goygakgoy wrote:Maybe you are right about Japanese culture and keeping one's mouth shut? I hear that in Japanese society, cheaitng is okay...it's just that nobody want to hear about it. Sorry, i'm looking at it from an American point of view and I think 99.99 % of guys here would do something about it.
On Nakagawa and his, um, activities at the
kyabakura... I do hear many Japanese men hang around these places as part of business or social obligations, so in that sense it's part of the culture. But is it just me who thinks he wasn't really serious about it? He probably just finds such places a refuge from Keiko's "PAPA!"-ing. The one girl whom he was close to, Yuki (Mitsuya Yoko), ditched him quickly once she found someone more "presentable" - Kuwano.
As for why Kuwano seems unconcerned about Nakagawa's fooling around or flirting around, I would say that's because Kuwano isn't close to his sister. Whether that's because Keiko is always nagging at him about marriage - she's worse than his mother! - or some other childhood
trauma - as Sawazaki asked out loud in the first episode - who knows? On the other hand, Nakagawa and Kuwano certainly go some way back; at some point it's said that Kuwano was the one who introduced the two of them. Maybe they met in college, or Nakagawa was Kuwano's doctor for a time, but he was the closest thing Kuwano had to a male buddy until Kaneda happened. Kuwano is more like Nakagawa's brother than Keiko's, really.
raven_frost wrote:As for Hayasaka, although her encounters with Kuwano were less than pleasant and he was absolutely unlike her dream man, for some inexplicable reason she felt drawn to him. As she got to know him, she saw beyond that facade he kept up to the rest of the world, and with the subtle changes in Kuwano, realised that he was actually a nice guy beneath? After all, ideals don't always match reality.
Yes, how useful are these ideals or standards? It was in episode 6 that Michiru said she wanted someone with money, status and looks (
okane to chii to rukkusu), only to get very angry when Natsumi recommended Kuwano and Kuwano recommended Kaneda. Obviously money, status and looks aren't enough when you're on different wavelengths with the guy, seen at least twice in the case of Kuwano.
In that same conversation at the
manga-kissa Natsumi's moderate/modest (
hikaeme) standards were: someone with common sense, who values harmony among people (the example being someone who will step in to resolve an argument), and who has a similar lifestyle. Kuwano looks down on mere common sense, priding himself on his vast knowledge and ability to get his way. As Natsumi also said, he
starts arguments rather than resolves them. At least he has a similar lifestyle.
Anyway, your view that reality doesn't follow your ideals is endorsed at the end of that episode by Natsumi herself. Michiru says she has a new condition, that more than money or status, she wants someone who has eyes only for her. Natsumi too has a new one, that she has to understand what the guy's thinking. In that subtle way episode 6 foretells a bit of episode 12
someasianguy wrote:imho, i think kuwano still thinks like a boy, abiet a boy with OCD. throughout the series hayasaka-sensei was his primary "Love" so to speak, but as somebody unaccustomed to that feeling, he did what any young teenager with a crush does, insults them or does something to irritate them. it was his way to deal with the feeling.
Yes, there is an element of that. But sprinkled throughout the show are unmistakeable signs that Kuwano does care about her and what she thinks of him. He just doesn't pick them up himself until Natsumi throws the ball at him.
Take the end of episode 5 (the one where Natsumi barges into his apartment). Kuwano is resting at home and finds the leftovers made by Natsumi and Michiru in his fridge. One of my favourite scenes.
(Kuwano reads:) "Eat this after you've finished your work. Michiru made the kinpira; I made the cabbage rolls." Hmph, self-assertion. (He eats a cabbage roll.) Too salty. And over-boiled. She'll have trouble getting married with this! Hahaha.
He might say that, but (1) he eats the cabbage rolls first, and (2) he continues eating them even after he complains about their taste. One of the things I love about this drama - it does more showing than telling.