The August 30th Issue
I have terrible news... I'm back.
Recap. OK so, this summer. You know, I was graduating from grad school, I had submitted my thesis, and so I felt deserved a break. So I packed my little pink suitcase and traveled around Tottori and Kansai with one of my best friends. It was fun! But when I got back from traveling, I came back to find my laptop completely broken and busted. That part was not so fun! So please excuse my absence. This summer, I graduated, got COVID, recovered from COVID, traveled to the US (and bought a new laptop there), came back to Tokyo, finished opening all my moving boxes, and officially started my new job. One event kept happening after and so this summer has felt like water rushing through a river. Looking back and smelling the roses in retrospect, I had a grand time. I had moments of laughing so much I cried, bites of delicious food, and have just been hanging around, which might be the key to life.
Well now it is late August I have: a master’s degree (lol), a job, and a brand-new laptop thanks to the very nice Apple employee who gave me a college discount even though I had already graduated. HAGS to him.
Anyway, I’m fully back online and am unfortunately seriously unplugged from the world of Japanese entertainment. I’m currently in the middle of catching up on some of this summer’s programming, Nihon TV’s “Kocchi Muiteyo Mukai-kun” [こっち向いてよ向井くん] TV Asahi’s “Hayabusa Shōboudan" [ハヤブサ消防団] and Disney Plus’ “A Town Without Seasons” [季節のない街]. But everyone else seems to be watching TBS’s VIVANT I guess. Reviews on the above shows (not VIVANT) will be coming your way once they finish airing.
“Yasashii Neko'“ [優しい猫] (2023)
This is old news at this point but I liked NHK’s miniseries “Yasashii Neko” (2023). Not loved, but liked. It follows the story of single mother Miyuki and her relationship with a Sri Lankan man named Kurama (frequently called Kuma). They get together, they get married, etc. but the blissful life can’t last forever, at least according to the Japanese government when the police arrest Kurama for overstaying his visa.
In the second half of the show, once Kumara gets arrested and sent to the immigration detention center, there are a lot of scenes with characters explaining the immigration system and all of its cruel complexities and unfairness. Ultimately, everything ends up okay for Kumara who challenges the government in court regarding his arrest and wins.
I don’t know if I like the show for its overall politics and/or if I liked the show’s storytelling components but I suppose they’re intertwined and can’t be judged separately. Anyway, a good show if you’re at all interested in the politics of Japan and I think immigrant stories are a must-know for those interested in Japan generally as this show offers a look into a world in which most Japanese people and those from the West won’t ever see otherwise and can generally ignore.
TV I watched this week: A Town Without Seasons, Hayabusa Shōbodan, and Kocchi Muiteyo Mukai-kun.
P.S. I’ve officially started my job as an assistant director for BS TBS’s “Uwasa no! Tokyo Magazine” [噂！の東京マガジン] and so if you reside in Japan (or have a VPN) you can catch episodes every week on TVer. Your viewership is appreciated.