I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper [Japanese Drama 2011]

[dr25]

 

 

• Drama: I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper (International English title)
• Romaji: Kaseifu no Mita
• Japanese: 家政婦のミタ
• Director: Ryuichi Inomata, Toya Sato, Jun Ishio, Ken Higurashi
• Writer: Kazuhiko Yukawa
• Producer: Yoshiki Tanaka, Futoshi Ohira
• Network: NTV
• Episodes: 11
• Release Date: October 12 - December 21, 2011
• Runtime: Wednesdays 22:00-22:54
• TV Ratings: 24.8%
• Language: Japanese
• Country: Japan

 

Plot

Mita Akari (Nanako Matsushima) works as a housemaid for a family who lost their mother through a sudden accident. The father and his four kids are nearing a collapse of their collapse. As the housemaid for the family, Mita Akari helps to solve their various problems ... even if a family member asks her to kill someone. Mita picks up a cockroach with her bare hand and throws it out to the window. When Kaito has trouble with math, Mita is there to help. Mita also cooks exceptionally well. The Asuda family are astonished with all of her skills.

 

Cast

Harumi Housekeeping Agency

• Nanako Matsushima as Akari Mita (三田 灯, 36 years old)
• Yumi Shirakawa as Akemi Harumi

Asuda Household

• Hiroki Hasegawa as Keiichi Asuda (阿須田 恵一)
• Shiori Kutsuna as Yui Asuda (阿須田 結, 17 years old)
• Taishi Nakagawa as Kakeru Asuda (阿須田 翔, 14 years old)
• Shūto Ayabe as Kaito Asuda (阿須田 海斗, 12 years old)
• Miyu Honda as Kii Asuda (阿須田 希衣, 6 years old)
• Yūko Daike as Nagiko Asuda (阿須田 凪子)

 

Sources  Wikipedia , Asianwiki

Stream the drama legally on Viki (Thanks @ecs707a)

[ru5h]

is it good? this drama must wait till next week, cuz this week im gonna watch kdrama hehe

[ecs707a]

Here, I'm sure the overlords would appreciate this: here is the link to watch the drama on viki.

I am glad to see that viki is licensing more old j-dramas. 

Anyway, I am starting this sooooon...maybe even tonight.  I'll be back when I'm done with the first two eps.

[ecs707a]

Okay!  First two eps done

First impressions: it's exactly what I expected...and then also not what I expected.  I didn't expect quite so much focus on one character at a time, but I understand why.  It just feels kind of more episodic than I expected so far.  I'm glad I've managed to stay unspoiled all this time, though, because now I really want to know just who Mita really is, and it's going to be fun to find out.

Also, I totally had an urge to start keeping track of how many times she says the show's title, haha.  I get why the show is called what it is.

Another important thing: it's funny!  This, especially:

"I was afraid the fire might spread to your house" Totally did not see that one coming.  And her straight-faced, totally unmelodic "singing", and the comic-book style punches to that kid's face...

The first two episodes also taught me not one but two things already!  First...okay, I do watch j-dramas, but not nearly as much as k-dramas.  I know practically no Japanese, whereas I pick up a lot of random Korean words when I watch k-dramas.  So I did a little mental double-take when I heard 약속 or something that really, really sounded like that, and it was said at the same time as someone was talking about a promise.  So now I know that the word for "promise" is practically the same in Japanese and Korean.  Yes, I realize that's pretty useless.  It's the little things that amuse me. 

Second, when the meaning of 49 days after a death came up, and the youngest asked "what's that?", I was like, yeah, what's that?  Please explain, drama.  And they mostly did not.  Of course it's assumed that I know already, so what else could I do?  I went off and read way too much about Japanese funeral rites and whatnot, because...I don't know.  I'm easily distracted?  Also, I've encountered these things in shows and books and never thought about the process as a whole, or the meaning, so now I feel like I know a little more.  Dramas are so educational

Also it's just kind of fascinating, and now I have a very weird wish for a j-version of Six Feet Under or something.  It could happen, right?

Hmmm...maybe I should say something about the actual content of the show now?  Ha.  Forgive me for being kind of all over the place with this.

At the end of the first episode, with the fire and all the yelling and whatever...I was feeling like parts of that were a little forced and unnatural.  All the crying and I was kind of not feeling it.  Then!  Those rocks. 

Oh god, the rocks.  Okay, the rocks did get to me.  There have been a few times already where things that characters say or something they do just doesn't quite ring true to me (particularly the younger kids...I think it's a combo of writing and acting), but this was not one of those things.  This felt dead on.  Also, although less emotional, it felt pretty right that Kii should fixate on something weird like the cherry tomatoes.  That's kind of little kid-like, and it makes sense.  Even though I am also not a fan of cherry tomatoes, so I kind of averted my eyes when she finally ate it.  Ick. 

So...who is our mysterious housekeeper Mita?  Where did she come from, and what's her story?  I don't know yet, but she's a fun character.  It occurred to me while watching that she's kind of the embodiment of id for the family.  She's the one that does the things they want to do at their most instinctive, totally impetuous.  Burn this!  Punch him!  Let's die together!  What possibly ill-advised thing will they ask her to do next?  ...tune in next week to find out!  Or something

[dr25]

Done watching Ep 1-2 @ecs707a

Quote

So...who is our mysterious housekeeper Mita?  Where did she come from, and what's her story?  I don't know yet, but she's a fun character.  It occurred to me while watching that she's kind of the embodiment of id for the family.  She's the one that does the things they want to do at their most instinctive, totally impetuous.  Burn this!  Punch him!  Let's die together!  What possibly ill-advised thing will they ask her to do next?  ...tune in next week to find out!  Or something

 

Quote

And her straight-faced, totally unmelodic "singing", and the comic-book style punches to that kid's face...

My vote, Mita could be a robot Although I don't see the necessary novelty in that to make it the highest rating drama of the century. We had a robot as the hero in 2009 with Zettai Kareshi, so what's the big deal about the robot Mita? Will see. Ummmm I'm pursuing such probability partially because the heroine of Zettai Kareshi is played by the same person who plays the aunt in Mita. Yeah, my weird not-completely-random threads of connection.

