Fukuyado Honpo - Kyoto Love Story (2016)

STORY (No spoilers)
It was by sheer luck that I came across a random recommendation for this seriously overlooked show and since the title intrigued me (it had 'Kyoto Love Story' in it, how could I NOT check it out, lol), I decided to check out the synopsis and when I read that the show was about a traditional Japanese confectionery shop in Kyoto, I excitedly decided to watch it because I've always had a soft spot for shows which depict age-old traditions and cultures - there is just so much rich history and traditional customs embedded within them that really fascinate me.

Well, this show did not let me down or disappoint me, both from a traditional and cultural standpoint but also from its cinematic and absolutely breathtaking shots of historic Kyoto. This show is a marvellous showcase of the city, of its famous cultural landmarks and of the lives of the people who descend from established traditional families with the grand weight of history and legacy supporting them. While the show does centre around the 3 daughters of a traditional Japanese confectionery and the interesting workings and operations behind it, there are also brief introductions to other age-old Japanese cultural aspects such as kabuki, tea ceremony, ikebana, geikos, etc. And characters all speak with a delightful Kyoto accent. For me, to be able to see all this come alive on-screen was one of the absolute best things about this show.

Within such a rich cultural context are our 3 leading ladies - the daughters of an old established Japanese confectionery shop, the 450-year-old 'Fukuyado Honpo'. The show depicts their budding love lives and it's quite interesting to see how each girl grows into her own skin through their different characters and personalities. Their own love interests present different challenges to them and it's quite the ride to see how each couple work through their own issues and their own imperfections.

There is one thing worth mentioning though - a lot of the characters have one thing in common which is being TIGHT-LIPPED. Perhaps this is a natural result of living in a city so steeped in ancient culture and traditions but our characters all tend to hide away their thoughts, feelings and their emotions, maintaining a strict sense of decorum and propriety as far as they are able. This problem seems to be prevalent in almost all our characters and is the source of bulk of the conflicts within the show. It can be a source of frustration for viewers but patience is a virtue because thankfully our characters learn to work through their weaknesses and grow into better understanding of themselves and their partners. The ride can occasionally be rough but there are rainbows after the storm!


MUSIC
The OST for this show consists mainly of our opening and closing songs which are lively and catchy and very memorable. I particularly loved the closing song - the way it comes in at the end of the episode always lands with impact and gives additional oomph to the drama.


RE-WATCH VALUE
While the show might have been interesting in terms of its setting and the character journeys, it was not captivating enough for me to want to rewatch. I might just check out some of the scenes here and there but certainly not a full rewatch by any means.

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who on earth gave this drama a decent review?

i logged into my MDL account after a long period of inactivity just to write this review. who in the hell gave this drama stellar reviews? i was excited to watch this drama because i loved the world of japanese confectionary that was covered in watashitachi wa douka shiteiru and wanted a more lighthearted approach to it. i've always been a fan of japanese traditional ceremonies since i fell in love with the tea ceremony, so i thought this would be a fun drama i could pass time watching with the additive of romantic storylines. based on the reviews, this drama seemed perfect for it (if i'm not wrong, someone called it a hidden gem, which had me very very excited)! but then i watched it, and every episode i watched from episode 2 onwards had my blood boiling because of at least one of the main characters. the mom? selfish. eldest sister? selfish. ken-chan, the second sister's love interest? selfish. what the heck is wrong with these characters?

if you want to spend your night learning about the screwed up idea of love the writers of this show have while specifically shedding angry tears over how the character ken-chan treats the second sister arare, then by all means, watch this drama! this drama had me laughing angrily at its absurdity at some points. i am honestly upset i wasted time on this show expecting character growth from anyone. the only characters i can truly say i like are arare, hana, and iori, either because they're young enough to understandably still be immature or because they accept their faults and try to grow. the eldest sister, hina? not once did i see her truly understand how her actions hurt arare.

as someone who also comes from an asian family that holds filial piety in high regards, while i heavily advocate for the idea that you shouldn't put up with your family wronging you in the namesake of filiality, i also believe that if your family treats you well and cares for you (like her sisters do), you should care for them back and be empathetic towards their problems. but when arare explains how hurt she is over the fact that everything she gets is a leftover or hand-me-down from hina, hina has such a rude response. in what world is that something you say to a sister that poured out her feelings of inferiority to you? and ken-chan saying everything he did was because he thought he wasn't good enough for arare? give me a break! if you love her, you would not have hurt her so much. you would not be forcing her with leading questions down paths she has rejected because you think it's what's best or you want her to follow a specific dream. who are you to say what she wants to do? in what world is this fucked up relationship "love"? even iori's divorced parents probably show more love to each other than that.

i really do not understand why this drama has such high ratings, and i never thought i'd be writing a review considering that my standards for romance dramas aren't the highest (i unironically watch the cringiest shoujo romance dramas and anime just to satisfy cravings), but this drama just really had my blood boiling. i'd give it a 0 rewatch value if i could, but for some reason MDL isn't letting me (maybe because like i said earlier, i have no experience with writing reviews because no show has ever made me need to. normally i just seethe in my bed silently, but this was something). my apologies to anyone i offend with this review, i just really had to get this off my chest.

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