"My Girl"--Japan's Turn

I'd been putting off watching Aiba Masaki's new drama My Girl, mostly because I'm dumb.  Honestly, it looked kind of sappy, and that's not what I usually go for in a show.  Once again, I'm dumb.

Turns out the show is really well done.  Yes, there's some sap and (if you couldn't tell from the picture) cuteness levels are off the charts.  But the writing is fantastic, so none of that gets in the way.

The show presents a contemplative view on what it's like to deal with grief, to want to say something and not say it, to be overwhelmed, to be a parent.  I probably shouldn't say this about a manga-turned-drama, but it reminds me of Chekhov.  The hesitancy characters have in their relationships with each other, the words left unspoken, the constant presence of grief--all Chekhov.

Also, there are symbols.  They're used well.  You don't get hit over the head with corny lines like "The taste of these cookies is the taste of love."  (Sorry Hana Yori Dango, but you are painful like that.)  Frankly, you don't get hit over the head with anything but "Isn't this little girl adorable?" and "Doesn't Aiba Masaki look good in purple?"  It's refreshing that the show actually trusts its viewers to notice things on their own and is more interested in nuance than in repeating the last plot point.

Tokyo Dogs: Now for Ladies

If Oguri Shun and Mizushima Hiro's law-enforcing shenanigans weren't enough to get us ladies to follow Tokyo Dogs, the plot has decided to incorporate some female-friendly elements of its own.  In short:  Love triangle.

Episode four saw "Nice to Every Girl" Maruo develop quite a crush on female lead Yuki.  (This also lead to some cute "I'm going to impress you now" moments.  Who knew Mizushima was so good at being embarrassed?)  Even if he won over the audience, Maruo failed to win the girl:  She likes stoic Detective So.  This would normally demonstrate a severe lack of judgement on her part, but Det. So is pretty awesome.  Det. So has yet to let us know where he stands on this issue, but we can all take a guess.

So!  Down to the speculation:  Who will she choose?  If past J-dramas are a good indicator (and we all know they are), Maruo is going down in a ball of second-male-lead flames.  Of all the dramas I've seen him in, Mizushima Hiro has only managed to get the girl once.  (He's even lost to a robot.  Come on!)  

Further plot developments should be interesting--and not just in a hilarious police love stand-off kind of way.  The writers are playing a little bit with first and second male lead stereotypes.  Usually it's the straight-laced, reliable guy (So) who ends up on the losing end of the love triangle.  Of course, Det. So will likely follow the first male lead pattern of being a jerk at first, but changing because of the female lead's love for him.  (He's already showing signs of softening:  Not shooting anyone in the knees and talking about his feelings only semi-grudgingly.)

What I'm really interested to see, though, is how this whole thing is going to affect Maruo and So's budding partnership.  Gene Wilder said that any buddy movie is really a romance between the two friends, and I think that applies to Tokyo Dogs as well.  Maruo and Yuki spend a good deal of episode five trying to figure out Det. So.  As Yuki starts to like Det. So more, so does Maruo.  Hopefully this will lead characters to reevaluate their opinions of each other and lead to some actually complicated relationship dynamics.  

Cross your fingers, people!  So far, the writing could go either way... 

My Girl

Google "My Girl" and your top result won't be the 1991 coming-of-age movie, but the 2005 Korean drama. You can also find some fairly detailed information about the series on the Korea Tourism Organization's website.

I don't know if any TV show deserves recognition from the national government, but My Girl is still a pretty cool show. Sure, it hits almost every cliche in the drama repertoire, but the show is actually aware of that fact. There are several moments where characters imagine how things would fare if they were in a TV show. From imagined gangster shoot-outs to who would be a good candidate for amnesia, the show gets creative without being too corny.

What impressed me the most, however, was the show's ability to introduce, continue, and develop a theme. The writers' use of snow as a symbol (which in other shows usually carries a vaguely cathartic connotation at best) grows in importance throughout the series, actually developing along with the romantic leads' relationship. Not only that, the writers use lying as a motif. Typically, the lies characters tell only serve to heighten the drama or squeeze another couple episodes out of a newly complicated situation. In My Girl the characters actually examine ideas like what circumstances make dishonesty allowable, how do people change through having to keep up a charade, what things are impossible to be dishonest about, and what makes a lie convincing in the first place.

I'm not saying the show is Solzhenitsyn: There are a few ridiculous plot moments, but they're forgivable. The show is fun, thoughtful, quick-paced, and definitely worth a look.