'1 Pound no Fukuin' comments, episode 4, 5 & 6

[winterspel]

I never had a chance to write up the last few episodes - it feels a bit weird to be revisiting them now, after time has passed (after all, we're up to episode 7, raw, and 6 subbed, so). But for the sake of completion, and I am a completist at heart, even if not always in practice, here are my thoughts on Ichipon 4-6!



Episode 4

• There's so much that is silly about this drama, but some of the silly stuff is SO CUTE. I love that Kousaku has this clicking camera eye vision that captures every single detail of anyone eating food - as the cars go by, so long as there is food involved, Kousaku sees All. ;)
  
  
• The whole representation of Catholicism in this drama defies comprehension most of the time. The idea that anyone would try to have an omiai with a nun? I watched this episode thinking, what are they smoking? Okay, Kousaku is crazy about Sister Angela, but he's a young besotted idiot. This Wakouji is old enough to know better, right? What spectacular ignorance! It's not just Wakouji - Morishita doesn't get it, either. He sees Sister Angela as having "lily-white purity" - um, yes, of course, BUT she's a nun, not an eligible marriage partner! Her "lily-white purity" is for GOD, duh! Argh! Another ARGH is how Sister Millie tells Kousaku off for coming to the church, something about it not being a place for a savage such as him. UH, NO, SISTER MILLIE. Church is the place for EVERYONE, especially savages, certainly according to what I was taught and what I experienced while growing up Catholic. To say anything else is horrifically un-Christian. ARGH ARGH.
  
  
• One of my favorite moments of the episode: the Chairman asking Kousaku: "What's with that punch? A mosquito wouldn't even die from that" and Kousaku, feebly punching the bag merely replies with a mosquito drone. Heeeeeee~
  
  
• Kousaku's earnest desire to learn to cook, inherit a restaurant, and make money, all in order to make Sister Angela happy is so...weird and touching, all at the same time. I really wonder at how Kame must feel about playing such a "simple" character who lacks insight and any sophistication. I mean, he thinks of 70,000 yen in terms of how much takoyaki that is, and at his age, he has absolutely no concept of preparing for a future, much less a married future.
  
  
• Katsumi explains, very slowly, that Sister Angela likes Kousaku best when he's boxing, and when he watches Kousaku run out chanting "bo-bo-boxing!" Katsumi remarks wonderingly: "he's really amazing." Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too. Amazing. As in amazingly dorktastic. O.O
  
  
• I love how the Mother Superior tries so hard to point out how the littlest things in life can bring pleasure...and it's so deflating for her when Sister Millie and Sister Angela don't get it! D:
  
  
• Sister Angela shows regret when Kousaku gets the wrong idea and runs away! This is a great moment in the episode, a surprisingly emotional one that sneaks right up on you. Kousaku goes to find Angela to deliver his letter of intent, his love letter that he struggled over, and he finds her at the restaurant helping Wakouji (who incidentally, is not really a chef, and is flailing in failure because Morishita did everything to make the restaurant successful, and Morishita has collapsed due to exhaustion). He immediately assumes that she has decided to hook her future to Wakaouji's, so he wishes her happiness and runs away. And she takes a few steps after him! Of course she stops, but the regret at the misunderstanding is quite clear in her face, as though she really doesn't want him to think that she likes Wakouji. And of course Kousaku accidentally dropped the letter in his haste, which Wakouji pockets.
  
  
• I really like some of the music in the drama, and one of the pieces I like plays over Kousaku crying in the middle of the boxing ring at the club. And I love how Ueda tries to comfort Kousaku with food after Kousaku declares that he's given up on Sister Angela.
  
  
• It's very interesting when Sister Angela tells Wakouji that Kousaku is "only confusing [her] heart." Is this the first time she's admitted it?
  
  
• It's hard to believe that Kousaku's whole letter, the one he agonized over, only says: "I like you, Sister! I'll win my next match!" Oh, Kousaku!
  