Am I liking Mita, or feeling anything toward her as of now...not really- Except she reminds me of two great anime characters-- Black Butler's Sebastian Michaelis and Doraemon XD. The former does everything his lord asks him to do splendidly, killing included, while the latter has everything you could wish for in his pocket.

 

Quote

"I was afraid the fire might spread to your house" Totally did not see that one coming. 

Yeah, didn't see that coming either. It felt like the most humane thing she did during the whole 2 hours period. Shutting that rude most annoying neighbor up wasn't a house chore nor an order. Def. not buying the safety threat excuse, why did she do it? It clashes with my robot theory u know XD.

I'm not loving the daddy so much. He strikes me as the exact opposite of the typical father figure in Japanese culture (which I only know of via drama, manga, anime, and other works of fiction). I thought the idea of growing up watching the father's back is what J-drama dads stand for; the father is firm, always present as a reliable pillar yet distant. I love those dads. The daddy here couldn't even hush his kids long enough to say a couple of sentences nor muster enough courage to tell them the truth about their mother's death. Which tells us a lot about the power structure in their household. Mommy used to be the head of the house. Evident by the fact that it practically collapsed after she left it. I actually appreciate his mistress more than I do him. At start I thought, "Oh, she cutting it cause she feels guilty?" but after hearing her reasons, I came to respect her. She can't take on the responsibility of raising 4 kids nor the responsibility of letting them grow up without a father. Thank you! For knowing your ability and standing by your limits. Which makes me wonder... how come their dad didn't think of them as much as she did? Also, what he dumb or something?! Why tell the kids Mita will do anything you ask her even killing people! That's too much power put in too little hands great daddy of the year. If I were him, I'd ask Mita not to do anything my kids ask her to do unless I hear of it and approve it first.

 

Dad ain't a favorite yet the late mother doesn't seem like she was one either. If a guy dumps you, you don't threaten to kill yourself, you just dump him back. Killing yourself to imprison him is passive-aggressive abuse to the guy both emotionally and mentally. I can see why he wanted to get away from such wife.

 

Quote

The first two episodes also taught me not one but two things already!  First...okay, I do watch j-dramas, but not nearly as much as k-dramas.  I know practically no Japanese, whereas I pick up a lot of random Korean words when I watch k-dramas.  So I did a little mental double-take when I heard 약속 or something that really, really sounded like that, and it was said at the same time as someone was talking about a promise.  So now I know that the word for "promise" is practically the same in Japanese and Korean.  Yes, I realize that's pretty useless.  It's the little things that amuse me. 

I learnt the same word from Lee Joon ki's Japanese movie First Snow. Except... he had to actually spell the info out + the movie had to revolve around a yakso for me to pick it up XD.

 

Quote

Second, when the meaning of 49 days after a death came up, and the youngest asked "what's that?", I was like, yeah, what's that?  Please explain, drama.  And they mostly did not.  Of course it's assumed that I know already, so what else could I do?  I went off and read way too much about Japanese funeral rites and whatnot, because...I don't know.  I'm easily distracted?  Also, I've encountered these things in shows and books and never thought about the process as a whole, or the meaning, so now I feel like I know a little more.  Dramas are so educational

I knew Koreans had the rule of 49 days from the awesome K-drama by the same name so learning, from Mita, that it was a common notion among Asian nations was my moment of enlightenment. Care to further educate me on the mater? If it ain't that much of a headache.

 

Quote

At the end of the first episode, with the fire and all the yelling and whatever...I was feeling like parts of that were a little forced and unnatural.  All the crying and I was kind of not feeling it.  Then!  Those rocks. [...] Oh god, the rocks.  Okay, the rocks did get to me.  There have been a few times already where things that characters say or something they do just doesn't quite ring true to me (particularly the younger kids...I think it's a combo of writing and acting), but this was not one of those things.  This felt dead on.  Also, although less emotional, it felt pretty right that Kii should fixate on something weird like the cherry tomatoes.  That's kind of little kid-like, and it makes sense.  Even though I am also not a fan of cherry tomatoes, so I kind of averted my eyes when she finally ate it.  Ick. 

One thing I love/hate about J-dramas is how organized they are. The yelling part felt unreal cause of the unbelievable coincident of all four children speaking their hearts out one by one, in perfect birth order. That happens since J-writers are usually pretty organized. Being so may make things unreal but it keeps them consistent as well. I'm bearing with one in appreciation of the other. Random out of nowhere cherry tomatoes are always welcome.

[ecs707a]

On 8/11/2016 at 10:08 PM, dr25 said:

I'm not loving the daddy so much. He strikes me as the exact opposite of the typical father figure in Japanese culture (which I only know of via drama, manga, anime, and other works of fiction). I thought the idea of growing up watching the father's back is what J-drama dads stand for; the father is firm, always present as a reliable pillar yet distant. I love those dads. The daddy here couldn't even hush his kids long enough to say a couple of sentences nor muster enough courage to tell them the truth about their mother's death. Which tells us a lot about the power structure in their household. Mommy used to be the head of the house. Evident by the fact that it practically collapsed after she left it. I actually appreciate his mistress more than I do him. At start I thought, "Oh, she cutting it cause she feels guilty?" but after hearing her reasons, I came to respect her. She can't take on the responsibility of raising 4 kids nor the responsibility of letting them grow up without a father. Thank you! For knowing your ability and standing by your limits. Which makes me wonder... how come their dad didn't think of them as much as she did?

Oh yeah, I also wanted to say something about dad but forgot.  I don't much like dad yet either, but I do like that he's not a typical good dad, to the extent that we even kind of dislike him.  It's true that he's not very good at the dad thing, but at least he seems to care about his kids, sometimes, at least a little.  He's trying, and I think that counts.  And I'm sure he'll get better at it, and then we'll like him more.

But yeah, what exactly was going on with him, the mistress, and mom?  I assume we'll find out later, but one thing I really hope is that it's not as simple as this:

On 8/11/2016 at 10:08 PM, dr25 said:

Dad ain't a favorite yet the late mother doesn't seem like she was one either. If a guy dumps you, you don't threaten to kill yourself, you just dump him back. Killing yourself to imprison him is passive-aggressive abuse to the guy both emotionally and mentally. I can see why he wanted to get away from such wife.

Because that's just a lame excuse to kill yourself.  I hope there's more to the story than that.

