Kono koi wa atatamesu ka? (2020)

A reflective, authentic watch. *No Spoilers*

This drama deserves a much higher rating in my opinion.

What I found most enjoyable about this whole show is how mature, high quality the characters are. Even the supporting cast is excellent in a natural way. All the characters handle conflict in a natural, mostly mature way, true to real life instead of the clichéd sort of characters who are naive, childish, unruly, whiny, manipulative in an over-exaggerated manner and ultimately boring to watch. Instead this cast of characters are brilliant thinkers and dreamers with some flaws. This isn’t a boring watch where everything is perfect and nothing happens in the plot, rather, the characters authentically handle conflict, true to their character, which makes the conflict more interesting.

How well written the characters are really left an impression on me. Props to the writer.

The actors embody their characters precisely. Although in real life, the male love interests greatly differ in age compared to the female lead, that is not the focus of this drama. Rather the tone of this show is to get back on your feet after shortcomings. This drama focuses on how we influence those around us and how we are inspired by them as well, when working towards a common goal.

The directing, camera angles and pacing of the show help the viewer to truly experience the development of the characters and their lives, resulting in some beautiful shots that evoke emotions—not overdone but not insignificant.

This drama has raised my expectations of what makes a quality Japanese drama and it is hard to top.

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The most Korean-like JDrama that I have ever watched

To be honest, after reading the description of this drama, I was not that interested, but I decided to watch it for two reasons. Firstly, because I really like Nakamura Tomoya, and secondly, because I have a lot of free time (I need to get a life!). In the end, I was happy that I watched it. Now, let me explain what I mean.

PLOT

The first thing, that I found fascinating, was the plot. I felt that this series did not follow the standard Japanese-plot norm. That is why I thought that they were mainly influenced by kdramas. Honestly, this is the only Asian drama in which I liked all of the characters. I found both the lead and the secondary roles to be interested and I wanted to know more about them.

To be more specific, we have a handsome and rich person (Asaba Takumi), who does not enjoy eating sweets, that gets to meet under a weird coincidence a loud and pretty female (Inoue Kiki), who loves to eat sweet things. Asaba is the CEO of the company that Inoue works in one of the company's convenience stores, and they meet by accident before knowing who the other person is. Due to some strange set of circumstances, Inoue leaves the convenience store and is being placed at the Production department of the company, in order to create new sweet recipes. We experience their everyday lives and the difficulties of creating low-cost and tasteful convenience store sweets.

CHARACTERS

Asaba is a cold-hearted person (at first glance), that seems indifferent of what other people think about him and is goal-oriented. However, in reality he is a sensitive person that always takes into account how the people around him feel, and he is a warm person with strong ethical personality. He works hard and faces every obstacle that comes in his way. On the other hand, Kiki is a young female that had experienced failure in her life before. She is afraid when other people have high expectations of her, as she believes that she will fail once again. Asaba was the first person that not only believed in Kiki but he also needed her honesty and creativity. As she was feeling needed and appreciated, feelings started to develop towards Asaba.

Two key supporting characters are Makoto and Riho. Makoto is a childhood friend of Asaba, and works as a vendor at the company. His personality is bright and joyful. He seems a bit childish, but the truth is that he is a mature person with kind feelings. While, Riho, a kind-hearted woman, is working at the Production department of the company, and is the ex-girlfriend of Asaba. In the series there are 3 more characters that is mainly used for comic relief, but I loved them. I personally call them “The Three Stooges”, as I found them funny and I liked it when they had screen time. The Three Stooges, are consisted of the Manager, a Chinese girl, and an early adult man. What I really liked about them was the chemistry that they had.

ACTING

Let me start with the main leads. As I have said before, Nakamura was the reason why I decided to watch this series. I am a fan of his acting and the roles that he usually portraits. I enjoy it when he gets to play a tsundere role, and that is why, I loved his acting in this drama. He was able to execute the role of the capable and innovative CEO, greatly. Moreover, he was able to present the mixed emotions he was feeling, and the consequences of his action, in an amazing way. What I am going to say next, has nothing to do with his acting, but when he wore glasses and the turtleneck, I found him really sexy. Also, I love it when he is laughing and smiling.

As for Mori Nana, it was the first that I watched with her as the main lead, and I was surprised by her acting. Taking into account her young age, I believe that in a few years she would be the talk of the town. She has a bright future! She was able to make me feel her sadness and sorrow when she was feeling down; but I was also feeling excited and motivated when she was excited and motivated. This might be just my personal opinion, but she reminded me of Inoue Mao, the female actor who had the main lead in Hana Yori Dango. If she invests more on her acting, she would become one of the best Japanese actors.

In addition to the strong main leads, the two supporting actors had nothing to be jealous of! Nakano Taiga, was able to execute the role of the person who is in love with someone that does not like them. Moreover, every time that he showed his caring side to his friends and the person that he loved, I wanted to meet him in person and be friends with him. I get the feeling that he is who would take care of the people close to him and would never betray them. As for Ishibashi Shizuka, I thought of her as an amazing actress. At first, thanks to my previous drama experiences, I thought that her character would be a pain in the ass and she would create problems; however, she was actually a strong-willed individual who knew how to behave when she won or lost. Ishibashi, was able to perform her role in an elegant way.

WHAT BOTHERED ME

I will rephrase something that CINEMASINS say: “no drama is without a sin”. There is no perfect drama for me. I would always find something that bothers me. For instance, in kdramas what usually bothers me is the difference in the social classes that the main couple have. One has to be poor while the other is rich.

In jdramas, what usually bothers me is the fact that the main couple does not have much familiarity with each other. They do not help me, sympathise with the couple and understand their feelings for each other. That is what happened in this drama. Even though, I enjoyed their acting, I have to admit that I did not think of Kiki and Asaba as two people in love. I thought of them more like friends and colleagues, rather than people who have feelings for each other.

The next thing that bothered me was the unexplained use of time skips. I do realise that I am watching a series and that I don’t have to think a lot about this; but please do make it believable. For example, processes that would usually take many days or even weeks to be approved, were implemented the following hours. THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS. As an individual who has studied management, I could tell you that the steps from forming an idea and actually implementing that idea, is a long path! But, in the series they made it seem like they could do whatever they wanted, when they wanted.

Another thing that bothered me (THIS IS A HUGE SPOILER), was how Asaba made a move on Kiki, while she was in a relationship with his best friend! OHANA MEANS FAMILY! You can’t do that to your best friend, to someone who was always there for you, someone who has your back all the time, someone who is ready to fight for you. That’s just wrong! I do not care how much you love the other person; friends are irreplaceable!

The last thing that bothered me was the elevator. There were a few scenes, that I assume where shot, in an outside glass lift. I was rather bothered, and a little worried, with how fast that elevator was. I do not know if this is a standard speed for the lift in Japan, but I was sincerely worried about the people in them.

P.S. I want a series that focuses on “The Three Stooges”. I BEG YOU!

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