Saturday, May 23, 2020

[Dorama Review] Watashi Kekkon Dekinain Janakute, Shinain Desu / 私 結婚できないんじゃなくて, しないんです

Today I'm gonna review a dorama, Watashi Kekkon Dekinain Janakute, Shinain Desu, which literally means It's Not That I Can't Marry I Don't Marry.

At first I was just browsing and found out this title of dorama accidentally. Since I somehow relate to the title, I got interested in watching this dorama, and it was worth it! So much to talk about!



Well, as always, let's start with a brief synopsis first...

Tachibana Miyabi (played by Nakatani Miki) is a doctor who owns a beauty clinic. She is 39 years old, still beautiful, rich, smart, and said to have a perfect life, except... not yet married, no boyfriend. When people start to pity her, she said "It's not that I can't marry, I dont!"


 In a high school reunion, she is reminded with a man she fell in love with back then. Sakurai Yousuke (played by Tokui Yoshimi), which was absent on that day, but later they met each other. Unlike Tachibana who secretly still has feeling for him, Sakurai just wants to be friends with her, even though he is still single too.

Tachibana and Sakurai in Tokura's Restaurant

The owner of the restaurant, Tokura Seiji (played by Fujiki Naohito) criticized Tachibana because she looked like a cheap woman, and there's no way that Sakurai would fall for her. In the end, Tokura started to give Tachibana lessons how to conquer Mr. Mt. Everest - which is Sakurai.
Well, watching this, I'd think "Yappari, a dorama...". In reality, no restaurant owner will ever interfere with their customer's private life, right? <(¬0¬)>

Tokura Seiji, probably lecturing Tachibana

Tachibana learns a lot of things from Tokura, and even got into a relationship with a part-time boy from a restaurant near her clinic, Ryotaro (played by Seto Koji), who is sooo much younger than her.

Ryotaro and Tachibana on a date

This dorama is really interesting. I will absolutely bored if it's a normal romance drama, but not for this dorama. Romance comedy, made me laugh lots of time and curious in the same time. Despite the actors and the actress are not someone I know well, I really really fall in love with this dorama. I'll write a lot about this dorama, hopefully it won't make you bored reading this.

There is one scene when Tachibana on a matchmaking party, and she met a male doctor there. They got into a fight, and Tachibana was so upset, and she talked to Tokura, the restaurant owner, more or less like this:
“I went through everything to be a doctor, even opened my own clinic, but why if it’s a man, they can talk about it, and if it’s me, a woman, I have to hide it?”

Somehow sometimes I think it’s true. Women do their best with their work, but lots of times it ends up to burden them in terms of finding a boyfriend. Well, not every time of course, but you may have heard that kind of story, don’t you? For me, for example, I worked in a big 4 company before, it’s a public accounting company. Most of the woman partners (partner is the highest position in the company and there are several partners in a company) are single. Even a lot of the woman managers there who are also single. They are single not because they don't want to marry, but because they can't find someone to marry. How sad. (シ_ _)シ

There are times when Tachibana wanted to give up on marriage. “I’m okay being alone”, she said. Well I can totally relate. When people don't feel they can get married, sometimes they discouragingly said that sentence, when it’s actually only a denial.
I think for most of people, even to the ones who decided not to marry, there are times in their life too when they were thinking of marriage, they wanted a marriage, but ended up not married because of a particular reason.

What I like from this dorama is, there are some ideas that I agree with. The whole idea of this dorama for example, about an old beautiful woman who is not yet married, wants to marry, but of course not just marrying everyone. I totally agree with this. Have you ever heard people say “Ah, just don’t be picky, just marry anyone who wants with you, because you’re already this old”
I really hate that, you know? What I mean is, everyone is special, you have your own value, so you have to choose your partner. You don’t just marry anyone only because you’re old. It’s even said better not to get married rather than marrying the wrong person.
But of course, it also means you have to choose the type of person you want to marry wisely.