  
• I love Ueda trying to comfort Kousaku and lift his spirits before the revenge match. But my favorite moment in the episode, and what is perhaps my favorite moment in the drama up until this point, is the moment that Kousaku steps forward into the light. SO PRETTY and so meaningful.
  
  
• What Kousaku tells Sister Angela when she shows up after he's won the match is so, so adorable: "I probably can't make you happy, but the more I like you, the happier I am. That's why...may I go on liking you?" Awwww!
  
  
• Cute end of the episode with Kousaku showing off his newly-learned cooking skills...which basically suck. Ahahaha, didn't they teach you one of the biggest rules of cooking? TASTE BEFORE YOU SERVE. Good thing he's decided to stick to boxing.
  

Episode 5

• Kousaku hiding in the leaf pile is HILARIOUS!
  
  
• The nuns giving Valentine's chocolates to their parishioners is so patently absurd, but so is practically everything Catholic in this drama.
  
  
• It really doesn't seem possible that Kousaku is so inexperienced/dumb that he doesn't realize that Nori-chan is carrying a torch from him - I mean she brought him an entire enormous chocolate heart that she made for him herself. And Sister Angela is jealous, hee!
  
  
• I love watching poor Mitaka's ignored efforts to gain Mukoda's attention (his hinting toward Valentine chocolates...poor guy), and she is SO OBLIVIOUS. Gosh, I really, really hope she opens her eyes and sees that there's this great guy who's been in love with her since they were children.
  
  
• I love Kousaku realizing all the ways he's been annoying to Sister Angela. Of course Kousaku realizing this and Kousaku changing this about himself are two completely different things.
  
  
• Again, I really, really dislike that Kousaku uses people to get food out of them - one of the biggest reasons that he's oblivious to Nori-chan's romantic intentions toward him is because he's so intent on the food she's offering: the chocolate, the chinese meal. This is one of the things I just can't stand about Kousaku, and I don't think I'll ever find endearing.
  
  
• Mukoda knocking all her boxers out in the ring is FABULOUS. I love her so much.
  
  
• Sister Angela with her gigantic pile of orange peel! And confessing her uncertainty to the Mother Superior...(I truly love the Mother Superior)
  
  
• I love Ueda more all the time - the way he tries to restore good relations among the boxers at the gym, and the way he comes to Katsumi's rescue really reflects his genuinely good heart. :)
  
  
• It's good that the Mother Superior finally explains to Kousaku about Sister Angela's past: that she was abandoned at the convent of a child, her birthday is unknown and the convent is all she has ever known. "Her dream is to have faith in God and bring peace to the world," she tells Kousaku, and she basically asks him if he can make up for the loss of Sister Angela's dream, if she has to give up her entire life to be with him. It's a really important lesson for the somewhat shallow Kousaku to learn, and it leads to a lovely angsty sequence in which he decides to give up on her, for her sake.
  
  
• The scene in which Ishizaka tells Kousaku to get in the ring and spar with him is awesome. And the music that plays over it is probably my favorite music of the drama. Ishizaka knows that Kousaku needs to somehow gain a clearer understanding, and he's probably the only one who can force Kousaku to it. As much as I dislike violence as a solution, sometimes it's beautiful to watch men beat the shit out of each other for grief and angst. This fight ends beautifully, with Kousaku quivering and struggling against Ishizaka, not with his fists, but with his arms and his whole body, and they virtually embrace in a kind of perfect pain.
  
  
• The last scene is a hilarious and touching combination of absurdity and poignance. Absurd because Kousaku hides in the back of the church while Sister Angela is praying for guidance and HE PRETENDS TO BE GOD. Ahahahahaha! Poignant because Kousaku tries so hard to do the right thing in advising her not to give up her faith. Absurd because he keeps telling Angela not to turn around, and poignant because he tells her that today will be her birthday. It's such a wonderful, adorable, incredibly squishy scene. :D (and Mitaka telling Mukoda that he'll carry her dream isn't too shabby either.)
  

