I have a lot of issues with this drama, but a big part of it is because it demands an enormous amount of patience from its viewers - patience that I'm not sure it deserves. If this were being broadcast on ratings-driven U.S. television, it would have been cancelled ages ago because the audience would have grown exasperated with being strung along the way we've been strung along.
What I appreciate are what I perceive as Japanese values of youth and friendship. I have so many misgivings that I'm frankly astonished that I'm still watching and that I still find something to enjoy in it.
i think the writers made an extra effort to emphasize a lot on the friendship portion - about growing apart when growing up, so this is not simply a love drama. i adore these 5 friends together... because their times together are always happy ones, how they make the effort to be connected together... in stark contrast to Ken and Rei's angst moments.
You are exactly right - this is not just a love drama, and that is its most redeeming quality. If it had been, I'm afraid that not even Yamapi could have made me tune in further. I enjoy watching these five grow up together - I find it very interesting that Mikio is still with the girl he dated in high school and that Tsuru's passion for Eri has remained strong and steadfast despite the numerous obstacles. I love seeing how they evolve from high school students to university students and then after, as they enter the work force. I love that these five people who are all so very different from one another manage to enjoy each other's company and seem better off for their bonds of friendship. To me, that's much more worthwhile than watching Ken continue to flail and angst over something that he could have solved ages ago by opening his mouth and just speaking his heart.
I'd love a happy ending, too, but for me a happy ending doesn't mean Ken & Rei together - I'd rather Ken makes peace with himself and learns to let go of his regret - especially since he hasn't proven to me that he could make Rei happier than Tada-san makes her. If I really thought that they would make a happier couple, perhaps I'd feel differently, but so far, Ken hasn't demonstrated that at all - so my sympathy for Ken doesn't extend to wanting him to achieve his desire when I don't feel like he's proved he deserves it. So long as his regret has been replaced by acceptance and a sense of peace by the end, I'll be satisfied.
What I appreciate are what I perceive as Japanese values of youth and friendship. I have so many misgivings that I'm frankly astonished that I'm still watching and that I still find something to enjoy in it.
i think the writers made an extra effort to emphasize a lot on the friendship portion - about growing apart when growing up, so this is not simply a love drama. i adore these 5 friends together... because their times together are always happy ones, how they make the effort to be connected together... in stark contrast to Ken and Rei's angst moments.
You are exactly right - this is not just a love drama, and that is its most redeeming quality. If it had been, I'm afraid that not even Yamapi could have made me tune in further. I enjoy watching these five grow up together - I find it very interesting that Mikio is still with the girl he dated in high school and that Tsuru's passion for Eri has remained strong and steadfast despite the numerous obstacles. I love seeing how they evolve from high school students to university students and then after, as they enter the work force. I love that these five people who are all so very different from one another manage to enjoy each other's company and seem better off for their bonds of friendship. To me, that's much more worthwhile than watching Ken continue to flail and angst over something that he could have solved ages ago by opening his mouth and just speaking his heart.
I'd love a happy ending, too, but for me a happy ending doesn't mean Ken & Rei together - I'd rather Ken makes peace with himself and learns to let go of his regret - especially since he hasn't proven to me that he could make Rei happier than Tada-san makes her. If I really thought that they would make a happier couple, perhaps I'd feel differently, but so far, Ken hasn't demonstrated that at all - so my sympathy for Ken doesn't extend to wanting him to achieve his desire when I don't feel like he's proved he deserves it. So long as his regret has been replaced by acceptance and a sense of peace by the end, I'll be satisfied.
Reply
Leave a comment