Anyway, I like that I don't really like some of the characters, if that makes sense, lol.  The kids are brats, dad is potentially kind of a terrible person, but I can see them growing as a family and as people as the drama goes on, and that should be rewarding.

On 8/11/2016 at 10:08 PM, dr25 said:

Also, what he dumb or something?! Why tell the kids Mita will do anything you ask her even killing people! That's too much power put in too little hands great daddy of the year. If I were him, I'd ask Mita not to do anything my kids ask her to do unless I hear of it and approve it first.

I thought that was more of a warning to them to be sure to not do such a thing.  Although it might be too much to expect a kid to understand that unless he stated it more explicitly.  But then, given what we know about him so far, I also wouldn't expect him to understand that about kids in general, and his kids specifically, so it's consistent with his character, at least.  So maybe it's just there to be yet another piece of evidence that dad has no idea what he's doing.

On 8/11/2016 at 10:08 PM, dr25 said:

I knew Koreans had the rule of 49 days from the awesome K-drama by the same name so learning, from Mita, that it was a common notion among Asian nations was my moment of enlightenment. Care to further educate me on the mater? If it ain't that much of a headache.

Yeah, I would expect some similarities since the Buddhist influence is strong in both Korea and Japan.  I never realized what 49 days signified, though (or how that related to the weekly rituals leading up to the 49th day, or that those rituals even existed).  So that was the main thing, and I read some general things about that, but then I went kind of far afield, and read most of this thing, which covers more of the traditional rituals and things that I think probably don't happen much anymore.

Traditionally, the 49th day is the end of mourning and the point at which the dead person's soul leaves the world completely and stops wandering around.  From what I can tell, the concept is still important culturally, but the details are maybe not followed quite so rigorously in modern times (as far as the actual rituals and whatever).  So, it makes me wonder...if the 49th day is so important (and the older kids would understand the importance of the day, even if little Kii didn't), and dad just kind of blew it off and bought that altar, is that part of why the kids were so angry?  I'm not sure I quite got that, but if that's the case, it makes more sense to me in light of the importance of that day.  He takes it very lightly (from the kids' perspective) that their mom is gone for real, and he so clearly just wants to forget her and move on.

And it's possible to get most of that from context, but I feel like it makes more sense overall after having read more about the meaning of the rituals.

If that makes any sense

On 8/11/2016 at 10:08 PM, dr25 said:

One thing I love/hate about J-dramas is how organized they are. The yelling part felt unreal cause of the unbelievable coincident of all four children speaking their hearts out one by one, in perfect birth order. That happens since J-writers are usually pretty organized. Being so may make things unreal but it keeps them consistent as well. I'm bearing with one in appreciation of the other. Random out of nowhere cherry tomatoes are always welcome.

I didn't even notice that they did it in order of age, lol.  And your description of it as "organized" kind of made me laugh.  I guess that's one way to describe it.  Like a checklist.

And the tomatoes...this is like the TBDAW cilantro all over again, isn't it?  I'll stick with my cilantro, thanks.

[dr25]

Episode 3-4

 

On 8/16/2016 at 4:54 AM, ecs707a said:

Oh yeah, I also wanted to say something about dad but forgot.  I don't much like dad yet either, but I do like that he's not a typical good dad, to the extent that we even kind of dislike him.  It's true that he's not very good at the dad thing, but at least he seems to care about his kids, sometimes, at least a little.  He's trying, and I think that counts.  And I'm sure he'll get better at it, and then we'll like him more.

Breaking news, I already love the dad XD. These two episodes have shown me the usual flawed him in a new light. As you said he's not the typical father figure we can easily praise which makes him real. While watching this week's episodes, I got to a point where I completely lost interest in how the story goes; if felt too predictable, too boring, too many convenient coincidences but then daddy, now my hero, came to deliver his "I don't know if I love you" answer to Kii. An answer that magically made me care again. I thought after seeing her in a near-death situation, one I completely saw coming aaand didn't buy after all, he'd realize how much he loves her along with the rest of her siblings and things will be alright but nah, that would be another father's doing not the Asuda daddy.

 

If I were to put my feelings for daddy in a different way, I'd say he sucks as a dad but that's exactly what makes him a great key character. I love having such character on the show, he moves things forward (Bringing Mita to the house for instance ), complicates so many matters, gives us workplace romance scandal lol; he's also the only person who manages to make Mita talk. It was because of an argument with him that we heard of her "lost heart somewhere". Also, he's our window to mamma's dark past. Like when she, ahem, threatened to kill herself after she got pregnant with their first child, unless he marries her;

Quote

what exactly was going on with him, the mistress, and mom?  I assume we'll find out later, but one thing I really hope is that it's not as simple as this: [...]

Because that's just a lame excuse to kill yourself.  I hope there's more to the story than that.

I'm afraid that was the excuse for a bi-lkdfn-tchy obsessive mom who, I stress, was willing to kill her own child in the process. If we were to take daddy's words as facts, that is. I think the aunt's calm reaction to the reason behind her sister's suicide may carry so many answers in the future. Why didn't she hate her bro-in-law like the rest of the family? She mentioned once how her sister liked the hubby a lot, does she know of her crazy tricks to force him into marrying her? I'd be surprised if she didn't. Also why would the grandpa suspect anything to be going between her and bro-in-law? Ummmm...  Also, mommy, I hate you! Why leave a message to the daughter hinting your suicide? Wanna make sure to victimize yourself some more? I hope you went to hell. I also don't appreciate her talking bad about the dad to her daughter, that's one reason they don't respect him. Mommy, good thing you already died, I would've wished you were.

 

Quote

Anyway, I like that I don't really like some of the characters, if that makes sense, lol. 

Heh, I know what you mean LOL.

 

Quote

I thought that was more of a warning to them to be sure to not do such a thing.  Although it might be too much to expect a kid to understand that unless he stated it more explicitly.  But then, given what we know about him so far, I also wouldn't expect him to understand that about kids in general, and his kids specifically, so it's consistent with his character, at least.  So maybe it's just there to be yet another piece of evidence that dad has no idea what he's doing.

