Hmm...

I know I'm supposed to be excited about the premiere of Gundam 00 tonight, but that would mean nothing as the subs would require it to be out only around tomorrow. Therefore after the early departure from my friend's house since Tuesday, I've spent time fruitlessly on stuff which quite frankly don't matter much at all. But I've spent my Friday last week watchinig a Japanese drama called Proposal Daisakusen or Operation Love or 求婚大作战. It turned out to be my activity for the whole afternoon and night after watching it during brunch. I simply got hooked by it and went on chasing the whole series until I slept. J-Dramas don't take too long, as they usually last no more than 15 episodes, but packed with meaningful and sufficent drama. I've watched several of them before, but this one would definitely be up there as one of my favourites.

The drama was about a guy called Iwase Ken who at the wedding day of his best friend Yoshida Rei (and also his secret crush for 15 years) wished he could turn back time and change the outcome of the wedding. While he was at the reception of the party, a funny looking man appeared and offered him a chance to do so. He would be allowed to travel back to the slideshow pictures at the reception and overturn the outcome of the pictures, which might result in the alteration of the entire wedding. In exchange, the man would be able to feast on his sumptuous platter.

The eventual wedding Ken was bent on stopping it from happening...

The 11 episodes of the drama each consists of a slide about an occasion which they would be in and he would be able to go back to that particular occasion. All of them were nice, but there were a few that really stood out.

Ken's Friend, Tsuru confessing his love for Rei's friend Eri on the field

Ken willing to take a bath just to purchase the milk coffee in the bathhouse...

For example, for the 2nd time travel, he went back to his high school Cultural Festival and Rei made him buy her milk coffee. Being back from the future, he thought that was the key to the sour-faced Rei in the picture in the slideshow, and went on a witch-hunt for milk coffee. Ironically, he was unable to get it no matter how hard he tried, and went back to a sour-faced Rei. He was at wits’ end and almost gave up when he recalled that she reacted strangely when his friend wanted to take a look at the CD she just returned to him. He opened it up and saw another hint: a book list. He then went back to the library and found something he did not find 6 years before: a baseball figure intended for his birthday, which was the point of the occasion. This was actually the main reason why Rei was upset because he didn’t find it. The adventure ends as they took the same picture and the flash brought him back to the present world, but this time, the picture had a smiling Rei on it. However, the wedding still happened.

The picture shown at the slide at 1st...

After the discovery of the Bass baseball figure, Rei's expression changed in the photo...

Another one that I was amused by was the one he went back to time to his 1st year in university, and had Rei’s grandfather over during the World Cup, and he woke up to her grandfather calling himself Beckham, and sporting a Mohican hairstyle. Rei’s grandfather left his home in Hiroshima without a single luggage and stayed over at Ken’s place over the summer, where Rei had been trying to persuade him to go back because her grandmother was worried. Rei’s grandfather was surprisingly outspoken, open-minded and wasn’t shy to hide his feelings to anyone, especially saying “Aishteru!!” to his wife, Rei grandmother on the phone in front of the Rei’s friends, which resulted in revulsion on everyone’s faces. XD He even sported wearing Ken’s t-shirt and jeans and walking all over the university talking to the female students in the university, to the dismay of Rei.

At that time, their fellow lecturer, Tada who was the eventual groom for Rei had appeared and Rei persuaded him to take care of her grandfather while she went for her classes. When Ken went back after his classes he found the grandfather happily chatting away with Tada, and at one point even claimed him to be the future husband for Rei, and Ken was crushed.

Later in the day her grandfather left Ken’s house and boarded the bus back to Hiroshima, and before he left he told Ken that: “Only fools wait for tomorrow!” He chided Ken for holding back his feelings for Rei and also told him to be more assertive lest he regrets in the future. He later convinced Rei to run to the bus station to see off her grandfather when he recalled that Rei’s grandfather died later that year, and she didn’t manage to give him her architecture sketches and the photo they had shot together. She also managed to tell him that his tamagoyaki (egg-roll biscuits) were delicious, and that brought a very touching farewell from her grandfather.

On the way back to his apartment he talked to Rei about the sensitive topic her grandfather brought up with Tada and the rest of the gang: her 1st kiss. Rei was clearly upset when Ken didn’t remember that she lost her 1st kiss because on him falling over her in an event during primary school Sports Day. Ken then took the chance when she walked up the stair to steal a kiss from her. She was stunned then slapped him twice in the face, and clearly showed a hint of a smile as she ran up the stairs. Ken thought he succeeded this time and went back in time with great hope, only to see a smile instead of the frown on the picture, and the wedding still in place.

An artistic rendition of the exact situation he stole the kiss...

