-san's desk that reminds him of why Tada was so beloved when he left their school - Tada had illustrated their class seating charts with many personal insights of each class member, and Ken had originally shared this with the class, which cemented the bond between teacher and students. But this time Ken doesn't share the seating plan out of jealousy because he wants to sabotage Rei's future with Tada and ensure that they don't grow closer. I really dislike it when Ken does things like this - it makes me lose respect for him, so I'm glad that he comes to his senses later on.
This episode really highlighted Ken's overweening pride. He unnecessarily snaps at Rei when he's embarrassed by an unasked-for rejection from "Cameron" sensei, and then later, because Ken doesn't want to lose face, he votes to move his seat away from Rei - if he really loved her, he wouldn't let pride prevent him from showing that he cares about her. See it's not even a question of him confessing - he can't even let her know in small meaningful ways that he cherishes her. So much for making the most of his chance to do things over right. Tada-san: I hope that you won't leave behind regrets. Live each day to the fullest. Don't be like me and leave behind regrets.
Episode 4
I've warmed up to Ken in this episode, when he organized a proper graduation send-off for the girls complete with the entire baseball team in their uniforms. That was the first time I felt like Ken actually did something that I could applaud - he understood that Rei needed something more - something more meaningful, more celebratory, something emotional to make all their years together as children and teenagers add up to a greater sum. And Rei wasn't the only one who needed it - they all did. I really loved the end of this episode, and it gave me a lot of hope that the drama had taken a turn for the better.
Episode 5Fairy: Human beings look for reasons when things don't go well. The circumstances, the timing, the weather and the luck. They pull out all these various excuses to console themselves. 'It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.' 'If only I could do it all over again.' Will it really turn out well if you get to do it all over again? Since they failed the first time, where did that confidence of success the second time round come from?
I find it interesting that Ken admits that in the spring of their first year in university, he only thought of Rei as his childhood friend - but then he admits that perhaps he was fearful of thinking of her as a girl, not just an old friend. I guess this just really serves to underline that Ken really did screw up the first time around if he was so oblivious even at that point that he didn't realize he loved her.
While present-day Ken is wishing hard that he can go back to that time during their first year of uni, he thinks: "This time I'll tell her how I really feel!" He reiterates to the fairy: "I would like to tell her how I really feel."
Ken keeps saying this, but it gets so old, so fast because he can't ever seem to follow through and do what he says he will. Characters in the drama highlight the value of being direct and open as well, but Ken still can't get over his ridiculous block. In episode 5, Rei's grandfather says "I love you" quite openly to his wife on the phone, eliciting shock from the gang. "If you want to say, say it!" Grandpa admonishes them. "If you think you can communicate the message without saying it out loud, that'll be the biggest mistake ever!" And then later, just before he leaves, he tells Ken: "I have no intention of handing Rei to you before I die! You're too obvious. Why aren't you doing some positive actions? Is it because you're worried about what I'd think?...Don't let yourself have any regrets.If you keep thinking there's always tomorrow, you'll suffer for it. Those who say they'll do it tomorrow are idiots."
While Ken can't seem to take these words to heart for himself, he does something wonderful and selfless at the end of episode 5 when he makes Rei run with him to the bus station so she can give her grandfather the photos they took together and say goodbye to him - because Ken knows she won't get another chance.
So this makes two episodes in a row where Ken has done something good.
Notes: Ken's "I have great character" t-shirt - amusing, but I didn't really agree with it until the end. ;) I'm also amused by the reappearance of their high school teacher & the NewS in-jokes were cute, too.
Episode 6Fairy: Jumping to conclusions by yourself that it's hopeless, and giving up without trying. Well, you're not the only one. This applies to humans in general...If one doesn't go face to face with it and shut the door of miracles with his own hands, there's no way you'll receive happiness. There's this phrase that says, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained,' but have you really met anyone who did that? Humans are strong living things. They won't break just by telling the other party how they feel. It's taboo to jump to conclusions. Keep this in mind all the time.
