Hirugao - Love Affairs in the Afternoon

Well written. Well acted. The plot twists are amazing. Offers a deep reflection on the Japanese culture. The lead actress is incredibly beautiful, gentle and kind. You will so much want her to achieve happiness and fulfill her love, but I say that from the viewpoint of an American with a totally different culture. I would be very interested to see a Japanese person review this mini series as their reactions may be more accepting of the eventual resolution of these love stories. In any case this mini series is well worth watching. I know a little Japanese and I found the English subtitles did a good job of conveying the essence of the dialog.

You'd think there was room for this deep dive into human desires and the messiness of relationships, but the drama just stumbled into this predictable mess of melodrama and characters you could barely see through. The characters were supposedly torn apart by the whole moral dilemma of their sneaky affairs but they did the bare minimum in that regard. Even the romantic tension felt too forced, superficial and lacking. The drama would've benefited from focusing on the main infidelity only. In comparison, all the previous points also applies to the KR version except that they were less drastic and detached than this one.

I almost root for the two beautiful ladies Sawa and Rikako, to end up with their studs and leave their husbands. The moral of this drama is a wake up call for husbands who don't give enough love and attention to their wives. Guys, if you don't love then your wives will go behind your backs!

By the way, it was strange for me that the two husbands didn't pay attention to their beautiful wives. The actresses who played Sawa and Rikako are played by Aya Ueto and Michiko Kichise. Both are gorgeous actresses and in reality, husbands would definitely be paying attention to them. Oh well, I guess I'm overthinking thinking this one.. it's only a movie after all.