As he went back he did several awkward things, like telling his friend Mikiyo about his trademark move 5 year later which caused confusion in his face, and trying to convince everyone that if he didn’t do the home run in which he failed and caused the baseball team to lose in the 1st picture, they would’ve lost anyway since his friend Tsuru would be struck out, and nobody believed him. He even wrote on Tada’s farewell card when he was a temporary teacher at his high school that he will not lose to him, and got questioned for his motive to write so. Only his friend Mikiyo realized that Ken was going back in time and helped him in several pictures later in the episode. He even slipped in one last picture in order to help Ken and settle the score straight since all his help failed at the previous pictures.

He didn’t always go back to change her sour-faced photos, (which surprisingly was quite often so, since she was always upset because Ken was insensitive towards her) he did go back once to change himself. After Tada confessed to Rei at the previous picture, she took a long time to consider and later told Ken she would accept him, and he recalled that was his worst new year. He was supposed to celebrate the New Year with them watching the 1st sunrise on the beach, and watching the new couple together made him so upset that he took another turn and refused to go with them. His friends then went to the beach only to realize that they all missed Ken and went back to find him, thus changing the whole background, and Rei sporting a very interesting handbag that she jokingly wanted from Ken's little blunder.

Ken's opinion on DKNY's meaning: Don't Knock New York XD

Eventually he went back 11 times, and each time he failed to convey his feelings towards her properly, resulting the wedding to still occur and him still at square one. But then, his actions of trying to change every single picture of Rei’s frowns to smiles did improve her opinion of him, and in turn, changed his thinking about the whole ordeal. He learnt to accept that the things he thought would change everything in fact didn’t change them at all. His travel back time was in fact a journey of realization, and not about saving the girl of his dreams. At the end he was given another chance by the fairy to the time where he was about to give a speech at the reception, and he was to make the best out of it, which then was clearly stated on the title of the finale:

A Tearful Confession

The thing that I liked about this drama was the fact that it was a very real situation where everyone would regret something and wished they could turn back time to change things. Little would they realize that in the end , they will always be the same and there should not be regrets about it, as what is done, is done. We will always have regrets, it’s whether we can live by it. I’m sure everyone who reads my blog know about all the things that I’ve gone through and how hard for me to live by it, until last week. I’ve suddenly come to terms with it and understood the fact that no matter how much remorse I had, nothing would happen and I would only be stuck in the past. Besides, I had none of the affection that I see Ken and Rei had for each other. Sometimes, I felt like it would be so, but usually, I feel like as if the feelings were one-sided.

Like what the fairy said, what Ken did was to go back in time and change those several hours of his life, and humans are not easily affected by that few hours of fate, especially their feelings. What is important is not to be upset with the past, but to fight for the present and future. I don’t have the chance to go back, but I understand what it implies. I know the truth, and yet I choose to live in denial. He also said, quoting J.S Bass: “Men find it hard to forget their 1st love, and women their last romance.” I admit this is not the 1st time I felt this to someone, but I know this is the 1st time I stepped up and went for it. I will not, like what my mom said, laugh at myself in the future, but understand and be proud that I had loved. I understand it and I know what to do when time comes.

If you’re reading this, thank you for giving me the chance to fail. I do care and I will always care about you. But don’t expect me to do all the things you thought I would just like I did 2 years ago. I’m not tied down by any responsibility to you anymore. Yet, I wish you happiness and hope that you will get it. Do not be ashamed by things around you, they are bound to have their own reasons. I’m not proud with a lot of things, but I’ve learnt to live by it. It’s good to hear you know how I feel at that time with what you’re experiencing now. Do what you can and just make sure this time, it isn’t a wrong impression.

To another person, if you’re reading this. Do not always wallow in your sorrows trying to search for an answer. Sometimes it’s not because of you or anyone else, but what we call fate. Not one is at fault, and the things that both of you once had are just not there anymore. Changing yourself won’t bring him back. Neither having to improve yourself won’t make him come back to your side. I know it’s hard to understand and accept at your time of thinking, I’ve been there before. It took me more than 2 years to forget someone, with both time and thousands of miles away to change that. You should understand that the harder for you to forget, means the more you like that person. What is given cannot be taken back, and if anyone rejects you because of that, that person does not deserve you, for he is only in pursuit of chastity and not love.

It’s a really nice thing to watch anyway, and the music is simply beautiful. I won’t say the leading actor for Ken is simply divine in terms of looks, but he did very well for his part. But I would really commend the actress, Nagasawa Masami for doing a brilliant job as Rei, I was so convinced that she was Rei herself. She made me like Rei as a person, and made me think that Ken is lucky to have such a great friend and love. I can’t find anything much to complain, save the hanging ending that got concluded by the special episode after that.

PS: Not a drama addict, but I really do like shows that make me share their emotions and gives me a lot of thought.

I guess that’s it for now.