This review may contain spoilers
It Doesn't Quite Take the Cake
I was interested in this drama because of its unusual nature. The vast majority of BL dramas are about young adult men. This one about a romance between almost 40-year-old and an almost 30-year-old, peaked my interest. That being said, it didn't quite take the cake for me for a variety of reasons.
First, it felt very dry to me. Nozue's life borders on depressing and its obvious he's not happy in it, but I didn't feel like his emotions or mental state were well represented and there overall seemed to be a lack of emotion. So I really struggled to get into the story and really care about any of the characters. It also doesn't help that the drama is so short, five episodes all under a half hour. I don't think it had a chance to really spread its wings and give us a chance to get to know Nozue and Togawa as individuals before getting to know them as a pair.
Second, while I appreciate what the drama was going for with a more unique couple, I think that was part of its downfall for me. I felt like the characters needed to have more background and more depth to really allow people to be invested in their lives. While I'm at an age where I can understand the grind of work life, something about the way it was portrayed, I couldn't fully relate. Mentally I appreciated what they were going for, but emotionally, I never really felt drawn in and I think that's so important in a drama like this. With younger BL dramas, you can get away with a lot more fluff, I think. This one was going for more substance and it just fell flat, for me at least.
Third, I found the whole anti-aging process to be awkward at best and downright uncomfortable at worst. The whole premise of anti-aging felt off to me. I understood what Togawa was going for, but I felt like anti-aging was just the wrong wording for it. There is nothing wrong with getting older and I felt like that aspect of the drama was pushing society's view of younger is better which I hate. That is such a toxic message and I really wish the focus had just been on experiencing new things together and getting Nozue out of his shell. On that same thread, the whole pretending to be girls was very weird to me. Again, I understood what they were going for, but I don't think it was executed well and it times it was just uncomfortable to watch.
Fourth, and here lies my biggest issue, is at the end when Togawa says, "Having an age gap or being a minority is the same as having different hometowns or cheering for a different baseball team. It's nothing." I get that he is trying to tell Nozue that their age gap and being gay won't be issues or will be minor issues at most and something they can work through together. On the one hand, I can appreciate that and appreciate his confidence in their ability to essentially take on the world, on the other hand, though it also comes across as horribly out of touch and insensitive. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan, homosexual couples do not enjoy the same legal protections that heterosexual couples do. To say that being a minority is nothing, to me, minimizes the struggles and persecution those people have to deal with every day. That quote really disappointed me and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Now that's not to say it was all bad. The acting was overall quite good. The cinematography and visuals were well done as was the OST. That being said, they were good, but I didn't really find any of it memorable. What I did appreciate is the theme that you are never too old for love.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching this drama. As short as it, its worth watching whether you're interested or not. It's not one that I have any real urge to re-watch, it just really didn't hit the mark for me. Its not bad, but its also not good. I really do appreciate what they were going for, I just don't feel that it was well executed which is disappointing because I think it could have been a really unique story.
First, it felt very dry to me. Nozue's life borders on depressing and its obvious he's not happy in it, but I didn't feel like his emotions or mental state were well represented and there overall seemed to be a lack of emotion. So I really struggled to get into the story and really care about any of the characters. It also doesn't help that the drama is so short, five episodes all under a half hour. I don't think it had a chance to really spread its wings and give us a chance to get to know Nozue and Togawa as individuals before getting to know them as a pair.
Second, while I appreciate what the drama was going for with a more unique couple, I think that was part of its downfall for me. I felt like the characters needed to have more background and more depth to really allow people to be invested in their lives. While I'm at an age where I can understand the grind of work life, something about the way it was portrayed, I couldn't fully relate. Mentally I appreciated what they were going for, but emotionally, I never really felt drawn in and I think that's so important in a drama like this. With younger BL dramas, you can get away with a lot more fluff, I think. This one was going for more substance and it just fell flat, for me at least.
Third, I found the whole anti-aging process to be awkward at best and downright uncomfortable at worst. The whole premise of anti-aging felt off to me. I understood what Togawa was going for, but I felt like anti-aging was just the wrong wording for it. There is nothing wrong with getting older and I felt like that aspect of the drama was pushing society's view of younger is better which I hate. That is such a toxic message and I really wish the focus had just been on experiencing new things together and getting Nozue out of his shell. On that same thread, the whole pretending to be girls was very weird to me. Again, I understood what they were going for, but I don't think it was executed well and it times it was just uncomfortable to watch.
Fourth, and here lies my biggest issue, is at the end when Togawa says, "Having an age gap or being a minority is the same as having different hometowns or cheering for a different baseball team. It's nothing." I get that he is trying to tell Nozue that their age gap and being gay won't be issues or will be minor issues at most and something they can work through together. On the one hand, I can appreciate that and appreciate his confidence in their ability to essentially take on the world, on the other hand, though it also comes across as horribly out of touch and insensitive. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan, homosexual couples do not enjoy the same legal protections that heterosexual couples do. To say that being a minority is nothing, to me, minimizes the struggles and persecution those people have to deal with every day. That quote really disappointed me and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Now that's not to say it was all bad. The acting was overall quite good. The cinematography and visuals were well done as was the OST. That being said, they were good, but I didn't really find any of it memorable. What I did appreciate is the theme that you are never too old for love.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching this drama. As short as it, its worth watching whether you're interested or not. It's not one that I have any real urge to re-watch, it just really didn't hit the mark for me. Its not bad, but its also not good. I really do appreciate what they were going for, I just don't feel that it was well executed which is disappointing because I think it could have been a really unique story.
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