And one of daddy's many merits is that he told the kids such valuable info cuz now the brats are on the roll, again. I can't wait for the next episode. According to the preview,

Spoiler

the teenage son asked Mita to undress and got her into a another trouble that required police attention. I love how the show is both episodic and non-episodic at the same time. The big issue between the kids and their father is still standing which leaves each kid with some problems of his/her own. The younger son with the bully, the elder sister with the lover (btw did she go all the way with him like she told dad or are they the innocent platonic high school couple just yet. Can't get J-dramas' hints with relationships developments sometimes. It frustrates me since it's usually considered pretty significant for them.), and (finally?) Kii with the fake kidnapping. Ha. Each episode with a different set of problems.

 

 

Quote

Yeah, I would expect some similarities since the Buddhist influence is strong in both Korea and Japan.  I never realized what 49 days signified, though (or how that related to the weekly rituals leading up to the 49th day, or that those rituals even existed).  So that was the main thing, and I read some general things about that, but then I went kind of far afield, and read most of this thing, which covers more of the traditional rituals and things that I think probably don't happen much anymore.

Traditionally, the 49th day is the end of mourning and the point at which the dead person's soul leaves the world completely and stops wandering around. [...] He takes it very lightly (from the kids' perspective) that their mom is gone for real, and he so clearly just wants to forget her and move on.

And it's possible to get most of that from context, but I feel like it makes more sense overall after having read more about the meaning of the rituals.

If that makes any sense

Thanks a lot for the info .

Didn't think about the reasons behind their anger much then but if I'm to do so now, I'd go for anger as in suppressed grief. I had the same diagnosis for the great C.D.W before, can't see why the same thing doesn't apply for these brats too. The supposedly emotional scene by the fire where everyone yelled and cried on cue, felt like it was meant to be a letting-go scene of both suppressed emotions and the late mother. You know, like all the things they waned to say but couldn't all this time, til Mita accidentally pushed their buttons.

 

Quote

I didn't even notice that they did it in order of age, lol.  And your description of it as "organized" kind of made me laugh.  I guess that's one way to describe it.  Like a checklist.

And the tomatoes...this is like the TBDAW cilantro all over again, isn't it?  I'll stick with my cilantro, thanks.

Heh,

 

On 8/7/2016 at 5:36 AM, ecs707a said:

Then!  Those rocks. 

 

Oh god, the rocks.  Okay, the rocks did get to me.  There have been a few times already where things that characters say or something they do just doesn't quite ring true to me (particularly the younger kids...I think it's a combo of writing and acting), but this was not one of those things.  This felt dead on. 

Yes! The rocks!! Unlike you, I didn't feel anything when she first found the box but this time around when she cried over losing one of them cuz daddy was missing (the rock she assigned to be him wasn't there) with the rest of the rocks (family members) it got me. I wanted to come look for the rock myself  Just awww.

[ecs707a]

Episodes 3 & 4

Okay, so...there is more to the dad story!  Thank goodness.  Now, what was going on with mom?  Was she really as borderline-abusive as she's coming off right now? 

On 8/18/2016 at 3:02 AM, dr25 said:

Breaking news, I already love the dad XD. These two episodes have shown me the usual flawed him in a new light. As you said he's not the typical father figure we can easily praise which makes him real. While watching this week's episodes, I got to a point where I completely lost interest in how the story goes; if felt too predictable, too boring, too many convenient coincidences but then daddy, now my hero, came to deliver his "I don't know if I love you" answer to Kii. An answer that magically made me care again. I thought after seeing her in a near-death situation, one I completely saw coming aaand didn't buy after all, he'd realize how much he loves her along with the rest of her siblings and things will be alright but nah, that would be another father's doing not the Asuda daddy.

So yeah, I feel kind of terrible for dad now too.  I know what you mean about the dreading the predictable make-up ("Oh yeah, I just realized that I do love you!" blech) though.  So glad that didn't happen.

Dad is so very flawed, but he obviously has spent so much time trying to do what he thinks he's supposed to do that now he just kind of doesn't know what to feel or do.  For the record, I think from his actions that of course he loves his children, and he'll realize that eventually.  But he's not used to really, truly being present as a parent or even interacting with his kids beyond the most surface level, and the kids are so inextricably linked to his bad feelings for mom that he's just kind of stuck.

On 8/18/2016 at 3:02 AM, dr25 said:

I'm afraid that was the excuse for a bi-lkdfn-tchy obsessive mom who, I stress, was willing to kill her own child in the process. If we were to take daddy's words as facts, that is. I think the aunt's calm reaction to the reason behind her sister's suicide may carry so many answers in the future. Why didn't she hate her bro-in-law like the rest of the family? She mentioned once how her sister liked the hubby a lot, does she know of her crazy tricks to force him into marrying her? I'd be surprised if she didn't. Also why would the grandpa suspect anything to be going between her and bro-in-law? Ummmm...  Also, mommy, I hate you! Why leave a message to the daughter hinting your suicide? Wanna make sure to victimize yourself some more? I hope you went to hell. I also don't appreciate her talking bad about the dad to her daughter, that's one reason they don't respect him. Mommy, good thing you already died, I would've wished you were.

Now as for mom...I'm torn between liking that they've actually turned her into a bit of a villain (!) and wanting there to be more to her story too.  Because right now, she's sounding pretty awful.  As a spouse and person, anyway.  I'm not sure I know enough about her as a mom to say for sure, but seeing as the kids seem mostly sad and not relieved that she's gone, she must have had some redeeming qualities.  We have some good evidence that she was pretty manipulative (threats when she got pregnant the first time, and obviously again when dad wanted a divorce).  It makes me wonder if there were underlying mental illness issues and that's where we're going with this?  Because that's the only way I can see out of this one, unless dad's hiding some things.

Anyway, if dad wanted a divorce, I can't really blame him.  Granted, it's more difficult to excuse abandoning the kids, but if he was that miserable, I can understand him just wanting to get out however he could.  And once he finally got up the courage to try, what happens?  He's pretty traumatized, too.

I'm also wondering about auntie Urara.  She knows something.  Hmm...well, she would know her sister pretty well, wouldn't she?  Maybe there will be some more tidbits of info from her about her sister.

On 8/18/2016 at 3:02 AM, dr25 said:

Yes! The rocks!! Unlike you, I didn't feel anything when she first found the box but this time around when she cried over losing one of them cuz daddy was missing (the rock she assigned to be him wasn't there) with the rest of the rocks (family members) it got me. I wanted to come look for the rock myself  Just awww.