I found this to be an enormously depressing episode because I thought that Ken was finally making progress and doing something really good, only to have fate conspire against him (and similarly against Rei) so cruelly. Tada encourages Rei to enter an important competition; she postpones her birthday party to work on it, and Ken realizes that he's never really done anything for her on her birthday before, and he wants to encourage her with her project and do something special for her. He's very ill throughout most of this time slip, and yet still, he makes an enormous effort - it's crazy that it's taken him this long, but at last I think he's begun to appreciate the opportunities he's had to change the past (although he still can't seem to open his mouth and say what he feels).
This was the first episode where I felt like we also got an insight into Rei which was lacking up until this point - it's the first real glimpse into her character and we're allowed to very clearly see her hopes concerning Ken which are so disappointed by the end of the episode. Rei is a lot like Ken - she also has a difficult time speaking her mind when it comes to matters of the heart. I feel like she took the greater step here, though, by actually trying to give that letter to Ken which expressed her feelings rather plainly. Ken's attempted gesture was a good one - but he still wasn't quite to the point of confessing, I don't think, which still frustrates me, but at least he's breaking out of his paralysis more and more and trying to be better than before.
Episode 7
The is the one with the water balloon fight! I'm a bit annoyed with Ken in this episode because instead of just telling Rei how he feels about her, he becomes focused on preventing Tada from confessing first, which I think is stupid. The fairy chides him later for thinking too much of timing, of making excuses for how and when the important things should be said and done. The best thing in this episode is when Ken encourages Tsuru to convince Eri not to go back to her ex-boyfriend (and when he returns to the present, Eri & Tsuru are together) - he does the right thing by telling Tsuru not to give up but to express his feelings. As a sidenote, I have to say that while I found Tsuru rather annoying in the beginning, he's grown on me, as has Eri, and I quite like them as a secondary OTP. I only wish that Ken would learn a thing or two from Tsuru who has always worn his heart on his sleeve despite continual rejection. Ken of course fails to prevent Tada-san from confessing to Rei (despite his best efforts), but Tada-san deserves to win this since he's not hung up on timing and location - he just speaks his mind and tells Rei how he feels, even though they are not alone.Fairy: Don't you think it's impossible for a useless person who hasn't been able to confess in all this time, to finally do it before the groom?
Ken: I can do it. Or rather, I will do it.
Fairy: Are you going to break out of your shell?
Ken: Shell?
Fairy: You're trying to do something that you couldn't do in the fourteen years you were by her side, right? There's no way you'll succeed unless you break out of your shell!
Too bad that Ken doesn't actually manage to break out of his shell. He does, however, admire Tada-san for how he confessed, especially when he had wasted 14 years by Rei's side without managing to express to her in any way how deeply he felt for her.
Near the end of the episode, Ken decides that he doesn't want to go back in time anymore - it has become too painful for him to be disappointed every time and confronted with his failures again and again. However, when Mikio realizes that Ken has been time traveling, Ken changes his mind.
Episode 8 - Fairy: You should just give up on changing her mind. Try to change your own. Rather than creating a future of you sitting there, it's much easier to create a future of not coming to this wedding at all...Human have a natural ability to forget. If you're able to forget about her n the past, you won't feel so painful in the present.
And then after Ken manages to convince Mikio in the past that he's time slipping, Mikio points out: "even now, Rei doesn't know that you like her, right?" Uh, yeah - this is exactly the point. Ken wants to be at the table with Rei at the wedding, but he can't even manage to tell her that he loves her. Somehow I don't think all that not telling her he loves is suddenly going to turn into a wedding starring Ken and Rei.
After Rei tells Ken that she's decided to date Tada-san, she goes on to tell him:Rei: Actually, I...once liked you. I know that I wasn't frank at all, but I was also afraid of being embarrassed. So I was procrastinating all the way till 20 years old. But I really want to change. It'll work only if I change.
For Rei, Tada-san is a chance to grow up, to move on, to not dwell on the past and live in a state of regret. She genuinely likes Tada-san, and respects him, and he doesn't disappoint her so I can hardly blame her for choosing the guy who confessed as opposed to the guy she cared for but who never gave her a solid idea that he reciprocated her unspoken feelings (neither gave the other the chance to be accepted, which is a pity).
