Yangotonaki Ichizoku is a drama that falls into a very specific genre that I like to call Petty-Rich-People-Drama-Making-The-Leads-Lives-Miserable. And I don't mean that as an insult, I tend to like said genre. This show certainly has some of the things I would expect from that genre, crazy inlaws, inheritance battles, an endless spewing of drama that never lets the leads rest, y'know all that, but I found a lot more than that here too.

After reading the summary and deciding to give this a shot, I was fully expecting another drama with your stoic, emotionally inept rich male lead and the naive somewhat annoying female lead with a mediocre romance plot. And I am very happy to report, that I didn't find that here at all. Kenta and Sato as characters are really what set this drama apart for me.

Kenta is quite possibly one of the greenest flags I have ever seen in a drama. Not only is he incredibly kind, but he's also emotionally intelligent and supportive of his wife. (Love me a good supportive husband character!!) And honestly, Sato is just a green flag too, they're just a freaking green forest together. I'm so glad Sato didn't end up being like I expected. I actually adore her character, compared to most J-Drama FL's she's quite mature which was a nice change of pace from other shows plus isn't a pushover. Sato doesn't just put up with the crap her inlaws throw at her, or wait for her husband to save her. Though he is always there to back her up, which I loved. And by the way, Sato is equally supportive of Kenta.

Unlike most dramas, Kenta and Sato are already together when the show starts. Initially, I thought this might make it harder to get invested in their relationship, as we didn't get to see attraction grow before they got together or watch their relationship develop in the early stages, but after one or two episodes I was sold. They were an absolute delight to watch, and without a doubt, the best part of the drama. They do this lovely thing that a lot of other drama couples could learn, it's called communication. I was actually shocked at how healthy their relationship was, they complemented each other amazingly well, which couldn't have been done if it weren't for the casting, I don't think the show could have been better cast.

Other than Sato and Kenta's relationship, there was always a lot going on. It's primarily eleven episodes of family and business drama with something new thrown at you every two seconds. Kenta's family is an absolute mess, and pretty much all of them are at least a little insane. Every character in that family was extremely over the top and dramatic. I feel like it should have felt out of place given how mellow and down-to-earth the main leads were, but for some reason, I felt like the contrast actually worked.

Disguised under all the absurd drama there were also several recurring themes about women's places in society. Even though there's a lot more than that going on, this ultimately ended up feeling like that was what this show was really trying to get you to think about. That part of the show, I think actually worked. It was brought up in so many different ways through different characters, that it really gave a broad perspective of the topic.

And while the romance was my favorite part of the show, I loved so many of the other characters and relationships established. For such a short show, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but they all have their own unique stories that at least get a moment to shine. In the beginning, I hated pretty much all of Kento's family, and by the end, I really liked most of them.

I know most of this review is talking about the things that I liked about this show because I did enjoy it, it's definitely got some flaws too. While I enjoy overly complicated plots, there are unfortunately a few points in this show that I didn't feel were wrapped up as well as they should have been. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, and some of the relationships were repaired too easily. There just wasn't enough time to really wrap it up.

Without spoilers, I will say there was one plot point nearing the end that I really didn't enjoy much, and I know I'm not alone. Fortunately, the part that bothered me didn't last for a long period of the show. There was also one villian that kinda annoyed me. I didnt like it when she was on sceen. Just wanted them to push her off a bridge or something.

And while sometimes the tone shifts and differences in characters' level of dramatics worked, the show was occasionally pretty confused in tone.

Is it a comedy? A drama? A full freaking soap opera? A satire? A social commentary? None or all of the above?

Honestly, I don't know if I, or this show, know what it's trying to be, I just know I liked it.