Tropes and Cliches Abound in “Aoshima-kun wa Ijiwaru”

From the get go I knew the new drama  “Aoshima-kun wa Ijiwaru” wasm’t going to fit in my wheelhouse and that it was aimed at viewers WAY younger than my demographic, but with Anne Nakamura in it as the female lead, I at LEAST had to check it out!

“Aoshima-kun wa Ijiwaru”  featuring the overused-to-death trope of the “Two People Who Hate Each Other But Pretend to be a Couple Then Actually Fall In Love” scenario, when able office supervisor Yukino Katsuragi (Nakamura) needs someone to stand in for a boyfriend for a wedding, and office heartthrob Mizuki Aoshima (Shota Watanabe) needs a fake girlfriend to get all the girls asking him for dates off his back (aw, poor guy)...

Though They each dislike each other, they come to terms  to solve each other’s problems, and after seeing the good sides of the other, sure enough they become attracted to each other. Yep, it’s the same old story and told in a fairly basic an unimaginative set-up, one which I confess I found aggravating to sit through as they did cliche after cliche….

AS I mentioned, I only really checked this out for Anne Nakamura, and My GOSH is she pretty in this one! I’ve been in love with her ever since her small but stunning role in the 2015 Satomi Ishihara drama “From 5 to 9”, and though she’s since appeared in many dramas, very rarely is she the female lead, so this was a nice turn!

Also nice to see Ryoko Kobayashi here as Yukino’s friend Takako Suzuki, 

 as well as appearances for actress Akiko Yada as the drama’s Bar Mama,

and Tae Kimura as Kumi Sakamoto, a Celebrity Guru!

With dramas like “Coffee and Vanilla”, “Usokon”, “Ousama ni Sasagu Kusuriyubi”, heck, even Anne Nakamura’s own “Love Rerun”  from a few years back, this trope of the tsundere lead actor being an asolute jerk to the lead actress and then her falling madly in love with him) is an EXTREMELY POPULAR genre right now among the younger viewers… Guess I’m officially in the “Old Codger” boat, ‘cause most of the characters and conflicts are just aggravating for me to sit through! 

Take the scene where they first introduce Aoshimi. Yukino is standing in the hallway reading an event poster, when Aoshima steps up and tells her to move.  Yukino apologizes and moves to the side- but at the same time, AOSHIMA moves to the side so she’s still in his way. She apologizes again and moves back- to which he ALSO moves back and snarkily says “Are You KIDDING ME?” before brushing past her.

"Can you please move aside?"

"??? Ohhh...sorry!"

She moves aside...and Aoshima moves aside, too!

"Are you KIDDING ME?"

It’s supposed to show the viewer, ‘Oh, they got off on the wrong foot, that’s why they don’t like each other”, but all I could think was, “Hey JERK If you tell someone to MOVE, then why the HELL are YOU moving too? If you ask someone to MOVE, then WAIT so she can move and THEN walk by!

His attitude about the whole thing is bad enough, but in an earlier shot, you can see that the corridor is ABSOLUTELY wide enough that he could have squeezed by ANYWAY!  Surely the stuff he was carrying wasn't THAT cumbersome!

In fact, in one scene, Yukino is in the hall talking with Takako, and two employees easily walk right by them, showing that there's PLENTY of space if you aren't a rude cad! D’OH.

MAN, no WONDER the drama is called “Aoshima-kun is Mean”, LOL!

BY THE WAY, You know ONE THING this drama has made me realize?  My New Most LOATHED cliche is now the “Spoiled Airhead Employee who Slacks Off” Character. MAN, am I beginning to DETEST having to sit through this cliche in every damn Office Drama!
Below: Lazy Employee Rika (Manatsu Akimoto) whines about having to do her work while co-worker Shinji (Junki Tozuka) looks on."Yukino is too Bossy!" she pouts.

Yukino has to tread carefully here since another trope is her getting written up for power harassment, but firmly tells her she must do her job properly....

Later Rika is scolded for screwing up her assignment, no surprise since she doesn't pay attention to her job or even care about doing it right. Who could have seen it coming!

But as these cliches go, she has an easy out: Blaming YUKINO for not properly supervising her and checking her work! 

BOTH of them have to work late to fix the problem. And then for the final part of this overused trope, Rika declares that she has to leave work on time as she has a date, handing over ALL the work for Yukino to finish up!

Don't worry Yukino, this is all just part of the usual Office Related Drama Cliches!

GADS, I just HATE having to sit through this in EVERY Office Drama!

Shomonai Bokura no Renairon

 

OK, also caught the sweet drama “Shomonai Bokura no Renairon”, following the story of an Art Designer named Takuro Tsutsumi (Hidekasu Mashima) who, at middle age, is beginning to feel past his prime, with signs of younger folks beginning to take over his jobs.

In the midst of this semi-mid-life crisis of sorts, he suddenly gets a friend request from an old friend of his whom he once had a band with…as well as an unrequited love with.  

Her name is Anna, and, though nervous about the prospect of reconnecting after all these when he gets there,Takuro is stunned to see a girl whom looks like the perfect memory of Anna as she looked all those years ago! But when she introduces herself, she is revealed to be Kurumi (Seina Nakata), Anna’s 17 year old daughter!

This spritely girl wants to know all about him, his memories and feelings about her Mother. Takuro remarks how much she resembles her Mother, and, looking around, wonders when he can meet her. It’s here that he finds out that his past love has passed away a month before, a devastating fact he knew nothing about.

 

That evening he informs the others in the band about their keyboardist's passing and laments about the almost-love he once had with Anna, and of how he never got to see her again.

 

Meanwhile Kurumi has been dealing with her Mother’s passing in her own way by going through her treasured keepsakes, and over and over again, Takuro and the band they had keeps coming back into the picture.More and more she realizes how important this guy was to her Mom. 

 

Finding an old cassette of Takuro and her Mom playing music, she excitedly brings the tape over to Tsutsumi, and listening to the tape together, He finds the music takes him back to those good old days with Anna and the band, how happy they were and with so much to look forward to. 

  

After reminiscing a bit, Takuro asks Kurumi why she decided to meet up with him in the first place, to which she says, “I wanted to meet the Man that my Mom liked.”. 

And with that, she takes her leave, but little do the two know how much they will figure in each other’s lives from this point on!  

For one reason and another, Kurumi keeps finding ways to be involved with Takuro and his own meandering life.  And as the show goes on, we see how their presence affects the other, with Kurumi dealing with her schoolwork and future choices, as well as Takuro in the crossroads of his mid-life dealing with a job he is becoming unsuited for and an aging father! In times like these the other is there for them ... 

(with Syoya Mikata) 

 

A very captivating show with Hidakasu Mashima doing his best mopey uncle and support roles from other actors such as Akako Yada as his childhood friend /maybe love interest Eri Morita: 

Tetta Sugimoto as Takuro's Boss...

Satomi Tezuka as Kurumi’s Grandmother…  

...and then there’s Seina Nakata as the uber genki and spazzy Kurumi Tanimura! WOWW I’d already fell in love with her shenanigans in her episode of the excellent 2021 drama “Hatsu Joji Made Ato 1 Jikan” as the naughty little sister who tries to steal her big sister’s boyfriend:

If you saw that episode, you'd know how cute and rascally she was...Happily, she gives off the SAME energy here!  So CUTE!

Reminds me of Mitsuki Takahata in her early Kahoko days! 

This promises to be one fine little drama!  

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com