Episode 6

• I have to commend Kame for being able to pull off Kousaku re-enacting Sister Angela's confession in a hilarious fashion! His eyelash batting is a thing of wonder. ;) So is his glee!
  
  
• Uh oh, Sister Angela already seems to be having second thoughts about her confession, meep!
  
  
• I love Kousaku scouting out his next opponent by crawling under the ring with his shoes on his hands! I also liked him shadowing the boxer and mourning over the waste of a perfectly good apple. ;)
  
  
• And then poor Sister Angela seeing Kousaku everywhere! That was fantastic.
  
  
• I do actually like the scene where Kousaku drags Sister Angela into the restaurant to spy on his future opponent (and illicitly eat noodles at the same time - how is it that Kousaku always manages to work food into everything?) But what comes after is the best: Kousaku tells her: "I will become your dream. I will become a champion." And then he offers her a shiny, dazzling smile, which sends her off in quite a state!
  
  
• Sister Millie trying to help Sister Angela erase Kousaku from her mind is so giggle-worthy - the pair of them are so serious and earnest as they seek to banish the thought of Kousaku. I wonder what it might take to make Sister Millie laugh, I really do.
  
  
• I can't get over Sister Angela coming to Mukoda and telling her "I'm too immature to be a nun. So please, allow me to train as a boxer." Bwahahaha.
  
  
• Again, like the cruelty of the first episode where Kousaku was dieting and could only have a tiny portion of rice while everyone else ate heartily, we have the cruelty of all the guys enjoying Sister Angela's delicous cooking while Kousaku gets the tiny portion of rice. :(
  
  
• OMG, Kousaku is such a CHILD. Taking Sister Angela to the playground: "this is my playspot." And telling her where he hides to eat! NOW, not when he was a kid. He goes on to describe his training-skipping techniques which of course provokes Sister Angela into scolding him, and of course he DOESN'T GET IT. He's really a very immature child.
  
  
• Mukoda-san made me really sorry when she scolds Katsumi for being bullied, for being angry with him for not standing up to his tormentors. But both Ueda and Kousaku trying to defend him is wonderful. "I wasn't born into this familiy because I wanted to be!" Katsumi finally bursts out, and it's been a long time coming. His mother just has no concept of what her son is going through, nor does she understand him, or made any effort to try to understand him.
  
  
• Katsumi uses Kousaku's hiding place when he runs away, so of course Sister Angela and Kousaku are able to find him. Katsumi makes a good point when he explains that he doesn't have any motiviation to struggle the way that everyone else seems to have. So it's harder for him to keep trying, and to stand up for himself. Poor kid, he's so lost he doesn't even know that he is WORTH standing up for himself. "People don't change suddenly," he says. But Sister Angela contradicts him, admitting that she has changed. And when asked why, she confesses that it's because of Kousaku!
  
  
• Of course, all this leads to Sister Angela deciding to go back to the convent, and when Sister Millie tells her she can't come back, I love that Kousaku finally does something really good: he asks them to take Sister Angela back because it's her home, and he knows that it's the right thing for her, even if it's not the right thing for him. It's a lovely unselfish act - it's a pity that he doesn't do such things more often. Kousaku and Sister Angela shouting "Thank you!" in unison is also much love.
  
  
• It's no wonder Mitaka couldn't tell Mukoda how he was able to overcome being bullied - because it was Mukoda herself who gave him the courage and strength to stand up for himself. It would be so nice if she could do the same for her son.
  
  
• The end of the episode is really heartwarming: Sister Angela and Kousaku meet while he's out on a run, and at the end of their conversation, she reminds him that he promised to show her her dream, and she goes on to tell him that she looks forward to it. :D Kousaku runs off in a gleeful frenzy! :D:D:D