It's New Year's; Ken bows out of the trip to see sunrise with the gang and hits baseballs in his misery. Ken: Why am I persistent with these things? I only do what is in front of my eyes.
In the end, his friends can't do without him and we see how much they need him to be a part of the group - this is the first time where we see conclusive evidence of what Ken means to them and why they are friends with him. In this episode, Ken goes back to try to change his feelings toward Rei - to stay away from her and forget that he loves her (she and Tada have just begun dating), but in the end, he can't erase the love he has for her, and ultimately he realizes that even if he didn't change anything, he's a little happier than he was before - he makes a kind of peace with himself.
Episode 9
Ken goes back knowing it's most likely futile, and it ends the same way it did before, with Rei responding to his proposal with "you never understood anything." Even though I didn't like Rei's rejection, I was annoyed with Ken for not saying anything more to her than "marry me," after he not-very-nicely questioned her decision to marry Tada-san. To me, I thought it made him look a bit childish and petulant - acting out of his own jealousy. Somehow I feel like he could have pulled it off: questioned her decision, that is, in a more constructive and less hurtful way, but he was so choked on his own unhappiness that he couldn't think about how she would feel to hear his words.
What I wanted Ken to do was to burst out to her with all the feelings he has pent up inside him (which would of course be horribly out of character, right? *annoyed at Ken*) - he could have won her over maybe if he'd made an impassioned outburst like what Tsuru did for Eri in episode 7. He really needed to confess properly - to tell her he loves her desperately - that he's loved her for years, that he's only loved her and he wants to be with her so much that he's willing to throw away his pride and make a fool of himself when he knows he has no hope, no chance - because he loves her and he can't seem to stop loving her, no matter how he tries. But all he says is "marry me," and I couldn't help thinking, "why?" Why would Rei say yes to his proposal when she hasn't even had evidence of his love for her? Sure, he's tried to ask her out, but not in a serious way. He's kissed her, too, but also not in a way to make her think that he's in love with her. He's done nice things for her, but he hasn't really done anything romantic, nothing that says "I care for you deeply, more than anyone else" - and he certainly hasn't verbalized his feelings. So I can't blame her for not being overly enthused when he says "marry me," especially when she's made her peace with her decision to accept Tada-san's proposal.
In the beginning of episode 4, the fairy scolds Ken who has begun to take his appearances for granted - when Ken explains (ungratefully, might I add) that he's so thankful to see the fairy that he can't express it in words, the fairy retorts: "So thankful that you can't express it in words is as good as not being thankful at all!" Uh, yes. Exactly. This is my feeling as well - but even further, I feel a bit like paraphrasing it like this: "So in love that you can't express it in words is as good as not being in love at all!" Ken, are you listening???
To go back to my earlier question: What is this drama about? I've decided that this drama is really about the deep friendship and the memories that binds these people together - the five school friends and Tada-san. It's about steadfastness and honesty and living without regret, about seizing the moments and taking advantage of every opportunity to make life better. I think it's also about the small things in life and how they affect bigger outcomes, and that changing one's life is not an easy thing - it requires time and effort and strength and will - and changing someone else's mind requires all those things, too. I don't think this is about Ken getting the girl. I think it's about him overcoming his regret and making peace with the life he has, and working to make it better.
So do I like it? Hard to say. I like Yamapi (although this is far from his best role), and I do actually think I've grown fond of the characters, despite my grievances and despite my near-constant sense of exasperation. I think it's been written fairly sloppily, though, and the producers/writers have depended too much on Yamapi's charisma to make this drama watchable because really - if it wasn't for him, I would not be here.
As I've watched the last few episodes and considered what the drama is really about, I've thought a lot about Nobuta wo Produce which is another drama that was ostensibly about one thing (producing Nobuta and making her popular) but was really about something quite different - and because of this, I've given Proposal Daisakusen chances to redeem itself and to improve. I feel like it has improved, so I'm not sorry to still be here near the drama's end, and I do look forward to seeing how they tie everything up and bring it to its conclusion.
