Small is beautiful.
That’s the title of a 1970s book on economics. The author, E F Schumacher, believed that in order to have an ethical and sustainable growth in economics, we must downshift from the global scale and return to the human scale, that is, to focus on human needs and human connections. Schumacher proposed the theory of “Buddhist economics” which aims for simplicity and nonviolence. Work is meant to be “meaningful and creative,” and a better measure of a robust economy is the QUALITY of life of everyday people rather than the quantity of consumable goods.
The complete title of the book is “small is beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered.” lol. If you notice, even the title was a dig at the excesses of capitalism; capitalized letters are eliminated. lol.
I mention this book because I believe his economic theory of “small is beautiful” is applicable to dramas as well. Many entertainment companies are mass-producing dramas without sparing a thought to the quality of the script. Take for the instance, the Chinese dramas flooding Youtube right now. It’s hard to find a single one that’s well-written. Many of the Chinese dramas I’ve had the misfortune to skim are poorly structure with
new conflicts being introduced midway,
secondary characters receiving equal or more attention than the major couple, and
filler scenes littering each episode, and
and episodes runs interminably long, like a saga.
Learn from E F Schumacher, screenwriters! Less is more.
That’s why I was impressed with the 10 episodes of “Love Last Forever.” LLF is my style of drama: short, concise, funny, sweet, and organized. God knows I need a lot of order right now. #lawandorder
In this dorama, I can see the director’s hand imposing his order onto the details of the story. The dialogue is pithy, and the scenes economically constructed. Take for instance the shot of the rice cooker in the beginning of the Episode 2.
The camera pans from the rice cooker to the microwave where Nanase is heating up those instant rice bowl for her solitary dinner.
This isn’t a wasted shot, as you shall see. It actually introduces the plot and theme of the episode.
Nanase is down in the dumps because she just saw Dr. Tendo being hugged by a tipsy woman. Heart-broken, she assumes that the woman was his wife, so she hurries to open the drawer where she hid her Maneki Neko or her Lucky Cat. She prays to her God of Love again.
“Dear Cat, when will it be my turn?” We interpret this as a wish to have a special someone in her life. But the God of Love has something else in mind….
This whole opening sequence may seem inconsequential — or “fluffy” — but the director just set up the ending of this episode. But stop here and think about it.
The rice cooker is an important prop. It’s Nanase’s link to the patient featured in this episode. His name is Kanda, and he’s under Dr. Tendo’s care. Before Kanda came to the hospital for his heart condition, he was selling household appliance. He bonds with Nanase because he too was rejected by a girl he admired. He finds Nanase cute, too.
One day, Nanase casually mentions to Kanda that the old rice cooker she brought from home had broken. He offers to pick one out for her.
After he dies, Nanase receives a catalogue with all the rice cookers carefully labeled by Kanda. Kanda was true to his word; he selected one for her. As you can imagine, she’s deeply moved. His sticky notes are like a message from the grave.
I’m posting the sticky notes here so when we see the rice cooker in a later episode, we’ll see which recommended rice cooker Nanase ended up buying.
Dr. Tendo sees the catalogue and reads the notes, too. His earlier conversation with the Dept. Head Dr. Rokuru, must have run through his mind. Dr. Rokuru said that sometimes, there are no good answers. Meaning, even for talented doctors like him, he can’t prevent death. Dr. Rokuru added that they could at least take comfort in the fact that they have an extra set of eyes, like Nanase, who was there to help Kando till the very end.
To me, these little notes that Kando left for Nanase on the rice cooker, along with Nanase’s journal on Kando’s preferences, attest to the importance of human connection. That’s the “life lesson” of this dorama, and it builds on Dr. Rokuru’s words of wisdom in Episode 1.
Dr. Tendo has seen Nanase’s detailed notes, and now, reading Kando’s notes, he becomes fully aware that among the nursing staff, Nanase is the one who bonded most with Kando. And since this is her first experience of witnessing the death of a patient, she’s naturally overwhelmed with grief and self-doubt…just like him when he was young medical resident.
When she cries and collapses on him, he consoles her with a hug, and a pat on the back. He tells her that everybody feels the same as she does. “Everybody is suffering right now. But we have to move forward. Move on.”
And this is a breakthrough for him. Apart from his sister, he’s not known to be close to any female. He doesn’t even date, according to Dr. Koichi.
So do you see now the order created by the director?
