Sekai Ichi Muzukashii Koi - Episode 7 brief thoughts
Just watched episode 7 of SekaMuzu and hmmm. Most of it was a funny episode but the ending kind of made me go, “Huh?”
Samejima's hesitation is both understandable and annoying - and kind of getting more annoying with each episode. His snapping at Shibayama at the end ("YOU'RE FIRED!") was really exasperating and kind of stupid. Then we have Muraoki rejecting Wada for Samejima. On some level I understand the rejection - they may have chemistry, but Wada is still giving off slightly sleazy vibes; you can't trust him. But what were they implying in the closing conversation between Muraoki and Wada? Does Muraoki love Samejima?! What?? I hope they just meant affection. But then the episode 8 preview made me wonder... Ugh. I don't know if I like that. She mothers him so much that I can't see her as anything but a mother figure, or an older sister, to him.
This being a rom-com, I'm sure Samejima Reiji and Shibayama Misaki will eventually end up together, but I kinda wish (at the moment) that Muraoki could find her happy ending with Wada. It's almost a pity the Muraoki/Wada thing won't work out - for a short while there I thought he honestly liked her, but Kitamura Kazuki plays the bad guy so darn well I find it hard to believe this Wada character wasn't actually just toying with her for a bit...
Favourite parts of episode 7: the men crammed into the car, trying to bribe Ishigami to put in a good word for them with the boss; and Samejima accidentally guessing correctly that Muraoki has feelings for Wada. xD That brief Muraoki/Wada kiss was interesting too :3
I think I’ve also figured out why I’m more interested in the Muraoki/Wada relationship ever since the possibility was introduced in episode 4 or 5: it’s because Koike Eiko and Kitamura Kazuki are probably the best actors in this show and they have a certain level of natural chemistry (not instantaneous, but it kinda works).
Ohno is a good actor but he’s not very... Charismatic? He lacks the on-screen impact that some of his Johnny’s colleagues have (e.g. Matsujun, Okada, Nagase*). He generally suits stoic/severe characters better (which are the kinds of roles he gets anyway). And I don't think he's particularly good at being a romantic lead. It's a good thing his character here is more the stoic and grumpy sort and is clearly supposed to be awful at relationships because I doubt I could take him at all seriously otherwise. In SekaMuzu he has a lot more comedic moments and he does reasonably well, but apart from the scene in the gym in episode 5 where Shibayama Misaki gives him her reply, I felt like the romantic parts lacked a spark. Sure, I felt for him when he got frustrated over being unable to confess his feelings for her, but I didn't get the sense that they could go together well? Perhaps it's also partly lack of chemistry with his co-star, Haru...
Haru doesn't seem to be doing anything for me. She's just... there. She's pretty, and is doing a decent job, but I feel nothing for her. :/
* I think Nagase, Okada and Jun are some of Johnny's most flexible actors. (Toma is great but I tend to not include him in the "idol" class as he seems to now be a full-blown actor albeit under Johnny's. If I had to include him, he'd beat the other three easily.) They can carry serious roles and silly roles and romantic roles very well. Nagase has particularly good comic timing, and Jun may be the best at playing the romantic lead and/or the snob (he was made to play Doumyouji Tsukasa). Okada has... gravitas and possibly the greatest variety? I haven't seen the all their dramas and movies so I could be wrong but my impression at the moment is that Okada has a wider range, although nowadays he gets serious roles more and fewer funny ones. They're all three really good actors with a decent range in any case!