I tried hard to get caught up a little this past weekend.
o1. Liar Game episodes 8 & 9 - I love this drama to pieces, and I've been thinking about why. It's not brilliantly-written. The protagonists (Nao & Akiyama) are wonderful and have oodles of chemistry, but there isn't anything terribly deep about either one yet. Nao is almost unbearably naive and trusting and normally I don't like girls who are constantly helpless but I suppose the difference for me in Nao's case is that she behaves out of a genuinely good heart. Yes, Akiyama has some good backstory, but even that doesn't lend itself to a truly fleshed-out character - but he's as intriguing as he is pretty. I do love the cinematography and editing in conjunction with the music, as I repeat every time I mention this gem of a drama. Even the storyline is predictable...and yet it's not.
So in any case, I can only say that despite all of the things that otherwise might not draw me to the drama, here I am, and I can only think that it's because somehow they have managed to keep me interested in what happens next. Akiyama has been the character to watch so far and he's highly watchable in his enigmatic way (and not just because he's pretty), but at least by the end of episode 8, Nao suddenly surged in my approval ratings when she finally did what I have been hoping for all along: she got smart. And I love how her compassion is completely intact despite everything that has happened to her so far in the game. I also love how she seems to be taking the initiative more now - she's not sitting around waiting for things to happen to her; instead she's actively participating in her fate.
I can't wait to see the next episode!
o2. Hanayome to Papa, episodes 6 & 7 - So I caught up on what has been subbed by BNS/D-addicts thus far and I'm less than pleased with the plot developments - but I still adore the drama! The last 2 episodes are much more serious since they deal with Seiji's poor relationship with his parents and how this affects his relationship with Aiko and her father. Very angsty, but it doesn't come across as too heavy at all.
o3. Proposal Daisakusen - the drama has given me fits like no other this season, but I'm not one of those people who makes up their mind and never changes it.
The one thing that I've been asking myself over and over again when it comes to ProDai is what is this drama really about? At first glance, it's about Ken trying to get the girl. The drama begins with Ken waking up horribly late and racing to get to the wedding of his childhood friend (which sets up the running theme that haha - runs - throughout the series). During the photo slideshow at the reception, he has the opportunity to go back in time through the photos to see if he can change anything, and this is granted to him because the gentleman fairy sees a young man filled with an enormous amount of regret over how things have turned out and for all the wasted opportunities that he allowed to pass him by.
So I watched the first handful of episodes with a sense of mounting frustration because Ken is incredibly stunted - so stunted that he doesn't seem to appreciate the enormity of his good fortune. He has the chance to go back in time and change the evolution of his relationship with Rei, but over and over again he lets pride and foolishness get in the way. He's oblivious and insensitive, but while at slower-than-a-snail's-pace, he does gain a sense of self-awareness (which of course only serves to deepen his frustration with himself and also deepens his sense of disconnection). He has the words in his heart but at the crucial moments when other ordinary people would just blurt out their passion, Ken is mute, struck dumb by his self-inflicted paralysis. When this keeps happening, over and over again, when he continually does stupid things, I wonder how the production imagines that its audience can find the hero at all sympathetic.
And yet, I do find Ken sympathetic, although initially not for himself. I kept watching this drama for Yamapi's sake, and I was rewarded a little, despite my utter lack of faith that it would improve. I still think it's a mess, and I still think that the production bet too much on Yamapi's charm to carry it - because it still has problems.
And yet...I feel like the drama I've been watching is not exactly the drama I thought I was watching. Hence the question: what is this drama really about? What defines it? What drives it? So far, I've decided that it's NOT about Ken getting the girl, and to be honest, I'll be disappointed if it ends that way unless something drastic happens. And it is a bit late in the game for drastic things to happen, although I suppose anything is possible, of course.
Episode 1Fairy [voiceover]: "The key that opens the door of miracle is in everyone's hand. But the ones who realize that are far and few. A miracle great enough to change one's destiny doesn't always come. With the desire to change and the small steps you take forward, the door of miracle will open someday."
