Deep and thought-provoking conversations & quotes - BUT could be too much and boring to some.
I forgot how I stumbled upon this drama, “Is Love Sustainable?” aka “Jizoku Kanona Koi Desuka: Chichi to Musume no Kekkon Koushinkyoku”. It’s either from the feeds, or as I was browsing through dramas of the male lead, Tanaka Kei, after watching him in Ossan Love. I wanted to see him play a slightly more normal character, not crazy and over-the-top.I was very impressed with the first episode. It was full of meaningful conversations, great chemistry between daughter and father, and good romantic chemistry between Kyoka and Seita. It has some nice cinematography, and thought-provoking enough for me to be interested in their views of relationships and marriages. But as the story progresses, I realize some of these positives could be negatives for other viewers.
This is a pretty slow-paced slice-of-life drama. The plot is character-driven, and really nothing too exciting happens. There are many wonderful quotes of life and marriages, and a lot of yoga and yoga teachings. I don’t practice yoga, and especially not understanding its deeper meanings and lectures. Dad is a lexicographer and dictionary editor. He loves words! Throughout the drama, you can see him explaining the origin of words and seeing him trying to learn new slangs is quite interesting. All of this could either be very wonderful and interesting, or super boring to the viewers. I was initially impressed but it did get to be a little too much towards the end.
I enjoy watching the romance development of both couples. They are mature, communicative, and have some cute moments. Both couples have great chemistry. The drama also challenges traditional gender roles at home. Not all wives want to be home and are good at doing household chores. It also talks about the difficulty of balancing work, family life and personal time.
Overall, I had a pretty decent time watching “Is Love Sustainable?”. The pace at times is slow and I think 10 episodes are too much, maybe 8 would be better. If you enjoy thought-provoking quotes/teachings and deep conversations, this is the drama for you. But if you like something faster paced and more plot-driven, then I would not recommend this for you.
Other Random Observations:
1. Tanaka Kei is a very normal-looking guy, but there’s something about him that I like. He also looks pretty good in suits.
2. It’s quite interesting seeing a bunch of old guys (dictionary editors) discussing ‘kyun’ and other modern slangs.
3. Who knew match-making services are that involved and comprehensive. They even teach you how to start and carry a conversation.
4. Igawa Haruka (Ortho surgeon) is so beautiful and elegant!
5. Ueno Jury (FL) makes me believe she’s a yoga instructor. Her body type and yoga moves look very legit from my novice eyes.
6. Pleasantly surprised to see a Jdorama (or Asian dramas) to feature a body-positive yoga class.
Completed: 4/27/2024 - Review #434
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Entertaining
An enjoyable drama and a bit underrated. The characters are normal, nothing big nor small, they just live their lives and make their own decisions which it’s perfect for slice-of-life drama lovers. The relationship among the characters is what I enjoyed the most, there is chemistry and it was sweet to see the development of the two couples. However, I exclude the second male lead, this is the first time I highly dislike this type of character, he was intrusive, a liar, and a bad friend. Fortunately, this wasn’t a big deal for me to drop the drama cause the main leads usually made decent decisions, I liked them. Additionally, there is not much to expect from this drama a part of how life goes for our characters but it is quite entertaining, there is no time for you to get bored, at least for me.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Slow-paced but worthwhile?
I went into this expecting a slow, slice-of-life drama and got exactly that. The main couple, Kyoka and Seita, are extremely awkward to say the least, and it hurt a bit to watch sometimes. But for some reason, that was what charmed me about them, and I found myself enjoying every little bit of their awkwardness. It's also those slow and comfortably tense moments that I felt that I could see the leads' acting shine through. I don't think I would have continued through and finished watching otherwise, as the drama itself isn't anything extraordinary, so extra points for the main leads (and the rest of the cast really).Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Another American cliché show
Story:The worn-out cliché that if you achieve your dream, you will be happy, and that it is more important than family, that it's okay not to get married, it's okay to be alone, and that if you keep chasing your dream and don't compromise along the way, you might also find a relationship.
Acting/Cast
Japan top actors,
I really love the main couple, and all the actors were excellent.
Music
They could have done much more, put in much more effort musically. It seemed like they didn't invest at all.
Overall
The series started off beautifully; Unfortunately, I didn't have the patience to watch until the final episode and dropped out around episode 6. I didn't connect with the main idea of achieving a dream for the sake of happiness. It feels like a very Western concept that doesn’t quite resonate with the Japanese, but they are trying to force it in unnaturally. In my opinion, if she had understood that family, a partner, and children are the highest values, not the other way around, it might have better represented Japanese culture and felt more genuine and authentic.
It's not that one can't understand the frustration of working as an employee, especially in Japan where employees can truly suffer not only from overwork and stress but also from other issues. It's really challenging. However, portraying the idea that an independent person is happy and fulfilled or succeeds solely because of hard work is one of the biggest illusions sold to us. It gives the impression that despite having an experienced and popular cast, the audience is watching a Netflix series rather than a Japanese series.
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