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a beautifully done character study about the lives of aroace individuals.
⚠️ this review contains spoilers, albeit brief and sometimes vaguely worded, in terms of plot and character dynamics. the author does not identify as aroace, and is therefore approaching this from an outsider's view, despite being queer. read at your own risk. ⚠️
"i believe that there are. people who can't fall in love."
KF has been on my ptw list ever since it first aired, but for one reason or another i was always putting it off, despite the amount of mutuals flooding my Tumblr dashboard with praise to high heaven—i chose to watch this show during Asexual Awareness Week, was introduced to the two aroace leads, and have fallen desperately in love with this show (ha!) as a result after being a procrastinating bitch. (serves me right, whenever i put off watching something it's usually what ends up being my obsession for the weeks following sksksksk) there's something so unique about the subject matter, as well as the way they chose to tackle it, and nothing felt forced.
Kodama Sakuko, the main focus of this show, has lived a relatively normal life according to the general population's expectations, but she is not happy—once she puts a name to what she has been for her entire life in episode 1, she resolves to live in such a way that she is the only person who can determine her happiness. her navigation through the new relationships she forges, including with her housemate and ex-boyfriend (but more on that below!) is truly a privilege to watch. i especially loved the decision of the editing team when it came to the audio if people around her were talking about love—we are inside her head, and she filters everything out so that what we are hearing is static, slowly increasing to be just overpowering enough that we rely on what we see; the way that she does not relate to them, but tries her best to fit in. in the end, she has reached the point where her best is no longer fitting in but speaking out, standing up for herself and the things that she believes in, and the feeling that Kishii Yukino's smile gives me in the end is nothing i can explain with words.
Takahashi Satoru is one of the sweetest people i have seen in my life and i would be lying if i said that i did not want to put him in my pocket and kidnap him. touch averse-ness considered, however, since i do not want to make him feel uncomfortable (bc i myself do not like feeling uncomfortable) i will settle for telling him nice things and buying him crab (!!!) even tho i do not eat it and finding flour for his udon and going to his vegetable farm regularly and making sure he visits all of his favorite shops and cafes before his customer reward points expire on the rare occasion he ends up back in town XD he is also, however, deliberately coded in such a way as to come across as not only canon aroace, but as autistic as well—his quirks, endearing as they are, were one of the most relatable parts of this series to me, and his small insistence on living his life according to his values, and no one else's, much like Sakuko, also struck a cord. Takahashi Issei is a master in his field, something i discovered earlier this year while watching Wife of a Spy (i have a review about that as well!!!), and i'm starting to think it's either he never picks a bad project or a bad project never picks him, whichever one it is.
Matsuoka Kazu. what to say about him? he and the FL have a very interesting relationship that contains some of the more uncomfortable memories for her, including a moment of intimacy that sits firmly in the gray area of consent—she doesn't say no, per say, but there's nothing to suggest that she explicitly said yes either. it is handled in such a sensitive way that you are allowed to know that they were together, albeit briefly, and by extension the way that he does struggle, at the beginning, to understand why they can't be again. one of my favorite moments with him (after somewhat of an unexpected development) is when the three housemates head out to Odawara on a trip and he and Sakuko have a heart-to-heart in episode 5; "it must have been so hard on you," he says after she explains that she does not want to force him into what is her closest approximation of a romantic relationship, and he is crying. it is an apology of sorts, for not realizing exactly how unhappy she was. still, he does not regret falling in love with her—her presence in his life, it seems, serves as a catalyst for a well-deserved (and appreciated) character arc, portrayed perfectly by Hama Shogo.
on that note, imo, there has always been an underlying thread of QPRs, or queerplatonic relationships, in this series—someone mentioned that Sakuko's approach to connections with others lean heavily towards the cupioromantic, in addition to her aroace identity, and even when Kazu stayed over for a few weeks to take care of Satoru and his broken arm one would normally think the atmosphere would be a bit awkward. (we are talking, after all, about two aroace people sharing a space with a heterosexual man who is the ex-boyfriend of the FL [and is still madly in love with her], initial rude comments and all.) surprisingly, that awkwardness disappeared, with the dynamic between the three quickly settling into a sort of domestic relationship that extends far beyond Kazu and Satoru's departure; they apparently are all part of the same group chat, communicating regularly, and Satoru even asks Sakuko to give his regards to "Kazu-kun-san," a form of address that earned a laugh out of Sakuko earlier in the series. i choose to believe that she extended the same kind of understanding she has with Satoru in the last episode (read: the conversation in the living room that cemented this series' 10/10 rating) to Kazu, even though it was not shown, and that he did get his wish after all in being part of the "kazoku." (bc look, he is literally the only straight man who also serves as a major supporting character who deserves rights in this show. the other one is a d*ck and deserved everything he got, tyvm)
of course, that's not to leave out the rest of this extremely nuanced cast—Sakuko's blood family did an absolutely stunning job in this, with her father being the standout star for me, as did Kojima Fujiko as her best friend Chizuru, standing to the side as she too falls in love with someone who cannot love her back in the same way. (if you're going to ask whether i cried during the conversation at the beach, pls know that if you watch it the answer will be self-evident. i have a headache coming on, if that helps) Satoru's grandmother was a continual presence as well, even though she was never actually shown on screen—something something "still hovering inside the narrative/there is always a hole where they have been," if you ask me.
tl;dr: Koisenu Futari, in the hands of screenwriter Yoshida Erika and the three directors tasked with bringing her script to the screen, took on the challenge of portraying aroace people in the most respectful way possible, despite the network's original skepticism. fittingly, this was the last drama to air in NHK's 2018 - 2022 "Yorudora" slot, one that was reserved for dramas specifically geared towards young people. i highly recommend watching this show, and i doubt i'll make it into the coming new year before watching it again.