Little kid: That's why I think adults are hopeless. Always trying so hard to catch hold of love, it makes happiness seem even futher away.
Fairy: [after Ken comes back] Did you think that you could tranform your life by changing her crying face to a smiling one? Couldn't you have made more dramatic changes? Something outrageous or whatnot? Couldn't you think of of anything else? [in exasperation] Was that your best performance?
Ken: I didn't think that there really would be any changes.
Fairy: History has proven that making excuses is what humans do best.
Ken: Please give me another chance! I'll DEFINITELY do better this time.
What to say about this episode? It introduced everyone and their dynamic, and we watched Ken's first time slip to a crucial baseball game that ended badly. Ken manages to make Rei feel a bit lighter, but he certainly doesn't do anything to indicate to her the depth of his feeling.
Episode 2
At the beginning of this episode, we see for the first time the recurring flashback from episode 9 of Rei and Ken facing each other after she tells him that she will marry Tada-san. As Ken tells us at the end of episode 8 and again in episode 9, it's the last time she ever called him by her childhood nickname for him, Ken-zou.Rei: Even though we've always been so close to each other, Ken-zou really doesn't understand a thing. You don't understand at all.
The fairy says something interesting in the beginning of this episode: "contrary to the myths, fate is not something that can be changed so easily." I'm glad that the idea of fate was brought up here because the concept is explored increasingly throughout the drama, particularly in the later episodes as Ken begins to feel more and more that his efforts are futile. We as the viewers may think that with so many missed opportunities and crossed signals that Rei and Ken aren't meant to be. At least until episode 9 it certainly seems as though fate has conspired to keep them apart. In the beginning of the drama, Ken wants to be sitting in Tada-san's place beside Rei - he wants to marry her. But over and over again he can't even tell her he loves her, so how can it be possible that Rei would want to marry him?
Episode 2 is the one where Ken thinks that getting the coffee milk for Rei will make her happy, and in his obliviousness he almost misses the clue Rei placed inside the borrowed CD she returned to him - which would lead to his birthday present. I think her idea was cute and would have been awesome for a different person - but Rei knows Ken is oblivious, so how could she really expect him to open the CD, find the clue, and then interpret it correctly in order to find her gift (Bass figurine)? Knowing Ken as we do, and presumably as Rei does, it seems quite a stretch for him. It's a bit heartbreaking that slow, slow Ken actually does try to confess to Rei, but as is his way, he chooses the indirect path of leaving such an important message on the blackboard at school, which is of course erased by Rei's future husband, student-teacher Tada-san.Fairy: [after Ken comes back] Being able to get married is not as easy as you think it is...at the very least finding Bass didn't mean that you and her are going to get married.
Episode 3
Here, Ken goes back to the time just before Tada-san finishes his student-teaching stint. He can't remember why he's crying in the photo taken before Tada leaves - he only remembers that everyone was very sorry to see Tada leave. It's just a measure of Ken's obliviousness that he doesn't remember the events surrounding these early photographs, which are all supposed to be important moments in Rei's past. In any case, this is the first episode where we see Ken really setting himself against Tada as his rival.
Tada is boring and alienates the students - Rei doesn't like him and no one thinks that he cares about them as students. What I find fascinating is that the way that everyone (including Ken) observes and describes Tada sounds familiar - it almost sounds like Ken. Tada lives in his own world, is oblivious to anything outside of the math that he's teaching, and he keeps missing the cues from the people around him. When Tada goes off on some complicated convoluted explanation about why two particular curved lines will never meet, Rei tries to prod Ken into halting Tada's excessiveness, but like Tada, Ken is lost in his own world and misses her cue when she pokes him about cleaning the blackboard - so Rei does what she always does when Ken disappoints her: she takes care of it herself. And when Tada protests, she tells him off.
