Pension: Koi wa Momoiro (2020)

Can a drama be Zen?

It would be hard to argue that nothing happens in this short Jdrama: there's a fist fight, a cleaver attack, a death and multiple people cheating on their relationships. But the tone of the series frames all of these events as rather small ripples in a pond.

The drama mostly centers on Shiro (Lily Franky) who is the middle-aged owner of a small pension or bed & breakfast, essentially. He's a bit prurient, but he's also open and accepting, and so he welcomes people into his life and home without judgment which provides space for them to find themselves.

The story is reminiscent of the Zen koan Is That So (https://ashidakim.com/zenkoans/3isthatso.html), and raises the question of whether a drama can or should be Zen since the acceptance of the world as it is and living in the moment is kind of antithetical to the dramatic tension that most people look for in a good drama.

Special mention should be made of Sairi Ito's performance as Shiro's daughter Haru. The climax of the series focusses almost exclusively on her reactions, and she nails it.

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Good Enough

" Penshion: Koi wa Momoiro " was okay.

Have finished this one a few weeks ago, but I'm reviewing it now, which allows me to look back and to think about the story. And I honestly can't recall much.

The whole drama was too short and it chopped things up, presenting some of the stories through conversations, starting things out of the blue and finishing up rushly. We didn't get to see character development, or background stories so we can connect and know the characters.

The whole atmosphere, however, was simple, cozy and warm. The performances were okay too.

So, overall, four out of ten for Penshion: Koi wa Momoiro

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