A guilty pleasure (includes tw/cws)

There are many "yikes" moments in the writing yet this drama is creative and entertaining. I adored Saiko so much and wanted to see her get a happy ending. Otaro is a horrible person but incredibly charming and Saiko is so lovely but susceptible to manipulation :(( I found her very relatable. This drama is hard to explain/recommend because of the problematic content, but after 3 years since I watched it I still think about it all the time and would love to talk about it with someone/rewatch.

Important for people who haven't watched it yet, here are some content warnings!
- Non-consensual kissing (quite literally the main plot device)
- Homophobic representations of gay men (making the singular one homocidal); homophobic reactions to ideas of gay male relationships/men kissing; fetishization of lesbians (this one is debatable but it was immediately a red flag to me amidst this other stuff!!)
- Emotional manipulation and abuse
- Pseudo-incest (or straight-up incest depending on your personal definition. the feelings are between individuals who always knew they weren't blood related but were raised as adoptive siblings)

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I really enjoyed this show but the executions for solving the teen's problems seemed too easy? Like, I'm glad everything worked out at the end of each mini storyline! But I feel like it may not always be the appropriate message to send to kids watching? That if they tried to solve these problems the way the characters in the show did, it probably wouldn't end well? That said, the characters were easy to understand without being simple and the acting was good! I really liked the concept too. The inter-personal drama was well portrayed, especially for the main character. A lot of it was well written and the student's reactions to/understandings of the situations felt realistic.

I do want to give a content warning for child abuse, suicidal ideation, and teenage pregnancy (idk if this last one is something that people like to be warned about but I added just in case)

SPOILER WARNING:
One conclusion I thought was really well done was the conclusion to the gay kid's story. They weren't outed and the few people who realized were pretty lovely about it (I still don't like that girlfriend character but the main girlie and the crush's acknowledgement scenes were sweet and they made me cry).

I also found the scene with the bully on top of the building really triggering. The way he was portrayed as totally out-of-it was similar to how I have experienced those worst times.

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Truly a heartfelt "slice of life"

This drama is quite literally a "slice of life". It is simply a few weeks of summer of these boy's lives. It's about kids not knowing what they are meant to do in life, and how that is normal and fine. It is about interpersonal relationships. This show is sweet and heartfelt. There is an overarching plot but the show's goals are more about the feelings and atmosphere associated with the lifestyle and time in these character's lives. That is probably why a lot of people were bored watching and/or felt it was slow paced. I found it relatable and beautiful.

This drama won't be for everyone but it resonated with me so deeply. I don't think any other piece of media has affected me this way before. Character-wise, I knew these kids, I know these kids, and I am like these kids. The dialogue is well written and the acting is incredible. Combined, that is what makes these characters so believable and real. The beautiful scenic shots help create an atmosphere of timelessness. The use of repetition is so well done and it adds to the re-watchability since you can pick up more of these intentional moments upon rewatch. Repetition is used in dialogue, cinematography, musical motifs, and more throughout the series. It is also a storytelling device to show multiple people's perspectives of the same events in a way that strengthens the characters and narrative.

Literally everything was so well crafted and thought out. Someone, if not multiple production staff working on this project, must have had similar lived experiences to the characters. My only critique is a nitpick wondering why the povs were split and labeled in the first episode but not later. I could share my guesses as to why they did that but this review is already so long...

If you like atmospheric, artsy, contemplative, lovely movies, I'd recommend this mini drama for sure! Also recommend if you were/are a socially awkward teen who doesn't know what to do with their life (who is also lgbt+ and involved in fine arts)

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Cute but there is blackface and homophobia (spoilers for character's motivation)

Like the review title says, this would be a cute coming-of-age drama but later on there is blatant blackface and homophobia and transphobia. Tbh I didn't catch on to the Obama character right away because I wasn't paying enough attention while watching. This is how I got all the way to a flashback in a later episode (ep 8?) to "American" school that Obama and another teacher went to, wherein all the extras playing basketball were Japanese people in blackface. The reason behind the main character's fear of being open about loving cute and beautiful things is his homophobic/transphobic mother who enforces traditional masculinity. It's been years since I watched this so I can't remember the exact reason for her pressure of conformity, but it was either that her ex-partner came out as a trans woman, a gay man who enjoyed cross dressing, or was cishet but enjoyed crossdressing and cute things. Even if the show is about accepting yourself and cherishing the people who do accept you, this mother getting a redemption-of-sorts by suddenly accepting him in the end (please note main boy is cishet) is really gross in my opinion. Of course I want the characters to be comfortable with and loved by their families, but her awful behaviour is not forgivable to me, even if she accepts her son.

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