“I’ve divorced. This is my ex-wife. This is my ex-girlfriend. And this is her husband … ought to be. Why have I fallen in love now that we’ve parted?” ~ Hamasaki Mitsuo, recently divorced ordinary salaryman
The first thing that caught my attention was scriptwriter Sakamoto Yuji, the man with amazing creds that include a long list of impressive dramas like Soredemo Ikite Yuku and Mother. That alone would make any drama he writes worth watching.
In Saikou no Rikon, Sakamoto teams up with actors Eita and Ono Machiko again. But it is not typical Sakamoto territory (the absymal Ryokitekina Kanojo being an abberration). Saikou no Rikon is a light-hearted love comedy about marriage and family through the eyes of two thirty-something couples in Nakameguro.
Hamasaki Mitsuo is a salesman who works at a company that installs automatic vending machines. A sensitive person that finds work, even socialising and drinking sessions painful. But the reason for his biggest pain is his wife (soon to be ex-wife), Yuka. Mitsuo and Yuka married two years ago. In any case, he and Yuka are completely unsuited. She says that she is big-hearted, but to Mitsuo, she is unrefined. He also does not know if he loves her now … … Then one day, Mitsuo is reunited with Uehara Akari, his ex-girlfriend from university days, by some coincidence. Akari has just married and moved into Mitsuo’s neighbourhood. Her husband Uehara Ryo is an assistant at an arts college, but he continues to freely date other women.
Gah. Mitsuo is such a miserable sounding fellow. I think I’m going to enjoy all the irony and humour in this. And was it love that made him blind to what he finds objectionable now? Or did Yuka pull wool over his eyes? Is Akari going to embody his ideal and will selective memories of a time that’s now past colour the present? I’m guessing that Mitsuo’s going to be the one to whip out the divorce papers over what might be a really trivial matter that makes him go ballistic, only to do the deed and come to the worst realisation as the CM hints at. When it comes to that he might have to grovel to get back into Yuka’s good graces. This is going to be fun.
Saikou no Rikon premieres on 10 January 10.00 p.m. on Fuji TV.
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