Still watching 2016 dramas but I needed to talk about this one ASAP!
I actually think the premise of this destined romance is pretty sweet. When she was young, a woman named Kasumi made a promise to meet again with a boy she befriended, but not before leaving him with her barrette. Fast forward to the present, and she’s since gotten married, divorced, and is working to raise a high school aged son. The boy she made that promise with (who called himself “Amuro”) STILL has the barrette and always keeps it close by, hoping to be reunited with her again — CUTE, EH?
It’s probably important for me to mention that she works at a laundromat that also handles deliveries to their rich/busy customers. And here’s where things get interesting…
[white_box] Spoilers for episodes 1-5. Tread lightly! [/white_box]
She delivers laundry to an interior designer (Ozawa Yuri) one day and he immediately asks that she sits on a chair that he’s just finished. After that moment he becomes drawn to her and she starts to feel an attraction to him, too. Thanks to a particularly persistent rival (when will they learn that all the stuff they try only pushes the leads together?! LOL) they fall in love and it’s cute. AND THEN! She discovers the barrette in Yuri’s possession and puts two and two together.
It could have been the writing, lighting (so pretty), or acting — maybe it was all of the above, but I could really feel how happy Kasumi was to have been reunited with Yuri AKA “Amuro”. I got swept up in the feels! It’s clear that Yuri had an inkling before she did, since he did call her his destined person on at least one occasion (and also his princess… #catchingfeelings) and appeared to have clued in when she mentioned that moment in the past. Still, I thought it was a good writing to let Kasumi find out on her own rather than saying it outright. It makes the romance a bit sweeter IMO.
I thought this was my favorite episode (4), but I watched episode 5 last night and it got my attention. For starters, Kasumi throwing down with Maho (rival) was incredible.
A very spiteful Maho walks in on her doing part-time janitorial work and thinks that Kasumi just wants everyone to feel sorry for her, but my girl does not take that mess sitting down. She throws down the metaphorical gauntlet (a shopping bag, lol) and decides this will be the night Maho catches. these. hands. Literally. It was such a MomentTM!! Maho tries to bring Yuri into the conversation by saying that Kasumi isn’t a woman that suits him, but Kasumi’s like “I don’t give a shit, I’m just trying to live my best life.” YOU TELL HER!
In a sense the fight scene was played for laughs, but I felt like it brought up an interesting point about the Candy archetype (it is a pretty tired concept) and thankfully Kasumi is not that. Very nicely done by Kitagawa Eriko.
And as of right now I can’t really find it in me to hate Maho because Yamaguchi Sayaka is so damn good at playing her, and it’s really just the little things she does that make her performance pitch perfect.
My next favorite scene is when Yuri and Kasumi are talking after a long day spent in the place where they first met. It was so intimately written and directed that I actually felt the slightest bit of discomfort watching it as a viewer. Don’t get me wrong, it was very tender and romantic but it was just so… personal? LOL.
There’s honestly a lot to like about this drama, and if it doesn’t disappoint me/tank in the next 3 episodes then I can safely say it’s one I recommend without reservation. ✨