ドラマ (Dorama) Time! 20

Wow. It's been a whole entire six months since my last J-drama review. Honestly I have no excuses, other than that after trying a few, I only came across three dramas this year that I could stick with, and I literally finished the third one yesterday. Suffice it to say that I've been taking my time, perhaps dragging my feet, whatever you want to call it. But the summer broadcast season just started, and I didn't want to leave this review undone before starting my summer selections. So here goes! The first two dramas were viewed without subs at first and then with English subs, and the last one was viewed on Netflix with Japanese subs. In the order that I started them:

ブランケット・キャッツ  (Buranketto Kyattsu/Blanket Cats) - NHK/2017

• Shusuke was a high-level furniture designer who originally cared more about his job than his wife and her seven cats. When his wife passed away, he gave up his career for a small furniture repair business in an old house, where he dutifully takes care of his late wife's cats as penance.
• Shusuke's friend/neighbor/veterinarian Misaki (Kichise Michiko, 'Seshiru no Mokuromi') encourages him to move on with his life by adopting the cats out. Each episode features a different person seeking to adopt a cat, seven episodes for seven cats. Shusuke allows each person to take their cat of choice home on a three-day trial basis. Spoiler: Most of the cats end up back with Shusuke. 
• Each cat has a special blanket chosen for them by Shusuke, and he insists that each cat is accompanied by their blanket when they go to their prospective owner's home. Hence, 'Blanket Cats'.

I can't quite remember when I heard about this drama. It came out last summer, so either I was late to the party, or I actually started it late last year and kept setting it aside. That's not to say that this show is uninteresting, though! I actually love this show because it exudes that homey, unaffected feeling that 'Shinya Shokudo' and 'Wakamonotachi' gave me. Due to lack of exposure, allergies, and superstitious parents, unfortunately I'm not a cat person. Yet, I was charmed by the relationship that Shusuke has with his cats. He cares about them more than anyone else, even though they exasperate him and do whatevertheheck they want to do on a daily basis. Plus the show deals with real human issues such as grief, bullying, aging and memory loss, infertility, and even suicide.


ラブリラン (Rabu Riran/Love Rerun) - NTV/YTV/2018

• In all her 29 years of life, graphic designer Sayaka (Nakamura Anne, 'Totsuzen Desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu') has never been in a relationship. Her only experience with love is her 15-year crush on her high school friend Ryosuke (Otani Ryohei, 'Ubai Ai, Fuyu').
• On the eve of her 30th birthday, Sayaka finally decides to confess to Ryosuke. But then she blanks out and wakes up three months later with a completely different style, a significant memory gap, and a new ex-boyfriend. Apparently she'd been dating her co-worker, Shohei.
• Shohei lets Sayaka continue staying at his apartment until she gets her memory back. The relationship didn't end well and they still have to work at the same place everyday, so awkward is an understatement. Especially when Shohei's other ex-girlfriend tries to speed up the memory recovery process so that she can be with Shohei instead of Sayaka.
• As Sayaka remembers more of the past, she realizes how much her lifestyle and romance priorities have shifted. Will it be Ryosuke or Shohei in the end?

I had high hopes for this drama because I'm a fan of Nakamura Anne's persona (she's sporty and flirtatious, has almost a Western vibe to her), and this is her first starring role in a TV show. Originally I thought the drama would explore the struggles that 30-something women face, and how Sayaka chooses between changing because she wants to and changing because of what she thinks will please the men in her life. And the show did start out like that. But eventually it just devolved into the same old love triangle story, with her wavering between two men who both claim to not want her anymore. It could've been fresh and then it just... wasn't. Still enjoyed Nakamura Anne's performance, though.


野武士のグルメ (Nobushi no Gurume/Samurai Gourmet) - Netflix/2017

• Now that he's retired and has time to enjoy life, 60-year-old Takeshi decides to use his abundant free time to explore his surroundings and indulge in delicious foods (mostly Japanese, but some Chinese, Korean, and Italian dishes too). Some of his selections are random, but others are influenced by nostalgia.
• Each episode features a different dish. Takeshi has an imaginary samurai persona, and that samurai steps in to embolden Takeshi to act or speak in situations which he would normally shy away from. 

I'm pretty sure I'd heard of this show previously, but I didn't look it up until after I came across an article of Japanese recommendations on Netflix. It's an easy drama to watch, with 25-minute episodes and plenty of shots of food! My personal favorite is the episode where Takeshi works as an extra in a film for a day. Despite the many Japanese dramas that I've watched over the years, I don't know much of what goes on behind the scenes, so it was nice to see an example of what a typical shoot might be like from the extras' perspective. This show is excellent if you just want something light-hearted to help you sharpen your Japanese listening comprehension.

I appreciated all three of these dramas in their own way, but if I had to choose a winner this time, it'd be a tie between 'Blanket Cats' and 'Samurai Gourmet'. 'Samurai Gourmet' is sweet, occasionally silly, and visually captivating, but 'Blanket Cats' has a ton of heart and probably would've been the overall winner if only there were more than seven episodes. As always, I'd encourage you to try them all!