The thing that was saddest about that to me is that I think she must have made the little rock family just recently.  She didn't even know about the rocks until she got them back after the fire, right?  So she made this little family, her and her siblings and her dad (no mom...).  When she lost dad (rock), that was the point at which I personally thought the cheesy and predictable make-up was coming, but it didn't, so good job, show!  Although I do hate that sad saxophone music they keep playing during the sad scenes, so that was distracting me.  But I like the music overall, so I'll live.

 

Also, I appreciated all those shots of mom looking over and silently judging from her place on the shelf these two episodes. 

I kept wondering if that was intentional, and sure enough, that look dad shot her direction...

Ha.  I'm not surprised he turned her face-down.

[dr25]

Ep 5-6: Confusion; death of theories.

• So Mita ain't no robot apparently since she use to have a family- a son and a husband whom she killed. Okay maybe like the movie Robocop she became a robot after she lost them? XD New guess: a post-trauma syndrome of some sort? Or, this is a good guess...Wolf and Dog kinda head injury where a person ends up to be totally different from his former self. I don't know if I'm serious or not with all this; this drama ain't no comedy nor a thriller or a family drama solely, it's a mixture of so many things, I don't know which theory fits the genre. Will see.

She killed her family as in caused their death probably, guilt ate her up that's why she shouldn't smile. A car accident would be too typical. I hope not, hope not I hope not. Maybe an accident at the park.

 

On 8/20/2016 at 2:29 AM, ecs707a said:

Dad is so very flawed, but he obviously has spent so much time trying to do what he thinks he's supposed to do that now he just kind of doesn't know what to feel or do.  For the record, I think from his actions that of course he loves his children, and he'll realize that eventually.  But he's not used to really, truly being present as a parent or even interacting with his kids beyond the most surface level, and the kids are so inextricably linked to his bad feelings for mom that he's just kind of stuck.

 

• (A Man's Story Shin and Young Ah moment) Dad puzzles me. Like Shin, he's dead sure his ex couldn't get over him cuz of the deep genuine love they once shared. Only to find out that she did. Still he resists seeing the facts and turns into a stalker. That's not what puzzles me tho. More often men overestimate their place in a women's heart lol. What I can't get is how can he can be so sure of his love for her, she who totally shuts him down every single time, while he can't bring himself to be sure of his feelings for his own flesh and blood, those who keep begging for him to recognize his feelings for them every time they meet! I can't get him. Although I can see what could be a reason why. He was pretty desperate, as he said, he had no one he could even talk to but her so, in his head, she've gotta like him. Someone must.

His determination to win the ex back doesn't consist with his usual hesitant self, or was that his personality at home only, around his kids and late wife? Ummm.

 

Quote

Also, I appreciated all those shots of mom looking over and silently judging from her place on the shelf these two episodes. 

I kept wondering if that was intentional, and sure enough, that look dad shot her direction...

Spooky 0_0...

• Yui means tie or to tie in Japanese (new word ha). According to the father, the late mother named their first child Yui because she will tie the family together. I find that creepy, giving the mother's history with threats. Which is why I can't see why the father mentioned the story as if it was something so noble of the late mom. I'd freak out if I were him, the person tied to the mother by a child, literally.

 

Quote

Now as for mom...I'm torn between liking that they've actually turned her into a bit of a villain (!) and wanting there to be more to her story too.  Because right now, she's sounding pretty awful.  As a spouse and person, anyway.  I'm not sure I know enough about her as a mom to say for sure, but seeing as the kids seem mostly sad and not relieved that she's gone, she must have had some redeeming qualities.  We have some good evidence that she was pretty manipulative (threats when she got pregnant the first time, and obviously again when dad wanted a divorce).  It makes me wonder if there were underlying mental illness issues and that's where we're going with this?  Because that's the only way I can see out of this one, unless dad's hiding some things.

 Although I do hate that sad saxophone music they keep playing during the sad scenes, so that was distracting me.  But I like the music overall, so I'll live.

I don't know anymore. What I had before was something leaning towards certainty, now however, all I have is questions. I should appreciate the show for that but I won't do that just yet. I'm going with a wait and see approach.

• Yui dumped the jerk hormones- driven boyfriend. yay. Good for her.

That pretty much it. I don't recall any further events worth mentioning.

[ecs707a]

Ha, I log in to finally write something about these episodes after procrastinating since I finished episode 6 on Sunday, and look who just posted here?

Well, at least we're both running late on the same schedule, @dr25.

Okay, so on to the episodes! 

One thing that really stuck out to me in this set of episodes (well, 5 specifically) is how many times some character looked at some other family.  Dad did it (restaurant), eldest son did it twice (at the arcade and through the window of someone's house, when nosy neighbor lady accused him of being creepy, haha), and even Mita (!), when she was at the amusement park. 

So, on the surface, they're all doing the same thing, but are they all thinking the same thing, or feeling the same thing?  I wonder.  I think it's fair to say that it's more complicated than just pure longing or envy for all of them, though. 

Oh, and the escalation to sex and killing!  Or asking Mita to do those things, anyway.  Thank goodness all three (four, kind of) attempts failed.  Makes me wonder how much further they can go with their requests, or if eventually no one will stop her.

And seriously what is up with the Mita and the moon.  

2 hours ago, dr25 said:

She killed her family as in caused their death probably, guilt ate her up that's why she shouldn't smile.

Yeah, that's what I'm assuming too.  Surely she didn't kill them kill them.  What could it be that she blames herself so much that she won't ever smile again?

...

Oh, I've got it.  The moon!  Maybe she's a werewolf, and she did really kill her family.  But it was conditional werewolfism (that's definitely a thing) and once she killed them, she was cured.

I'm sure I'm right about this

2 hours ago, dr25 said:

• (A Man's Story Shin and Young Ah moment) Dad puzzles me. Like Shin, he's dead sure his ex couldn't get over him cuz of the deep genuine love they once shared. Only to find out that she did. Still he resists seeing the facts and turns into a stalker. That's not what puzzles me tho. More often men overestimate their place in a women's heart lol. What I can't get is how can he can be so sure of his love for her, she who totally shuts him down every single time, while he can't bring himself to be sure of his feelings for his own flesh and blood, those who keep begging for him to recognize his feelings for them every time they meet! I can't get him. Although I can see what could be a reason why. He was pretty desperate, as he said, he had no one he could even talk to but her so, in his head, she've gotta like him. Someone must.

