Sacchan, Boku wa.

From the first episode it seemed to me that our "dear Sa-Chan" was getting set up by a pair of grifters. I assumed what he immediately gets himself involved in is a honey trap extortion scheme. Maybe I was wrong but maybe I was actually "half" right? I'll never really know. Maybe I'm dumb, but It's all so unclear, and the dialogue is so formal and stilted that I found the whole business inscrutable. But I kept watching for the wtf? Factor and to see if there'd be some shocking plot twist. Whether there is, I won't say. (No spoiler zone.) I've watched a lot of Japanese TV series on Netflix (at least 25 or so) but never have I encountered one with such a clueless and unlikeable protagonist. And with the finale implying that something extremely disturbing is about to go down, he just goes from bad to worse. But then maybe this series represents some kind of Japanese neo-existentialism, and I'm just not intellectual enough to appreciate how "deep" it is. Whatever. Not gonna lie, the only "deepness" I ever sensed is the overwrought opening sequence with the hapless Sa-Chan submerged in dark water and struggling for air. (btw, that underwater scene is jarring and over-used for its cheap shock effect.) Any stars I'm giving all go to the actress who plays the alluring Shino. It's too bad her character's arc has nowhere to go. What a waste.

It starts with a college student named Katagari who is in tokyo going to college while his girlfriend Sa Chan is back home attending the local university. Katagari seems lost and lonely and falls to the seduction of his married next door neighbor Shino. His female classmate who also has feelings for Katagari finds out and gets mad. Later Katagari confesses his misdeed to Sa Chan and then cuts off Shino. By that time it's too late as Shino's husband has been watching the whole thing on his computer and Sa Chan breaks up with Katagari. Just when Katagari thought that maybe his troubles would be over Shino's husband blackmails him into paying 1 million yen for the transression. He made him pay it over 4 years to torture him. In the end a little girl approaches him and introduces herself as Na Chan. Little does Katagari know that she is the daughter of Shino as he just moved into the same condo building as her. Makes you wonder why Shino name her daughter that . Could he be the love child of Katagari? The other thing that bothered me was when they had the intimate scenes it looks like it wasn't a problem when it was shino and Katagari but when it was Sa Chan you only saw her back. Was she an underage actress? I would like to know if that was the case they should have casted someone else that was age appropriate for the role.

I like this romance series. A more mature in content unlike some of the Japanese romance I've watch so far since I started watching them. I read, it's taken from a manga but I'm not a manga reader but regardless, I think this one is worth watching. The acting is good enough for me. I like Sacchan's depiction of a loving and devoted girlfriend but yet so innocent. She made me cry sometimes perhaps because I can relate.

This show also helps give a better understanding of Japanese culture of communication. How they are unable to express themselves and build up certain personalities and behaviours because of social norms and pressure.

The only thing I didn't like was the last scene. I feel it was totally unnecessary....