Tachibana and Ishida, someone she met on a climbing indoor event

Another scene I like, when Ishida was interested in Tachibana and proposed to Tachibana, but Tachibana didn’t have any feelings for him. Heard the rumour that Sakurai was getting back with his ex-gf, Tachibana mentioned Ishida was her fiance in her speech. Knowing this, Tokura acted on his own, talking to Sakurai to help Tachibana. Tachibana was like “What are you doing?”, but Tokura replied something like this: “You can get married with Ishida. No one can guarantee you’ll get something in return if you pursue your love, Sakurai. But if you marry Ishida, you may grow used to not loving him forever”
Somehow there are pros n cons in this statement, I wouldn’t say it’s 100% true, but for me, I’d think the same too. If I don’t love someone, then a marriage won’t change me to love that someone. Marrying someone we love is already a difficult thing, now, how about marrying someone we don’t love? It might be a disaster.

A quote from Tokura that I remember “Marriage is heavy, but it’s heartwarming”
I can’t relate to this since I’m not yet married, but it seems true and somehow I start to wish I’d get married one day too... (。-人-。)


Tachibana's mom. Worrying and comforting her daughter in the same time.

I also like it how Tachibana’s mom comforts her daughter, well she might be worried because her daughter hasn’t married yet, but she doesn’t push her daughter too hard, yet encouraging her.
She once said “Marriage is not something you work hard for. It’s something which comes naturally”. I can’t say if it’s true or false, but if it’s me, I want it to be natural too. Interested in each other, comfort each other, sharing the same values, then think “Ah, I want to be with him/her for the rest of my life” and get married.
I somehow believe love is a fate, it doesn't mean that you don't work for it and it'll come in an instant, but even if you work hard for it, if he/she doesn't mean to be the one for you, and it'll be nothing.

Now that I think about it, there are also some ideas that I don’t agree with, and usually it would lessen my interest of the dorama, but in this dorama, despite of those disagreements, it is still super interesting and funny. I gave this dorama 9 points out of 10 points. What a super worth watching dorama... Must watch!

Friday, May 15, 2020

[Anime Movie Review] Weathering with You / Tenki no Ko / 天気の子

Another animated movie review... Another popular animated movie directed by Makoto Shinkai which is said to be the next Hayao Miyazaki...

Well, I don't mean to be offensive, but in my opinion it's way too overrated. Of course this is super subjective, but for me who actually don't like animated things, Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli could make me interested with their film, while it's not happening with Makoto Shinkai. Let me explain in detail on the review below...

The story start from a high school boy named Hodaka who ran away from home to Tokyo.


 When a rainstorm struck the ferry he was riding, he is saved by Suga. Suga sensed that Hodaka was on a runaway and gave him his name card, in case Hodaka needed helps.

Searching jobs in the capital city of course without graduating from high school of course not easy. Hodaka ended up searching Suga for help. Suga lived with his niece, Natsumi, and they worked as some kind of publisher, and Suga hired Hodaka to help him with his work.


As they were working on some weather article, Hodaka met Hina, a girl who is actually a Sunshine Girl. She could make the weather sunny if she prayed.


 Hina and her little brother were orphans. As they needed money, Hodaka suggest to use Hina's power to make money. And they did it.


 But as Hina prayed and prayed, she started to lose her body... A sacrifice had to be made for the weather to be sunny again...

To tell you the truth, the animation is actually super good. It is super detailed and feels so real. I don't doubt the animation at all, it's perfect... However, the problem is the story... It is quite boring for me. I'm not sure which one making it a little boring, but maybe the pace of the story sometimes is too detailed and too slow.

While a too detailed animation makes it perfect, a too detailed story makes it boring. The big picture of the story was actually not bad, but how they wrap it into the +- 2 hours movie making it so boring.

Japanese movie, anime, film, anything, usually give us a good morale lesson, but in this movie... Of course, there are always something to learn, but just... I barely feel it. Maybe because I can't relate to it? Or maybe because they don't show it significantly? I wonder...

Well, I'd gave this anime movie thing 6 points out of 10 points.