His determination to win the ex back doesn't consist with his usual hesitant self, or was that his personality at home only, around his kids and late wife? Ummm.

Yup, he's confusing.  I think it's possible that his mistress/love of his life (ha) did really like him before his wife died, but now there doesn't seem to be any of that feeling left.  I doubt the ending will have the two of them together, anyway.  I can kind of get dad's clingy behavior a little though.  She was his escape plan from his messed up life.  In his mind, he might think it could still happen, and he could just forget about all these family issues and be happy, finally.  Never mind that he must know that even if he had left his wife and family and gotten out when he first asked for a divorce it wouldn't have happened that way.  Wishful thinking.  She represents happiness and all the things he feels like he missed out on, so he's not going to give her up easily, even if it's fiction.

Maybe?  I don't know. He really does need to quit stalking the poor woman, though. 

3 hours ago, dr25 said:

Yui means tie or to tie in Japanese (new word ha). According to the father, the late mother named their first child Yui because she will tie the family together. I find that creepy, giving the mother's history with threats. Which is why I can't see why the father mentioned the story as if it was something so noble of the late mom. I'd freak out if I were him, the person tied to the mother by a child, literally.

Yeah, I thought that was pretty charitable of dad to spin the story that way for his daughter's sake.  Or I assume that's what he was doing, because I also find it a little creepy, knowing what we know about her and that pregnancy.  Could it be that he suddenly saw that story in a new light, facing the possibility of losing his daughter? 

[ecs707a]

Wow, these were two eventful episodes! 

Episode 7 and 8 random thoughts:

• So dad does and doesn't get to see Kii in her play, haha.  That was a bit of a mess.  I was more than a little disappointed that Mita didn't get to be in the final production though Her "acting" was one of the funnier parts of these episodes.  I did like that whether or not dad went to the play, it ultimately came down to, "how do I prove that I love my kids and can put them first?", because that's what he promised, and he wants to, but how?  I'm glad it wasn't as easy as just showing up, because that just doesn't make sense, even though to the kids, just showing up would mean a whole lot.  And I'm glad that he and everyone else realized that too.  It's simultaneously not that easy, but being there has to be a part of it.  So the play goes on, dad has a total breakdown (aw, dad), and everyone gets a little closer because of it.  And we get this family photo:
  
• Speaking of breakdowns, I couldn't watch grandpa crying anymore.  I was literally averting my eyes, haha.  Someone hand the poor guy a tissue, please.  But kudos to the actor for having a total lack of vanity.
• So we finally get the backstory on Mita and her family, and why she won't smile again.  Good lord, that's an awful story.  (Although it did amuse me a tiny bit that the not smiling part was like a curse from her mother-in-law.  Kind of fairytale-like.)  Okay, so do I have this straight?  First her dad dies saving her, then her mom resents her for that, remarries, has a kid she favors.  Stepdad takes a liking to her (and there was where I started consulting different versions of subs, because the first one I saw phrased that as "looked at her funny".  For comparison purposes, the other two I checked said "amorous looks" and "look at her as a woman", which got the point across a bit better), her mom knows about this, and has the gall to be jealous and blame it on her!  Mita meets her husband, marries, has a kid, apparently successfully escapes this early life horror; mom and stepdad's favored child makes a reappearance as an incestuous stalker who ultimately burns their house down when he can't get his way (god, I hope he didn't, at least), killing her husband and son.  And that's where the "curse" comes in.  No worries about her story not being believably bad enough to justify her never smiling again, huh?  The whole thing really is like a fairytale, of the dark and horrifying sort.  I like how they laid all that out, though, from a storytelling perspective.  First we see bits of the funeral, and then what her mother-in-law says to her, and then she tells us the rest herself.  (And noooo you can't quit!)
• And okay.  This is still bothering me, even though it's not exactly specific to these episodes.  I'm still trying to get what was going on with mom.  She's a saint, she's a martyr, she's a villain?  She's all three?  I get it, it's complicated, and kudos to the show for making her a complex character too, even in her absence, but I can't quite wrap my head around her as a person.  Dad has such mixed feelings for her in those early episodes, and now he's speaking much more kindly of her.  Some of that makes sense to me.  As he appreciates his children more, he can appreciate their mother more, and distance and time make him realize that she was probably right about some things.  Okay, fine.  But I still don't see how this is just accepted that she killed herself for the sole reason that her husband left her?  Some of this may be cultural, I guess.  Is it socially acceptable (or even past the point of being acceptable, going all the way to being praised, the way she's been spoken of in recent episodes) to kill yourself for that reason?  Because from my perspective, that's the same damn thing she was railing against, is it not?  He's trying to abandon his family; what is suicide in this case, then?  If that was the reason....  So I keep thinking that there must be more to the story, but now I'm not so sure.  The more time that passes, the less sure I am that there will be more to the story, and that is making me uncomfortable.  I feel like there's a disconnect between what I'm supposed to be feeling about mom, and what I actually do.  Everyone else makes sense to me, and the writing has been quite good, but this mom thing...it's bothering me.  Well, we'll see soon enough, I guess.  Only 3 more eps to go!

[dr25]

On 9/12/2016 at 4:37 AM, ecs707a said:

 

• So dad does and doesn't get to see Kii in her play, haha.  That was a bit of a mess.  I was more than a little disappointed that Mita didn't get to be in the final production though [...] So the play goes on, dad has a total breakdown (aw, dad), and everyone gets a little closer because of it.  And we get this family photo:
   

I don't know about the father comeback. Didn't buy it for a second. I just wanted them to get over with that scene as fast as possible. No idea why, but it's as if there's a wall standing between me and any supposedly emotional scene in this show. It's not that it didn't completely win me over but more like it totally lost me. Even the parts when different characters were looking at happy families here and there seemed simply overused typical scenes to me.

 

Quote

• Speaking of breakdowns, I couldn't watch grandpa crying anymore.  I was literally averting my eyes, haha.  Someone hand the poor guy a tissue, please.  But kudos to the actor for having a total lack of vanity.