This leads (finally) to Ken's revelation and understanding of what happened in the past - when Rei asks for his help in cleaning the blackboard, he discovers a paper on Tada-san's desk that reminds him of why Tada was so beloved when he left their school - Tada had illustrated their class seating charts with many personal insights of each class member, and Ken had originally shared this with the class, which cemented the bond between teacher and students. But this time Ken doesn't share the seating plan out of jealousy because he wants to sabotage Rei's future with Tada and ensure that they don't grow closer. I really dislike it when Ken does things like this - it makes me lose respect for him, so I'm glad that he comes to his senses later on.
This episode really highlighted Ken's overweening pride. He unnecessarily snaps at Rei when he's embarrassed by an unasked-for rejection from "Cameron" sensei, and then later, because Ken doesn't want to lose face, he votes to move his seat away from Rei - if he really loved her, he wouldn't let pride prevent him from showing that he cares about her. See it's not even a question of him confessing - he can't even let her know in small meaningful ways that he cherishes her. So much for making the most of his chance to do things over right. Tada-san: I hope that you won't leave behind regrets. Live each day to the fullest. Don't be like me and leave behind regrets.
Episode 4
I've warmed up to Ken in this episode, when he organized a proper graduation send-off for the girls complete with the entire baseball team in their uniforms. That was the first time I felt like Ken actually did something that I could applaud - he understood that Rei needed something more - something more meaningful, more celebratory, something emotional to make all their years together as children and teenagers add up to a greater sum. And Rei wasn't the only one who needed it - they all did. I really loved the end of this episode, and it gave me a lot of hope that the drama had taken a turn for the better.
Episode 5Fairy: Human beings look for reasons when things don't go well. The circumstances, the timing, the weather and the luck. They pull out all these various excuses to console themselves. 'It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.' 'If only I could do it all over again.' Will it really turn out well if you get to do it all over again? Since they failed the first time, where did that confidence of success the second time round come from?
I find it interesting that Ken admits that in the spring of their first year in university, he only thought of Rei as his childhood friend - but then he admits that perhaps he was fearful of thinking of her as a girl, not just an old friend. I guess this just really serves to underline that Ken really did screw up the first time around if he was so oblivious even at that point that he didn't realize he loved her.
While present-day Ken is wishing hard that he can go back to that time during their first year of uni, he thinks: "This time I'll tell her how I really feel!" He reiterates to the fairy: "I would like to tell her how I really feel."
Ken keeps saying this, but it gets so old, so fast because he can't ever seem to follow through and do what he says he will. Characters in the drama highlight the value of being direct and open as well, but Ken still can't get over his ridiculous block. In episode 5, Rei's grandfather says "I love you" quite openly to his wife on the phone, eliciting shock from the gang. "If you want to say, say it!" Grandpa admonishes them. "If you think you can communicate the message without saying it out loud, that'll be the biggest mistake ever!" And then later, just before he leaves, he tells Ken: "I have no intention of handing Rei to you before I die! You're too obvious. Why aren't you doing some positive actions? Is it because you're worried about what I'd think?...Don't let yourself have any regrets.If you keep thinking there's always tomorrow, you'll suffer for it. Those who say they'll do it tomorrow are idiots."
While Ken can't seem to take these words to heart for himself, he does something wonderful and selfless at the end of episode 5 when he makes Rei run with him to the bus station so she can give her grandfather the photos they took together and say goodbye to him - because Ken knows she won't get another chance.
So this makes two episodes in a row where Ken has done something good.
Notes: Ken's "I have great character" t-shirt - amusing, but I didn't really agree with it until the end. ;) I'm also amused by the reappearance of their high school teacher & the NewS in-jokes were cute, too.
Episode 6Fairy: Jumping to conclusions by yourself that it's hopeless, and giving up without trying. Well, you're not the only one. This applies to humans in general...If one doesn't go face to face with it and shut the door of miracles with his own hands, there's no way you'll receive happiness. There's this phrase that says, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained,' but have you really met anyone who did that? Humans are strong living things. They won't break just by telling the other party how they feel. It's taboo to jump to conclusions. Keep this in mind all the time.
