Gold eps 2 + 3

 The incest theme continues in Gold with the revelation of GTO being the foster brother of the Saotome family. Not only that, Yuri's brother made GTO promise to always be at Yuri's side but never to confess his feelings for Yuri. Sure, all brothers want their sister to be a shoujo forever but that just screams 'if I can't have her, neither can you'. If this isn't the definition of a screwed up family, I don't know what is.

The climax of ep 3 is GTO dealing with his past, facing his subservience to Yuri's brother and the Saotome family. It was suppose to be moving yet at the same time, it was pitiful because he is still a slave to Yuri's whims. All that anguish just because of a lame promise to Yuri's dead brother? WTF? I think GTO is just a tsundere maniac and all tsundere maniacs are masochists. Actually, Yuri is more than just a tsundere whose feminine side only appears when she is with Rika-chan. She is a megalomaniac.

Actually, I should really be hating Saotome Yuri. She's one of those lame 'charisma' commentators on tv who spouts nonsense about society ills and how bad things things are nowadays compared to 30 years ago when she was a child. This is the same lame angle that politicians use to win elections or distract the public from real issues but people making a living off it just make me sick. Its as if the youths of yesteryear were actually well behaved and there were no crimes before the internet and gaming.

Yuri is like the leader of a religious cult, speaking nonsense and using terminology to convince idiots like Rika that she is right. probably the main reason I cannot hate Yuri is because of all the brainwashing she is doing to Rika. Rika is like a bimbo with no thoughts of her own, desperately seeking approval from Yuri and happy to believe everything she is told. For some reason, I really enjoy the systematic bullying and psychological manipulation that Yuri does on Rika. It does help that its always funny and Rika's trademark so na~~~ is so moe. I think Rika represents the drone-like Japanese public who rely on all these 'charisma' commentators on tv to tell them what to eat, wear and think. Whether or not this is intentional I don't know but I wouldn't put it past Nojima Shinji.

The Saotome family is an example of people being famous just by being famous. Sure Yuri is seemingly rich and runs her own gym but all she does is go on tv and spread her beautiful child bullcrap while idiots node in the background. Her only actual claim to fame is marrying a gold medalist and having a coach who went to the Olympics. Its been three episodes and we don't even see the kids training for or participating in competitions. I just can't help approaching Gold from a cynical viewpoint.

As I said in my review of ep 1, I think the concept of Gold is flawed and I just wished it were about some business and not sports. That being said, the execution of the dorama is pretty good and I had fun watching all the messed up characters deal with each other. I'm particularly interested in what Yuri's estranged husband did. From the sounds of it, it seems to be something more serious than just an affair. I would rate this series so far between watchable and must watch.