The episode that began with the camera shot of a broken rice cooker ended with a) Nanase’s fainting because she hadn’t been eating well after her rice cooker broke, and b) Tendo attending to her when she fainted and reading the little messages in the rice cooker catalogue.
Moreover, Nanase’s prayer to the God of Love, “When will it be my turn?” is answered. It’s finally her TURN. lol.
Did you get it? In the beginning, she was disheartened when she saw Kairi Tendo being hugged by a woman (who turns out to be his older sister, Ryuko). And now, in the ending, she’s again dispirited but this time, Dr. Tendo hugs her.
Her TURN to be hugged comes sooner than she expected, and from an unexpected person. And the rice cooker is the thread that connects everything seamlessly.
That’s what I like this about this dorama: organization. Sure, the story is simple. Yes, it’s cute and fluffy. And definitely, it has tropes. But then, tell me, which drama doesn’t?
As long as the writer reinvents these tropes and the director organizes them in a taut but flowing episode, then I’m happy. I find it satisfying when everything loops back and ties in at the end.
Now, the rice cooker is one example of a full circle in this dorama. There’s another example: Dr. Tendo’s rules. But this is a spoiler because we won’t see the full circle until Episode 10.
From this episode.
Tendo: Look, I’m in a bad mood because I didn’t eat breakfast.
Nanase: Do you normally eat the custard buns? I know. It’s so delicious! They’re always freshly baked.
She bumps her cart on Dr. Tendo because he stops suddenly. I can’t really blame her for this. He has a bigger stride than her, and he’s walking fast, expecting her to catch up. To do that, she must scurry after him. If he suddenly comes to a full stop, she’ll obviously bump into him.
Tendo: If you’re really going to work with me, you need to follow the rules.
Nanase: Yes! (She takes out her notebook.)
Tendo: First, be sincere with patients. Never make them uncomfortable.
Nanase: Yes!
Tendo: Think before you act.
Nanase: Yes!
Tendo: And don’t expect anything from me.
Nanase: What?
Tendo: There’s not even a 0.0001% of anything happening between you and me. I’m not interested. (he walks away)
Nanase: (chasing him) If I may, Dr. Tendo. Nothing is absolute in this world. And do you really have to say 0.0001%? I know I’m not a catch but isn’t 0.0001…
Tendo: (he pinches her cheeks) Never.
She looks like a fish here. This must have been a funny shot to take. The actor Sato Tekaru was holding the camera and focusing it on Kamishiraishi Mone, as he pinched her cheeks.
Never say never. The second Tendo says “never,” his fate is sealed. But the viewers have to wait till Episode 10 to see him eat his humble pie.
Spoiler alert.
Nanase: I’m sorry. I made such a stupid mistake again – (Explanation: she got the departure time wrong so she has to hurry now)
Tendo: (ignores her apology and hugs her) Idiot! Let me just hug you first.
At this point, he calls her idiot. There’s no denying that her mistake was idiotic; she could have missed her flight. But he knows his priorities, and scolding her isn’t one of them. Hugging her is. He wants to hug her before she gets on the plane. Note the reversal: in Episode 2, she was the one chasing after him with her cart. Here, he’s the one running like crazy after her.
Tendo: Listen. Listen carefully.
Nanase: Yes!
Tendo: First, be sincere with patients. Never make them uncomfortable.
Nanase: Yes!
Tendo: Think before you act.
Nanase: Yes!
This tells us that when he gave the rules in Episode 2, he wasn’t making them up on the spot just to intimidate her. Those are really his rules to live by.
Tendo: (not looking at her) And after you come back (takes a deep breath and looks at her) marry me.
Nanase: (stunned. then she smiled) Yes!
See that? The story comes full circle. Many directors, especially these directors of mass-produced dramas, seem to forget that when they swamp the story with useless side stories and drag the drama for more than 20 episodes, the audience forgets the main point which normally would have been introduced in the first two episodes.
The last example of the organization of this dorama is the “hero-building.”
We already know that Dr. Tendo is tsundere but if I were to believe his change of heart in Episode 5, then I needed to see his progression from a cold-hearted stranger to a caring guy RIGHT NOW in Episode 2, or I’d would feel shortchanged. I dislike being cheated of the chance to see the hero slowly falling in love. I want him to “earn” NOT only the girl’s affection, but ALSO my emotional stake in the drama. He must convince me that both his motivation and behavior are rational and sincere. This hero-building, as I would call it, is the main job of the writer, but the director is ultimately in charge of delivering the writer’s idea visually and emotionally to the viewers.