I LOL-ed so hard watching the grandpa. His lack of vanity contributed an extra brick to the wall inside of me. I was so distracted by his crying, the sentimental effect went right over my head.

 

Quote

• So we finally get the backstory on Mita and her family, and why she won't smile again.  Good lord, that's an awful story.  (Although it did amuse me a tiny bit that the not smiling part was like a curse from her mother-in-law.  Kind of fairytale-like.)  Okay, so do I have this straight?  [...] which got the point across a bit better), her mom knows about this, and has the gall to be jealous and blame it on her!  Mita meets her husband, marries, has a kid, apparently successfully escapes this early life horror; mom and stepdad's favored child makes a reappearance as an incestuous stalker who ultimately burns their house down when he can't get his way (god, I hope he didn't, at least), killing her husband and son. [...]

Moms sure screw their children's lives up in this show  Thank you for the different versions of subs; an extra mind interpreting the same sentence is always appreciated. Especially with Japanese shows where they rather hint at the nature of relationships than openly state it.

As for Mita's story... For one it's one hell of a good excuse for not smiling. Other than that, kudos for the writers for coming up with a family tragedy I never heard of before. It was genuine to the point that it actually managed to pass thro the wall and reach me. Poor Mita

Quote

• And okay.  This is still bothering me, even though it's not exactly specific to these episodes.  I'm still trying to get what was going on with mom.  She's a saint, she's a martyr, she's a villain?  She's all three?  I get it, it's complicated, and kudos to the show for making her a complex character too, even in her absence, but I can't quite wrap my head around her as a person.  [...]  Everyone else makes sense to me, and the writing has been quite good, but this mom thing...it's bothering me.  Well, we'll see soon enough, I guess.  Only 3 more eps to go!

Agreed. The transition from a bad (probably mentally troubled) mom to great mom of the year was rough. I feel like I somehow missed the part where dad had that moment of enlightenment about how great a wife he once had. That should've been there somewhere, correct?

3 episodes to go true but they felt like 10 hours long. I was waiting for them to finish while they kept on going.... a...nd... going...e.n.d.l.e.ss.ly. Be warned! Following are my thoughts on all 3 of them ,finale included, don't read it if you don't want spoilers. @ecs707a

 

On Ep 9

- Funny how out of all the households in Japan Mita gets to be in the house next door. It is those coincidences that prevent me from taking this show seriously 80% of the time. So crazy Ajumma next door decided to live to her reputation. Ordering Mita to arrange for a family suicide (which she cancelled). The hubby called up the police who arrested Mita until both hubby and wife admitted that they were the ones at fault..okay. The show ain't 1 hour looooo.o.ong for nothing. What is the term for such scenes? Fillers right? Fake outs to call for the totally expected emotional climax and tears..oh the tears of those innocent loving sincere kids pouring while desperately trying to stop Mita from giving up on life. Okay..I got it. Sorry I'm being in.sensitive here.

Finally someone giving credit to my robot theory. Thanks Mita!

Gotta admit tho I feel more comfortable watching the show now that they've established the reasons (logic) behind Mita's unusual behavior. Since I see her now as a part of a context, I can finally empathize with her.

Throwing away her free will out of fear for others' well-being (Isn't this the opposite of mom's actions? ). The reason mom died was because she wanted to deprive the dad from his free will. When he's burdened by both her death and the kids, he won't be going anywhere, just like she wanted. Okay Asuda family you've got yourselves a mother figure better than your own mom. Congrats!

 

- I love how when the kids were stuck with their self-destruction theory, they turned to the father to ask for his opinion on the matter. I remember the time when he couldn't hush them long enough to say a couple of words... Awww. I did laugh at his "this is for you to decide" line lol. Now he knows what to say to them to encourage them and capture their hearts while being his usual laid back self.

- We're left with Urara's love confession as a cliffhanger ummmm. Okay..will take that.

 

Ep 10

- Mita started seeing things as of last episode. Her late husband and son to be exact. I love these illusions as they are our very first true glance at Mita's inner thoughts. Before, Mita told everyone her story but we didn't see it happening in front of us as in flashbacks. With the illusions, however, we are seeing things simultaneously as Mita sees them. Sharing her shock and confusion as they build up. I feel like I'm being a part of an inner circle here.

- Finally the kids are saying something meaningful. Hating with me on the mom for leaving them "as if she didn't care what happens to them". That's until Mita had other things to say. Ummm and today's sentimental scene is:

- So Mita's speech was, more or less, representive of her own feelings for the Asuda family after her suicide attempt aww.

- I don't think my Soompi name is Dr. 25. That makes a huge difference btw. I am not Dr. 25 anymore you see. *tears*.

-The letter the 2nd kid wrote to his mom got to me, for real, no idea why but it did. Mita came but, following her free will, she stood outside keeping her distance. This is actually more touching than if she came to the classroom directly like she was told.

- I've had enough with the crazy ajumma next door. Go to hell bieach!

- Oh! Mita has an assigned rock now...aww. Funny how sometimes these rocks elicit more feels from me than the humans in the drama heh.

 

Ep 11

- LOL, Mita took the kid's "be our Mom" statement to heart. Poor dad always dragged into marriages  XD

- I don't know how to feel about falling for my sister's hubby... Super weird. Yet again love knows no boundary.. I guess. There are such people in real life so...umm... okay...- weird, period.

- Urara's new anti-smiling attitude is the writer's way to mirror Mita's new Vs old self. It was pretty obvious to me where they were headed with l that. Oh let's use it to cure Mita. Really? Can't wait.

- The slapping scene cracked me up. I would've made a gif out of it had I cared more about the show.

- I hated the directing and the writing. Too many darn speeches aimed at my heart (that couldn't care less). Every time we have a speech, the camera  zooms in to show us the expressions on the faces of those involved as if that would be the acing on the cake. I ain't gonna cry along with actors making faces like this:

- Kii always has the box of rocks on her..like always. Where does she keep it again? It just pops up in her hands whenever she needs it...ummm. Okay.