I found this to be an enormously depressing episode because I thought that Ken was finally making progress and doing something really good, only to have fate conspire against him (and similarly against Rei) so cruelly. Tada encourages Rei to enter an important competition; she postpones her birthday party to work on it, and Ken realizes that he's never really done anything for her on her birthday before, and he wants to encourage her with her project and do something special for her. He's very ill throughout most of this time slip, and yet still, he makes an enormous effort - it's crazy that it's taken him this long, but at last I think he's begun to appreciate the opportunities he's had to change the past (although he still can't seem to open his mouth and say what he feels).
This was the first episode where I felt like we also got an insight into Rei which was lacking up until this point - it's the first real glimpse into her character and we're allowed to very clearly see her hopes concerning Ken which are so disappointed by the end of the episode. Rei is a lot like Ken - she also has a difficult time speaking her mind when it comes to matters of the heart. I feel like she took the greater step here, though, by actually trying to give that letter to Ken which expressed her feelings rather plainly. Ken's attempted gesture was a good one - but he still wasn't quite to the point of confessing, I don't think, which still frustrates me, but at least he's breaking out of his paralysis more and more and trying to be better than before.
Episode 7
The is the one with the water balloon fight! I'm a bit annoyed with Ken in this episode because instead of just telling Rei how he feels about her, he becomes focused on preventing Tada from confessing first, which I think is stupid. The fairy chides him later for thinking too much of timing, of making excuses for how and when the important things should be said and done. The best thing in this episode is when Ken encourages Tsuru to convince Eri not to go back to her ex-boyfriend (and when he returns to the present, Eri & Tsuru are together) - he does the right thing by telling Tsuru not to give up but to express his feelings. As a sidenote, I have to say that while I found Tsuru rather annoying in the beginning, he's grown on me, as has Eri, and I quite like them as a secondary OTP. I only wish that Ken would learn a thing or two from Tsuru who has always worn his heart on his sleeve despite continual rejection. Ken of course fails to prevent Tada-san from confessing to Rei (despite his best efforts), but Tada-san deserves to win this since he's not hung up on timing and location - he just speaks his mind and tells Rei how he feels, even though they are not alone.Fairy: Don't you think it's impossible for a useless person who hasn't been able to confess in all this time, to finally do it before the groom?
Ken: I can do it. Or rather, I will do it.
Fairy: Are you going to break out of your shell?
Ken: Shell?
Fairy: You're trying to do something that you couldn't do in the fourteen years you were by her side, right? There's no way you'll succeed unless you break out of your shell!
Too bad that Ken doesn't actually manage to break out of his shell. He does, however, admire Tada-san for how he confessed, especially when he had wasted 14 years by Rei's side without managing to express to her in any way how deeply he felt for her.
Near the end of the episode, Ken decides that he doesn't want to go back in time anymore - it has become too painful for him to be disappointed every time and confronted with his failures again and again. However, when Mikio realizes that Ken has been time traveling, Ken changes his mind.
Episode 8 - Fairy: You should just give up on changing her mind. Try to change your own. Rather than creating a future of you sitting there, it's much easier to create a future of not coming to this wedding at all...Human have a natural ability to forget. If you're able to forget about her n the past, you won't feel so painful in the present.
And then after Ken manages to convince Mikio in the past that he's time slipping, Mikio points out: "even now, Rei doesn't know that you like her, right?" Uh, yeah - this is exactly the point. Ken wants to be at the table with Rei at the wedding, but he can't even manage to tell her that he loves her. Somehow I don't think all that not telling her he loves is suddenly going to turn into a wedding starring Ken and Rei.
After Rei tells Ken that she's decided to date Tada-san, she goes on to tell him:Rei: Actually, I...once liked you. I know that I wasn't frank at all, but I was also afraid of being embarrassed. So I was procrastinating all the way till 20 years old. But I really want to change. It'll work only if I change.
For Rei, Tada-san is a chance to grow up, to move on, to not dwell on the past and live in a state of regret. She genuinely likes Tada-san, and respects him, and he doesn't disappoint her so I can hardly blame her for choosing the guy who confessed as opposed to the guy she cared for but who never gave her a solid idea that he reciprocated her unspoken feelings (neither gave the other the chance to be accepted, which is a pity).
