Now listening to: Gen Hashino – Family Song

Overprotected Kahoko is a cute family drama where you can see the dynamics of a close knit family and their everyday issues. The story centers around our main character Kahoko, a 21 year old girl who is an only precious child to her parents. Her mother is housewife and her father is an insurance agent at a company. They all live pretty ordinary lives, just attending school or work. Then we are introduced extended family on both sides of Kahoko’s parents, we got one 2 sets of grandparents, 3 aunts, 2 uncles and one younger cousin. Every year on a family members birthday they all celebrate like a family. A birthday party with maternal side and one with paternal side of Kahoko’s parents. She always receives red envelopes and gifts from both sides no matter what. She is a lovely daughter, niece and granddaughter for her family and couldn’t be happier about her current life situation.
Kahoko is the last year of university when she randomly meets Hajime Mugino, a scruffy art guy who catches her interest with his artwork and bold ideals on life. He is honest and straightforward when talking to Kahoko, but does not have bad intentions or bullies her. He keeps talking to Kahoko in a subtle jealous manner of her parents love and support, something he lacked while growing up as he grew up in an orphanage. Their relationship slowly starts to develop once Kahoko keeps finding Hajime to ask for advice regarding her family issues and how she can help resolve them. Hajime tries his best to help her and encourage her to grow more and more independent from her family. When Kahoko starts to catch feelings for Hajime and she plans her confession, Hajime makes fun of her inexperience with love, even so he is also not very experienced in the dating world either. Their interactions are clumsy, cute and pure. Like some big kids trying to navigate adult life together while figuring out what they want to do in life as well.
Hajime’s goal since young has been “to surpass Picasso” with his art and impress everyone around him, including his long lost mother who abandoned him when he was young. He always thought that if he made if big with his art, his mother would come back to him and love him. But much later on when we find more about his background story, we learnt about him terribly missing his mother even though he held a grudge for so long against her. In the episode when he and Kahoko goes to find his mother from the letter she left at the orphanage for him, he was conflicted yet respectful. The meeting gave him the closure he needed to move on. Clinging and appreciating Kahoko’s support and presence he becomes vulnerable in front of her and lets his emotions flow while crying in her lap like a baby.
I could say that personality wise they are quite similar even though they came from different background. When Kahoko grew up overprotected with the abundant pure love of her parents, Hajime grew up bitter and hurt early on by the world he had so many hopes for. But when meeting innocent Kahoko, he started to open up slowly to her and let her in his heart while treasuring every bit of love he got from her and her family.
There are many moments that made me want to bawl, but one in particular just broke my heart to pieces and glued it back together, was when Kahoko and Hajime were visiting Baaba on her death bed and Hajime showed Baaba the portrait he made with the faces of the entire family. And then Baaba said with a smile on her face: “I don’t like it. It looks incomplete because you are not here.” That moment Hajime broke down when he felt the love and acceptance he craved for all his life. Growing up alone in the orphanage then randomly meeting a strange girl and being adopted by a huge loving family was more that he could dream of when he enrolled into university working 3 different part-time jobs to pay for his tuition. I am a sucker for the found family trope, so this hit home run for me.
By the end, when all the problems were resolves all by one, Kahoko gained more independence and trust from both her parents and her extended family, she became more mature and also a housewife herself! Just like her mother, and her grandmother before her, living in her grandmother’s house and realizing what an amazing person her Baaba was, having to keep the family united and the house and surroundings sparkling clean.
I must admit that I didn’t have many expectations when I started this drama, but it kept getting better and better. The story, the acting, the context were just perfect for everything. Even though it covers heavy topics such as abandoned children, couple infertility, terminal disease, parents disapproval on marriage, poor educational and income backgrounds, overall the story was kept light and emotional keeping you in a warm mood, just as a mother’s protective embrace and care for her children. I would totally recommend it if you are looking for a light yet short drama with warmth when you need to feel your feels. <3