I'm really sorry a hundred times over for not posting on here as much as I use to. My projects are taking longer than I though they would and I'm not living where I normally would be to keep up with all the stuff that I would be posting on here. I will try my best to not let this blog not go dead before I get back to a place where I can settle down again. I've gotten the chance to finally watch this drama called Ossan's Love months after the huge hype that was going around social media about the drama this summer. Ossan's Love was directed by Ruto Toichiro and Saito Yuki. A pretty well known cast of actors/actresses in Japan who consist of Tanaka Kei, Yoshida Kotaro, Hayashi Kento, Otsuka NeNe, and, Uchida Rio star in the revolutionary series. Tokuo Koji wrote the drama which is based on of a television movie that premiered in 2016 on TV Asahi. This series has become one of the most discussed dramas on Japanese social media to date.
A thirty something year old guy works for a real state firm. He doesn't know how to live on his own and he isn't popular with woman but he has an earnest heart that reaches everyone around him. One day his mother gets fed up with his lazy ass, kicking him out to the curve. He is left all alone until he finds a guy who works with him and they decide to live together. This roommate can cook, clean, do basically all the things the guy can't. The boss of the real state firm confesses his love for the useless guy one day. Things get even more turned upside down when the roommate also confesses to him as well. Just another day at the office of work dipped in Gay love! Eh?
Ossan's Love, not to be confused with the 2016 TV film is based loosely based off the film then again, It's really not. I would recommend you watch the film first similar to the order in which the productions were released. Otherwise, you will be very confused about the two stories when thinking about how both connect to each other. There is no connection and some of the actors and stories details are changed while using the same formula used for the drama. Many people were very shocked that a Gay themed drama made it on prime time Japanese television. Some viewers were very welcoming to the show in the contrast of others coming on the scene with closed minded ideals. Twitter was set ablaze in Japan filling up with so many comments and hashtags that the show was a trending topic for more of the drama's airings. Only seven episodes were made. Probably just in case there was super hash back lash but what impressed me was how the script got a lot accomplished in those few episodes. Each episode being about forty-three minutes and some seconds didn't stop the show from starting on stable ground leading into a solid build up on a coherent completed storyline. "No character left behind" became a sort of motto for the story because each person involved had equal time to develop their stories or how shall I say, "relationships". Much of the action deals with romance between people communicating their feelings to the one they like. Waiting for the answer you're hopping for is never an easy task. It's actually one of the scariest aspects of life. Letting go after seeing that the person you like doesn't feel the same way can be hard also. This drama explores all of these life problems swiftly and with ease that keeps viewers wanting more. Homosexuality plays a big role in Ossan's Love of course. Comedy is used to kind of mask the realness of LGBTQ issues which is probably so that being Gay doesn't feel like it's being shoved down viewers's throats in the form of a prime time show. Looking at this from certain perspectives might make gay people feel like there's a mockery being made of Gay people. However, The comedy aspect is also a method to make the Gay life style an easy pill to swallow for people who are just now being exposed to this kind of lifestyle. Many issues are addressed in the drama's script with such delicate care that it would make any Gay person proud. Some of the hardest moments for Gay people are made into laughable moments and in the mist of laughing, you forget how hard that moment is in reality. Plus heterosexual viewers get educated on Gay couples's viewpoints when dealing with issues of going out in public, meeting family, having children, and coming out. Ossan's Love is defiantly time not wasted. I guess you could include age difference in dating on the list of issues learned in this drama as well.[INSERT ME LAUGHING.]
Tanaka Kei's acting has his character overreacting all throughout the drama. He kinda of an airhead when he isn't shouting at someone or about something. His shenanigans are a classic part of Ossan's Love. His character shares another side of himself when he really cares about something such as his work or helping people in need. One of the biggest reasons why a few people become attracted to him in the course of the drama. Yoshida Kotaro doesn't miss a beat getting into that comedic chemistry that both actors share. Viewers will feel the love but it's much more over shadowed by the funny then borderline creepy scenes they share together. I enjoyed how the cast of characters all became intertwined with each other while finding their own paths in their love lives.
The filming on location looks like most other dramas on Japanese television. Tokyo Skyline from the top of an office building then Tokyo from that same bridge the everyone walks across. I wonder if people in Japan get tired of seeing the same scenes shown in dramas. Especially if you see it everyday in real life. Maybe the enjoy it and there's nothing wrong with that. loving your country is a good thing.( within reason that is…)
Take some time to check out Ossan's Love if you're open minded to different kinds of love. The drama is very short but it addresses many issues in a still disenfranchised community. This drama is a big step in showing that Japan is slowly becoming more accepting of the Gay community.
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