It's New Year's; Ken bows out of the trip to see sunrise with the gang and hits baseballs in his misery. Ken: Why am I persistent with these things? I only do what is in front of my eyes.
In the end, his friends can't do without him and we see how much they need him to be a part of the group - this is the first time where we see conclusive evidence of what Ken means to them and why they are friends with him. In this episode, Ken goes back to try to change his feelings toward Rei - to stay away from her and forget that he loves her (she and Tada have just begun dating), but in the end, he can't erase the love he has for her, and ultimately he realizes that even if he didn't change anything, he's a little happier than he was before - he makes a kind of peace with himself.
Episode 9
Ken goes back knowing it's most likely futile, and it ends the same way it did before, with Rei responding to his proposal with "you never understood anything." Even though I didn't like Rei's rejection, I was annoyed with Ken for not saying anything more to her than "marry me," after he not-very-nicely questioned her decision to marry Tada-san. To me, I thought it made him look a bit childish and petulant - acting out of his own jealousy. Somehow I feel like he could have pulled it off: questioned her decision, that is, in a more constructive and less hurtful way, but he was so choked on his own unhappiness that he couldn't think about how she would feel to hear his words.
What I wanted Ken to do was to burst out to her with all the feelings he has pent up inside him (which would of course be horribly out of character, right? *annoyed at Ken*) - he could have won her over maybe if he'd made an impassioned outburst like what Tsuru did for Eri in episode 7. He really needed to confess properly - to tell her he loves her desperately - that he's loved her for years, that he's only loved her and he wants to be with her so much that he's willing to throw away his pride and make a fool of himself when he knows he has no hope, no chance - because he loves her and he can't seem to stop loving her, no matter how he tries. But all he says is "marry me," and I couldn't help thinking, "why?" Why would Rei say yes to his proposal when she hasn't even had evidence of his love for her? Sure, he's tried to ask her out, but not in a serious way. He's kissed her, too, but also not in a way to make her think that he's in love with her. He's done nice things for her, but he hasn't really done anything romantic, nothing that says "I care for you deeply, more than anyone else" - and he certainly hasn't verbalized his feelings. So I can't blame her for not being overly enthused when he says "marry me," especially when she's made her peace with her decision to accept Tada-san's proposal.
In the beginning of episode 4, the fairy scolds Ken who has begun to take his appearances for granted - when Ken explains (ungratefully, might I add) that he's so thankful to see the fairy that he can't express it in words, the fairy retorts: "So thankful that you can't express it in words is as good as not being thankful at all!" Uh, yes. Exactly. This is my feeling as well - but even further, I feel a bit like paraphrasing it like this: "So in love that you can't express it in words is as good as not being in love at all!" Ken, are you listening???
To go back to my earlier question: What is this drama about? I've decided that this drama is really about the deep friendship and the memories that binds these people together - the five school friends and Tada-san. It's about steadfastness and honesty and living without regret, about seizing the moments and taking advantage of every opportunity to make life better. I think it's also about the small things in life and how they affect bigger outcomes, and that changing one's life is not an easy thing - it requires time and effort and strength and will - and changing someone else's mind requires all those things, too. I don't think this is about Ken getting the girl. I think it's about him overcoming his regret and making peace with the life he has, and working to make it better.
So do I like it? Hard to say. I like Yamapi (although this is far from his best role), and I do actually think I've grown fond of the characters, despite my grievances and despite my near-constant sense of exasperation. I think it's been written fairly sloppily, though, and the producers/writers have depended too much on Yamapi's charisma to make this drama watchable because really - if it wasn't for him, I would not be here.
As I've watched the last few episodes and considered what the drama is really about, I've thought a lot about Nobuta wo Produce which is another drama that was ostensibly about one thing (producing Nobuta and making her popular) but was really about something quite different - and because of this, I've given Proposal Daisakusen chances to redeem itself and to improve. I feel like it has improved, so I'm not sorry to still be here near the drama's end, and I do look forward to seeing how they tie everything up and bring it to its conclusion.