- My favorite parts are Mita's speech about the faint light in her life using which she decided on her free will to be a housekeeper. As well as her singing on her way to meet the Asudas for the last time. Aww

- I think the only one doing his/er job right in this show is the stylist. The clothes reflect how family members (the ones I know at least) look inside their comfort zones. Especially in winter. I personally wouldn't think twice about matching colors or what not as long as I'm keeping myself warm and coddled :b

 

And the layers lol. So real. They went a bit too far going out dressed like this (older son and daughter) but anyway XD I take that anytime over the K-drama over groomed characters where everybody has the latest Samsung phone, the best fashion sense, and super anti sleeping-frizz hair.

Best part about the show: the actress who played Mita. Great acting! Her ability to cry without displaying too much emotions (in consistence with her character) was brilliant!

- Am I gonna watch a show based on its ratings again? N.O

[ecs707a]

Done!  My thoughts are all over the place, probably even more than usual, so maybe it's best just to jump in wherever.

Well, first thing is that they finally explained the moon thing!  The moon, the bag, the hat, am I missing anything?  Now she has Kii's stone that goes with her everywhere too.  Aw.

They sang Kii's song a lot these last three episodes.  Now, I know they must have sung it through to the end at least once before, but why did I never register that last line until now?  "Everyone's waiting in the house."  It kind of hit me a couple of times in these episodes.  The song was funny, or it was just there, but now it has meaning, and that's kind of nice.  I didn't expect that.  That's our home, and that's where all the people we love are, so when Kii sings it to Mita when they're trying to get her to not burn herself alive, she's now their family too.  By the way, I can't have been the only one wondering why none of them thought to blow the candle out during their little huddle, right?

I guess it might have been less dramatic that way though, huh?  Eh.  I'm too practical for that.

Auntie Urara goes on a date, and it's awesome.  Her answer to who her "type" is made me laugh.  And her date?  My immediate thought upon seeing him is that either he's a cameo, or he'll be back, because if I can identify the actor, I know he's not supposed to be an anonymous 30-second, never to be seen again character.  (Coincidentally, I just recently watched Okashi no le, and Urara's date is the main guy's best friend in that show, so for a second, I was like whaaat? Haha)

So Urara spills her secret to Mita, which leads to that short stint of Mita as "mother".  And how could she say no to those faces (after they convinced dad to ask her to stay and be their mom)?

I knew she was up to something!

But back to the old question of mom's death, the show kind of lost me with all that "accident" business.  And I feel like there was more than a little pot calling the kettle black going on, or maybe it's more like wishful thinking?  I mean, Mita is the expert because she tried to kill herself, right?  So she's convinced that their mom would have regretted dying at the last moment because her body would have struggled to live, not wanting at the last moment to leave behind her kids?  Anyway, Mita just tried to kill herself again.  Is the message, then, that as long as you have family or someone who you might possibly regret leaving behind, your suicide can always be considered an accident?  Okay then.  I think maybe I was supposed to get from that something like: she's learned her lesson, and now that she feels a part of a family, this family, again, she wouldn't kill herself.  Whereas before (with the fire and all), it was okay since she wasn't leaving anyone behind (even though she would have been, as the kids all convinced her). 

I am not making a bit of sense, am I?  Well, suicide = accident does not fly for me in terms of the story, so I'll leave it at that.  At least it lets us get past that tedious parent classroom visit arc though.   I liked her little hidden note and cheering on...whatever third kid's name is (lol), and that was the only thing worthwhile from that whole arc.

And speaking of pots and kettles, Mita's speech to Urara about feeling what you feel...what?  From the woman who refuses to smile, even when she's happier than she's been in years.  Yeah, that little speech didn't do much for me.

Oh!  And when the family finally got her to smile....that was painful to watch for me.  It all felt so forced, even though it was well-acted.  So she smiles, and they all cry, and I turn the playback speed waaaay up to get it over with faster.  Haha.

I can't think of anything else I wanted to say...hmm...

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

I don't know about the father comeback. Didn't buy it for a second. I just wanted them to get over with that scene as fast as possible. No idea why, but it's as if there's a wall standing between me and any supposedly emotional scene in this show. It's not that it didn't completely win me over but more like it totally lost me.

Oh yeah, I get that too for a lot of scenes in this show (clearly, from my rants above).  Although I will give it credit for occasionally getting to me with the smaller moments, the big, emotional breakthrough parts were almost all just flat to me.  Dad's was the closest to really winning me over, though.  And the ending with Mita and Kii, a little bit too. 

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

Agreed. The transition from a bad (probably mentally troubled) mom to great mom of the year was rough. I feel like I somehow missed the part where dad had that moment of enlightenment about how great a wife he once had. That should've been there somewhere, correct?

YES.  As much as I appreciate j-dramas for getting to the point without a bunch of extra stuff, it's possible to go too far in the other direction and skip important things.

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

Oh! Mita has an assigned rock now...aww. Funny how sometimes these rocks elicit more feels from me than the humans in the drama heh.

Yeah, me too.  I was laughing at myself just now, looking at my few screencaps for this show, and one of the precious few is the rocks.  Ha.

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

- LOL, Mita took the kid's "be our Mom" statement to heart. Poor dad always dragged into marriages  XD

- I don't know how to feel about falling for my sister's hubby... Super weird. Yet again love knows no boundary.. I guess. There are such people in real life so...umm... okay...- weird, period.

Wait, I was going to say something about Urara and dad. Thanks for reminding me, haha.  I don't think it's that weird that she likes him, and I think his reaction of being a little weirded out when he found out was normal, so that part is not that strange to me, I guess.  I did not like the way they left it, even though in theory, it's probably the best I could have hoped for after they introduced the weirdness to begin with.  So at the end, Urara decides that she liked dad because of the kids?  And so that's over, lol.  Just weird all around.  Glad she's part of the family again though.  She's one of my favorite characters.  And dad.  Do I want them together?  Don't care, and certainly not in the scope of the show, so I guess I'm okay with that aspect of the ending in general.

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

I ain't gonna cry along with actors making faces like this

Ha!  I agree with your sentiments.  Too much speeching and crying in this show.  Although I think you're picking on the wrong kid, haha.  She did better with her crying faces than the other kids, most of the time.

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

As well as her singing on her way to meet the Asudas for the last time. Aww

Yeah, I liked that scene too.

On 2/13/2017 at 9:17 PM, dr25 said:

- Am I gonna watch a show based on its ratings again? N.O

Aw, it wasn't that bad, was it?  I enjoyed it overall, even though I failed to connect with many things...