BOOKS! (Talking to Ourselves + Forbidden Tears)

I'm back! Been working on a new project since May (more on that later), which means that I took longer to write this review than I meant to, but no matter! I'm back, I'm still reading, and now it's time to write! This week I have a book that was indirectly recommended to me by educator/photographer/singer friend from college, and a student-authored collection of writing that was published by another college friend.

Talking to Ourselves by Andrés Neuman

Set in Spain, this novel recounts the last few months of a man named Mario's life, as narrated by his 10-year-old son Lito, his wife Elena, and Mario himself. Mario is a truck driver, and the book opens with him finally making good on his promise to take Lito with him on a long-distance delivery. Elena is devastated by Mario's decision, because Mario is dying from cancer. Lito is unaware of this, and Elena doesn't want her husband and son to risk being in danger, but Mario is determined to leave his son with happy memories and takes Lito anyway.

We are led to understand that Mario's narration is recorded from his hospital bed after returning from the trip. Elena is a would-be academic researcher who now works as a high school teacher, so her recollections are written down. However, it's not clear what medium Lito is using to get his thoughts out. They are each talking to themselves in their own way, not sharing these thoughts with others, except for when Elena listens to Mario's recordings after his passing.

Elena is the most verbose of the three and also shoulders the most responsibility as mother, wife, caretaker, and then grieving widow, so her voice comes through the strongest. From her we get a multitude of opinions regarding not only her family and death, but also literature, the ill, caretakers of the ill, beauty, sex, youth, women in academia, and her personal insecurities. Because of certain decisions she's made, Elena occasionally confesses to feeling unworthy of love and even life itself. But she keeps pushing through out of a heavy mixture of love, guilt, and duty. Meanwhile, Lito is imaginative and confused, his confusion gradually morphing into aggression. And Mario worries for all that he and Lito will miss out on when they no longer have each other.

If you enjoy reading multi-perspective narratives, family dramas, or literature-based discussions of grief, then read this novel!

Favorite quotes:

"Son, he says, there are lots of things about work that make no sense. That's what they pay us for, do you see what I mean?" (7).

"Now I think that deep down, because it seemed to me his body was more admirable than mine, I was constantly wriggling away, choosing my best side, half-posing. With Ezequiel I allow myself to be plain. Vulgar. Ugly. Excitingly ugly" (38).

"in short, advice isn't much use, if you disagree with it you don't listen, and if you already agree you don't need it, never trust advice, son, travel agents advise you to go places they've never been" (122).

Forbidden Tears: Stories, Poems & Essays of Trauma from the Imprisoned Voices of Unapologetic Black Youth  by Youth of Detroit Collegiate High School 

I met Sirrita Darby while we were both students in James Madison College at Michigan State University. She went on to become what she calls a "social just educator" in Detroit, where she not only teaches English to high school students, but also encourages them to address their pain through various means of expression and healing. One of those means was this book! Sirrita noticed that in many ways and for various reasons, her students weren't being listened to at home or at school. Furthermore, she observed that Black kids are often not allowed to show their emotions or cry when they're in pain, so she encouraged her students to let these "forbidden tears" out through their writing. The result is Forbidden Tears. Sirrita edited the book and wrote the foreword, but other than that, it's comprised completely of poems and essays written by teenagers.

Depending on a reader's preconceptions, some of the themes may not be surprising: concerns for survival, fear (of the police, violence in their neighborhoods, and the future), racism, anger, lack of belonging. And while some topics are particular to this age group, much of it is still relevant to grown-ups. Personally, my heart hurt when reading from some female students about their strained relationships with their fathers, because I've been in their shoes. These girls are so young, and yet they've already been let down so many times and are tempted to trust no one and question their worthiness. But at the same time, these students' writing radiates so much light! There's immense pride in being Black youth from Detroit, self-awareness, love and gratitude toward the people who stepped up, and even quite a few laughs. These are not merely kids. These are young people who are just beginning to flex their intellectual muscles and use their voices. Forbidden Tears is a quick read, but it's not to be taken lightly. Plus there's a healing mantra at the end that can be helpful to any and all readers.

If you enjoy literature written by (Black) youth, have any interest in or connection to the city of Detroit, or simply want to be more informed about the needs of students and educators, then read this book!

Favorite quotes:

"My love for her is nationwide"
(from "A Million Dimes" by Heavon Mapp)

"Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Malcolm X dead because of these fools"
(from "Nothing But The Real" by Alexis Hailey)

"What if in those dark nights, you can't find your brighter days? What if in those brighter days there comes a darker night? What if those darker nights come even worse days?... you can't always get through a dark day with a fake and convincing smile... what if it keeps raining and the sun never shines. What are you supposed to do? Who are you supposed to talk to?"
(from "For Every Dark Night, There's a Brighter Day" by Micah Barnes)