"i believe that there are. people who can't fall in love."
KF has been on my ptw list ever since it first aired, but for one reason or another i was always putting it off, despite the amount of mutuals flooding my Tumblr dashboard with praise to high heaven—i chose to watch this show during Asexual Awareness Week, was introduced to the two aroace leads, and have fallen desperately in love with this show (ha!) as a result after being a procrastinating bitch. (serves me right, whenever i put off watching something it's usually what ends up being my obsession for the weeks following sksksksk) there's something so unique about the subject matter, as well as the way they chose to tackle it, and nothing felt forced.
Kodama Sakuko, the main focus of this show, has lived a relatively normal life according to the general population's expectations, but she is not happy—once she puts a name to what she has been for her entire life in episode 1, she resolves to live in such a way that she is the only person who can determine her happiness. her navigation through the new relationships she forges, including with her housemate and ex-boyfriend (but more on that below!) is truly a privilege to watch. i especially loved the decision of the editing team when it came to the audio if people around her were talking about love—we are inside her head, and she filters everything out so that what we are hearing is static, slowly increasing to be just overpowering enough that we rely on what we see; the way that she does not relate to them, but tries her best to fit in. in the end, she has reached the point where her best is no longer fitting in but speaking out, standing up for herself and the things that she believes in, and the feeling that Kishii Yukino's smile gives me in the end is nothing i can explain with words.
Takahashi Satoru is one of the sweetest people i have seen in my life and i would be lying if i said that i did not want to put him in my pocket and kidnap him. touch averse-ness considered, however, since i do not want to make him feel uncomfortable (bc i myself do not like feeling uncomfortable) i will settle for telling him nice things and buying him crab (!!!) even tho i do not eat it and finding flour for his udon and going to his vegetable farm regularly and making sure he visits all of his favorite shops and cafes before his customer reward points expire on the rare occasion he ends up back in town XD he is also, however, deliberately coded in such a way as to come across as not only canon aroace, but as autistic as well—his quirks, endearing as they are, were one of the most relatable parts of this series to me, and his small insistence on living his life according to his values, and no one else's, much like Sakuko, also struck a cord. Takahashi Issei is a master in his field, something i discovered earlier this year while watching Wife of a Spy (i have a review about that as well!!!), and i'm starting to think it's either he never picks a bad project or a bad project never picks him, whichever one it is.
Matsuoka Kazu. what to say about him? he and the FL have a very interesting relationship that contains some of the more uncomfortable memories for her, including a moment of intimacy that sits firmly in the gray area of consent—she doesn't say no, per say, but there's nothing to suggest that she explicitly said yes either. it is handled in such a sensitive way that you are allowed to know that they were together, albeit briefly, and by extension the way that he does struggle, at the beginning, to understand why they can't be again. one of my favorite moments with him (after somewhat of an unexpected development) is when the three housemates head out to Odawara on a trip and he and Sakuko have a heart-to-heart in episode 5; "it must have been so hard on you," he says after she explains that she does not want to force him into what is her closest approximation of a romantic relationship, and he is crying. it is an apology of sorts, for not realizing exactly how unhappy she was. still, he does not regret falling in love with her—her presence in his life, it seems, serves as a catalyst for a well-deserved (and appreciated) character arc, portrayed perfectly by Hama Shogo.
on that note, imo, there has always been an underlying thread of QPRs, or queerplatonic relationships, in this series—someone mentioned that Sakuko's approach to connections with others lean heavily towards the cupioromantic, in addition to her aroace identity, and even when Kazu stayed over for a few weeks to take care of Satoru and his broken arm one would normally think the atmosphere would be a bit awkward. (we are talking, after all, about two aroace people sharing a space with a heterosexual man who is the ex-boyfriend of the FL [and is still madly in love with her], initial rude comments and all.) surprisingly, that awkwardness disappeared, with the dynamic between the three quickly settling into a sort of domestic relationship that extends far beyond Kazu and Satoru's departure; they apparently are all part of the same group chat, communicating regularly, and Satoru even asks Sakuko to give his regards to "Kazu-kun-san," a form of address that earned a laugh out of Sakuko earlier in the series. i choose to believe that she extended the same kind of understanding she has with Satoru in the last episode (read: the conversation in the living room that cemented this series' 10/10 rating) to Kazu, even though it was not shown, and that he did get his wish after all in being part of the "kazoku." (bc look, he is literally the only straight man who also serves as a major supporting character who deserves rights in this show. the other one is a d*ck and deserved everything he got, tyvm)
of course, that's not to leave out the rest of this extremely nuanced cast—Sakuko's blood family did an absolutely stunning job in this, with her father being the standout star for me, as did Kojima Fujiko as her best friend Chizuru, standing to the side as she too falls in love with someone who cannot love her back in the same way. (if you're going to ask whether i cried during the conversation at the beach, pls know that if you watch it the answer will be self-evident. i have a headache coming on, if that helps) Satoru's grandmother was a continual presence as well, even though she was never actually shown on screen—something something "still hovering inside the narrative/there is always a hole where they have been," if you ask me.
tl;dr: Koisenu Futari, in the hands of screenwriter Yoshida Erika and the three directors tasked with bringing her script to the screen, took on the challenge of portraying aroace people in the most respectful way possible, despite the network's original skepticism. fittingly, this was the last drama to air in NHK's 2018 - 2022 "Yorudora" slot, one that was reserved for dramas specifically geared towards young people. i highly recommend watching this show, and i doubt i'll make it into the coming new year before watching it again.
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