Saionji-san wa Kaji wo Shinai (2024)

See you soon, I hope!

Give me a found family trope any day and I'll embrace it with an open heart. When I first saw the teasers for this show, I thought that it’s going to be a fun rom-com. In a way, it has some elements of the genre. But I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for a much more romance-focused story.

I think the central theme of this show strongly aligns more with family than romance.

In fact, the show explores more on the themes of family heartbreak, loss, and grief. With the arrival of Kusumi and Ruka in her life, Saionji starts to reflect upon the meaning of family again after feeling betrayed and heartbroken by her own. While Kusumi, with the help of Saionji, slowly learns how to open up and rely on other people after carrying the burden of parenthood alone. This is the aspect of the show that I liked the most.

It’s also a big factor that Wakana, Hokuto, and Ema-chan's chemistry together was charming and fun, which for me is what made the show so enjoyable to watch.

There were some parts of the story, particularly on the romance aspect, that I feel like could have been omitted. To be fair, I liked Yokoi as a character, but not as a romantic rival, and that left me with a bittersweet feeling at the end.

Still, even with its flaws and all, this was a nice and happy watch for me. At the heart of the show is a beautiful message about belongingness. It’s about finding a place in this world where you can stay true to yourself and be accepted and loved by it. And I liked that.

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"Saionji-san wa Kaji o Shinai" completely took me by surprise. I expected this to be a typical live-action version of a romantic comedy manga. And in ways it is that, and in a lot of ways, it surpassed my expectations with its incredibly wholesome vibes and also the simple honesty in which is addresses challenging social norms. The cast is solid with Matsumoto Wakana bringing the eccentric, but oh so likable and relatable Saionji Itsuki to life and Matsumura Hokoto serving as a nice foil and pair to her as Kusumi. Kurata Ema as Ruka, Kusumi's daughter, is so cute that she will make your teeth rot, and you will be happy about it. ;) And of course, the amazing Tsuda Kenjiro as Yokoi!! On the whole, the drama strikes the perfect tone for its genre, though I felt the pacing of the plot struggled a little in the final episodes (especially in the handling of the plot points about Saionji's family). And I definitely wanted a little more from the ending, as I wasn't sure what it was trying to do until maybe the last 3 minutes. However, if you can look past those relatively minor notes, the drama will leave you smiling from episode to episode. I truly enjoyed my weekly dose of the Saionji-Kusumi "fake family", and I know that particular episodes will definitely be on my rewatch list when I need a good emotional pick-me-up. :)

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