Hello everyone. Irina here!!! I am exhausted. Work has been insane and the lead up to Christmas is keeping me on my toes. Don’t get me wrong, these are nice problems to have, all things considered, but I got to this review real last minute. Thank you so much Matt for putting up with this unprofessionalism! Wouldn’t have it any other way!
I always have a big inner struggle on whether I should watch episode previews or not. There’s really no point to them and they can even spoil an episode if you’re not careful. I watch em if they are there (I.e attached to the episode) but I don’t actively seek them out.
For instance, I think this weeks Dakaichi was really hurt by the preview. They’ve already been foreshadowing the paparazzi angle very heavily for weeks now but with that break up line in last week’s preview, we all knew exactly how this episode was going to go. That’s a shame, because it ruined all the dramatic tension for me. I really think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I went in blind(er). How about you Matt? Well it would have been spoiled by the episode title too, but I get what you’re saying.
All in all the episode wasn’t bad, it’s just that the climax was ruined because we’ve all already seen it. Without that, it would have been pretty good. I think it still held up, I’m more of a “journey” guy than the “destination”—almost to an insane degree. Did you know (why would you I’ve never mentioned this fact before) that before watching every new episode of Game of Thrones I read a full spoiler-filled recap of the episode I was about to watch? Why? Actually I don’t know why, I never do that for any other show… maybe I am just crazy! Moving on…
I quite like how Not-Junta (I have to learn his name) has grown. For an almost rapist he’s become a very likable guy. He’s almost like a human being (a good one)!
I still don’t get why the story thinks it’s sexy to make Takato feel bad or uncomfortable. The dressing room scene was pretty annoying and seemed like a step back in their relationship. I do love Takato with long hair though. Probably something to do with “ahegao”. Or not. I just felt like putting that word on your blog seeing as it probably has never appeared on your site. Or maybe it has… Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh right, yeah I don’t get it but I guess some people are into it otherwise it wouldn’t show up!
Junta’s manager is awesome! I loved the little story about Junta getting discovered while delivering pizza. Sort of wished we had a bit more of that. I know right! A little bit of a cliche but still would have been fun to see in more detail! The more this show goes along the more I’m thinking this series is meant to be from Takato’s perspective.
It’s pretty brutal how a single picture can destroy a career. With the internet and smartphones all over the place, that hasn’t been an issue in america in a while. If we fired every actress caught sharing a kiss, we would have no actresses left. But it did use to be that way and might still be the case in Japan. Really puts the harsher requirements of the job into perspective. I’m guessing it’s less about actors and more about the idol-like actors who are meant to be these unattainable, virginal specimens. Like I doubt your run of the mill daytime TV actor in Japan is under such public scrutiny, or even like anime voice actors. But idol voice actors, idols themselves and idol adjacent actors probably need to keep their image super clean as to not alienate there more loyal fans. Since Takato and Junta are obviously idolized by a lot of women (to the point they’re voted “sexiest”) I can kind of see why such a fuss is made. I also think it’s ridiculous because who cares what an actor or idol or whoever does in their private life but such is the way of things.
I do like that it doesn’t seem that the homosexuality is an issue in any way. Just impropriety whatever it is. The results would have been exactly the same if Takato had been photographed with a woman. At least that’s what I got.. There’s still time, as much as I’d like to think Japan is tolerant of this kind of thing and won’t have some ~questionable~ language throw around it could still come up.
It’s very bitter sweet. Just as Takato was finally losing up and Junta was getting a bit more secure, we have this huge wrench thrown in the works. Fact is, it was was always going to go that way, it just happened sooner rather than later. They couldn’t have lived their entire lives in hiding. Well they could have but that would be sad too. Classic “third act break up”! I knew it was going to happen even from early on in the series (as I’m sure you did) so I’m glad it’s not some lame “misunderstanding” that caused it like accusations of cheating or whatever.
Despite everything, Takato was still the consummate professional when push comes to shove. I love that about the character and I was impressed at how well they managed to highlighted within this particular storyline.
I admit, I’m left a bit confused about the logistics here. Breaking up with Junta doesn’t actually solve anything. The photographer still has that picture. We don’t know what he asked of Takato in exchange. Granted, it may not be directly related. Like Takato can simply be considering both their careers and decided the relationship wasn’t worth the risk, which is fine but if the picture goes ut, it won’t matter if they broke up. Basically, we’re still in the middle of this particular arc. I think it’s just Takato trying to take back control of the whole situation. When he’s with Junta he’s sort of at his mercy (which he seems to enjoy sometimes) but it’s always a sort of “safe” mercy. With the introduction of the paparazzi the whole Junta thing threatens to destroy the one thing he has a total command and control over—his career. So while it’s not the most intelligent course of action (to me it’d make sense if Takato, you know, talked to Junta about the blackmailing photographer) I can still understand why he’s choosing to ‘cut and run’.
The tension this week was decent. The episode is basically just a set up to the real action in the next one but like I already mentioned, it felt too obvious. Between previous and so much build up, it felt a lot like deja view. The tension was great and honestly I don’t have any real complaints beyond the lingering ones about the series in general. I am thoroughly entertained and that’s what matters most.
Are you looking forward to next week? More so than previous episodes in-fact, high stakes drama involving paparazzi and showbiz and careers and relationships, it could result in some very juicy content if it’s played well!
It wasn’t on purpose but I seem to have ended up with almost exclusively Takato screencaps…I didn’t realize how closely the episode zeroed in on him!
I end up with almost exclusively Takato screen caps every week and have to go back for the other characters. Can’t help it, Takato gets the best scenes and looks great.
I agree that the episode preview giving us the punchline, even if it was a hopelessly predictable punchline, is a bit lame. I really don’t think previews should show events from beyond the half-way mark of the next episode. Then again, I’m not overly concerned about spoilers usually because stories like this are pretty much following a basic pattern regardless.
Takato breaking up with Junta also made sense to me. Particularly after he decided Junta had a promising career. I think there was a lot of thought put into Junta’s future in that decision, even if the communication side of things broke down.
Loved reading your thoughts on the episode and looking forward to your next one on Matt’s site.
I agree – the break up was pretty much inevitable but because of the preview I knew it would be right now so I just spent the episode going, yup… uh-huh…. instead of oh noes…..
OK, y’all brought up a couple of interesting points to which I’d like to respond. First, as to the effects of public scrutiny upon idols’ careers–it’s a much bigger thing in Japan than in the West. For example, one of my favorite idol groups, W, was broken up by their label because one of the two girls was caught smoking while underage (17). Never mind that she was also involved in a very public affair with a 41-year-old married man–that was socially acceptable. Just not the smoking. (It was her second time getting caught. In all fairness–if you can call it fair–the duo was warned that they would be broken up if a second incident was discovered.) Anyway, today’s scrutiny is nothing compared to when the idol craze began back in the 1970s–please see my Crunchyroll Takeout review of Locodol for a quick overview of idol culture: [https://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-866411/locodol-or-your-homegrown-idols].
As for the idea that the proliferation of cell phones, online sites, etc., might lessen the impact of a single harmful picture upon an individual’s career, I’d say that it depends upon the career. You’re probably correct in assuming lesser consequences for actors and others who are already constantly in the public spotlight. But I’ve seen a number of police officers, service members, and others lose their jobs and seriously damage their prospects within their chosen career fields because of a single picture or ill-considered post. (I’ve even been asked about my own blogging activities a couple of times by my department’s administration, but so far they’ve found no grounds for actual complaint. . .) So the threat you mention is very real, but seems moreso in some professions than in others.