Eps 7 and 8 are two very different episodes. Ep 7 is mainly about Oguri Shun going back to see his mother. There's this contrived plot about how he write a letter to Koharu and left it at the tuckshop for Koharu to find years later. Either Oguri Shun's manager said, "He's not going to be in this dorama unless he's got substantial scenes" or Sakamoto Yuji decided that Woman needed to pad its story. The only plus thing from the Oguri Shun thing is his mom asking him why he hasn't gotten life insurance and he doesn't even have an answer for it.
Woman is the opposite of Going My Home. Going My Home had a simple and beautiful story that needed 6-8 episodes at most but got stretched to 10 but maintained its realistic and quaint feel. Woman has a straightforward story that is filled with needless distractions that as someone put it makes us realise that we're watching a dorama when most of the show is realistic and gripping. Its like a totally dramatic wrestling match where you believe they two wrestlers want to kill each other and then they do some stupid fake-looking spots that remind us oh, this is wrestling.
Episode 7 though starts with a great scene between Koharu and her mom. Koharu's mom knows she knows and runs through a gamut of responses from being nice to Koharu, to saying how happy she is to be here to pleading for Koharu to hate her.
The ending scene of Koharu's mom zoning out cause Shiori left while Koharu finally tells her about her illness is also great but they should not have been in the same episode. There should have been more time for the anger and emotional confusion to breath. The Koharu vs sister scene was not a strong enough ending for ep 7 IMO and episode 8 should have been more of an exploration of the tension between Koharu and Shiori.
I really liked Shiori's line here which convinces Mr. Shinya Shokudo to continue living in his ignorance.
I'm just so happy that Shiori is out of the house. I didn't care about that throwaway scene with the classmate telling Shiori's mother why she was bullied. More Koharu and her mom is where this dorama should go. Despite my misgivings about two great scenes in one episode, episode 7 was riveting to watch notwithstanding my Oguri Shun should have been a chikan bias.
Woman might not reach the classic must watch status of Seredemo Ikite Yuku but the acting and directing is still better than most shows. I feel sorry for poor Mr Shinya Shokudo aka Namakemono-san. He is in the dark about everything and I want to see his reaction when he finds out. Meh for episode 7 and must watch for ep 8.
Finally caught up on Woman and found it very easy to watch. Totally agree about ep 7 being contrived. I was like "please don't do this unrealistic letter thing where Koharu's going to cry after reading some special message".
ReplyDeleteSeriously is this the level of the writer? Surely not. Maybe he couldn't think of a more creative way for us to sympathize with wrongly accused chikan. Oguri's r/ship with his mother should have been run in the earlier episodes so that we actually feel more for Koharu and also more sympathy for him. (Even given he turned out to be a chikan). That would have worked better because his death is highly referred to in the story and without really knowing who the mountaineer is/ what he went through, I just really didn't care that Koharu lost a husband, heartless as I sound. He's mysteriousness has kept me disconnected and removed from his death and the pain that Koharu is trying to convey as a result.
I don't know. It's like why would I care about how he was now if it does not affect the plot in any sense so far into the drama? I just found it unnecessary and frankly I don't feel for the poor guy either because he's too ikemen-status to pull off the abandoned child character. That's not his fault but the one doing the casting.
Well I remember now that I did mention that these eps were more watchable and that is mostly due to the more natural tone of the scenes. Gone are the days of lost dog searching so I guess THAT in itself is enough to keep me happy.
I also enjoyed Koharu's mother acting all immature and showing us just how much of a lost child she is. For having overcompensated her love towards Shi-chan has led to more self-guilt as if she wasn't guilty enough to her first daughter. But this makes me enjoy watching her way more. Did I not appreciate the most honest line in the entire drama which was "that was just a minor detail." Damn right it was as Koharu was just a child at that time. You drag, pull, force your little kid who doesn't know any better into the car and drive off with them into safety and a more healthy environment.
I enjoyed ep 8 because the dramatic scenes weren't dramatic and there were some nice touches (agree with you again) about surprise! Shi-chan wanting her dad to keep believing in her character. That look on his face was REAL. Just have the drama be restrained within the physical boundaries of the Slothman household and we'll appreciate the drama a whole lot more.
Do we need the unnecessary welfare family non-existent storyline? No. Lost dog?No (Sorry it looks like I still haven't recovered) Letter from 3 million years ago that wasn't handed to Koharu like a little sooner? NO.
More Slothman?? Yes! Even watching him mucking around with the kids is fun. He doesn't even have to try hard. With Oguri trying his best but failing and poor Mitsushima given the letter-crying scene, I'd say his got the best part in the later episodes.Very subtle and underrated.
This drama isn't Soredemo but it's not Summer Nude either LOL
Apologies for my tendency to write essays.
I like your essays. Much more organised than my ramblings and gives me a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Coming My Home crashing and burning in terms of ratings has any impact on how unfocused Woman is.
Shiori's line to her dad was probably her most honest piece of acting.
As if! You're ramblings are so much more insightful. I'm going to keep it short next time as all I do is complain and whine.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't really a piece, but just a tiny moment where she was able to convey something genuinely lol
I haven't and probably will not watch Going so can't comment about that.
I absolutely love your insights about the episodes on this drama or any dramas you have posted. Woman is already at episode 9, few more episodes til series finale. Too bad for I have enjoyed it a lot.
ReplyDeleteAnyways I would to recommend you both AMACHAN its a NHK Asadora written by the same guy who did Tiger and Dragon/ Unobore Deka/ IWGP. The drama is light and I absolutely love the pacing of the story. You should check it out, its already getting a lot of attention especially at d-addicts. If you wanna try it out here's the link for 480p encodes. http://j-addicts.net/?p=2637