Monday, May 27, 2013

Haitatsu Saretai Watashitachi ep 2


I really like this show. Not enough to call it must watch yet, but its certainly pretty good. Spoiler talk ahead if you haven't watched episode 1 which I urge you to do. You know how in jdoramas, there is always this throwaway redemption thing? It was there in episode one with Yu's mother and I just loved how Sawano pointed out that it was a meaningless exercise to lessen Yu's mother's guilt and Yu replies, "You think I don't know that?".


Redemption and feelings of abandonment and guilt cannot be resolved so easily and Sawano's cynical view of the world is a breath of fresh air in the black and white world of jdoramas. Emotional wounds are complicated things and its not like anyone suffering from PTSD for example can utter the words ,"I am a mechanic!" and be magically cured. If you didn't get that reference, just move along.


I really like the humour in episode 2, especially with Sawano's doctor. He's got a more rounded view which is a fun way to view depression. Instead of let's list all the symptoms of depression and make it morbid and pitiful, Sawano's doctor's view is this is what we know about depression, this is what we can do and people suffering from it can still function in their own way. It doesn't try to make Sawano into a sob story.


There's certainly a lot of Sawano's backstory to explore though and judging from the previews, it looks like the stories that we get from the people receiving the letters serve Sawano and Yu's story rather than them being just bystanders. The more I think about Haitatsu Saretai Watashitachi, the more I realise it does so many things right. I hope at the end, I can declare it a must watch.


For those who like the ending song for Minna! Esper Dayo! Yakan Hikou, you can grab the song here. I'm so hooked to this song.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rootabega here. By the end of this ep I was going "No, no, no, no," but it turned out totally OK. My peeve so far is how freaking perky the writers have made Kuriyama Chiaki's character. Why do dramas have such god-awful female sidekick characters so often? This actress is capable of so much more. Still watching, though...

Akiramike said...

I usually hate overly perky characters but I think Kuriyama Chiaki perkiness is necessary because of how somber Eiji's character is.