In Episode 2, the staff openly talk about Tendo’s mean streak. Dr. Rokuru, who acts like Tendo’s mentor, agrees with them, and assigns Nanase to Tendo’s rotation.
Dr. Rokuru: Sakura, you’ll be Team Tendo.
Nanase: Huh? Team Tendo?
Dr. Rokuru: I heard you two have a connection. Please take care of him on and off work.
Nanase: I’m not sure I can handle it all.
Koichi: Man. I would have preferred Sakura. Why am I stuck with Numazu?
Nurse Numazu: That’s not what you said a minute ago!
Dr. Rokuru: I’m not worried because Kisugi’s assignments have been relatively stable. Tendo on the other hand is so cold and hard to get along with. (Speaking of the devil, Tendo walks in.)
Dr. Rokuru: (continuing) I know he’s talented but he’s too harsh, so everyone avoids him. I want him to mature as a person already.
Nurse: (motioning that Tendo has arrived) Ummm…
Koichi: He’s so sadistic.
Nanase: (repeating what she told Tendo the previous night) Yeah, he’s a good doctor but his personality is soooo…
Nurse2: (trying to warn her) Warrior chick…
Nanase: But anyways, I need to focus on my work first. Otherwise, the sadistic Devil is going to eat me alive.
Tendo: (speaking from behind her) The sadistic Devil?
I like how he’s looming right behind her like the devil.
Nanase: Dr. Tendo.
Koichi: Since when did you get here?
Tendo: Starting from “Tendo is so cold and hard to get along with.”
Dr. Rokuru: You see what I mean? This is exactly what I said.
So early on in this dorama, Tendo’s personality is established like a baseline. However, when we carefully his interaction with Nanase, we see that a) he’s concerned about Nanase’s work, and b) he lets her get away with much sass or backtalk.
Note how the camera focuses on him during important moments (lol not because he’s handsome, mind you) and records his slightest facial or body gestures so the viewers can intuitively understand his thoughts.
Take for example when the patients joke about him and Nanase. He makes it plain that he doesn’t like the idea of a “Team Tendo.”
But before she can respond, the patients begin teasing him that they heard rumors that he’s captured the heart of the cute new nurse. He’s labeled a “ladykiller.”
Seen in this light, having a “Team Tendo” is less awkward than being a “ladykiller.” “Team Tendo” implies that he’s the leader and Nanase’s his follower. Unlike with the term “ladykiller,” it doesn’t imply that he personally attempted to win Nanase’s heart. To deflect the bantering, Nanase steps in and says that she’d already been rejected anyway. Tendo orders her to stop chattering and get to work. He ignores her sassy retort, “What a glare!” And when she bumps him with her cart, he just glares at her some more.
This interaction tells me that despite acting brusque with her, he tolerates her cheekiness.
Soon after, she’s required to draw blood from a patient. He exchanges looks with her. He must have perceived her nervousness since it’s her first time.
He watches her intently as she “zones” out before pricking the patient.
She successfully draws blood without causing the patient pain. While everybody congratulates and applauds her, Tendo breathes a sigh of relief.
His little movement tells me that he’s rooting for her success, too, but from the sidelines. He doesn’t want her to fail. But unlike the patient Kando, who openly cheers for her, he doesn’t verbalize his encouragement.
Thus, when she pricks herself with the used needle, and he calls her stupid in exasperation, it seems as if he’s all-censure and no-praise.
His concern for her well-being isn’t visible, especially when he shouts at her that he’s delayed his rounds, or when he warns not to get too close to a single patient.
Note 1: I find it interesting that he begins shouting at her when she’s trying to reassure everybody that she’s all good.
He’d been quietly reading in a corner, but when he heard her, he stood up and berated her, “Who said you were all good? Look, I’ve just done rounds without breakfast. I’ve an insane day with journals and exams left. Thanks to your stupid mistake, I’m already 10 minutes behind. You’re only good at getting in my way!”
To me, it appears as if he tried to keep his temper in check and he only blew up because a) she’s downplaying the accident, and b) his blood sugar level is down. Low blood glucose made him cranky, just like low blood glucose made her faint later in the episode.
Skipping meals = he’s in a bad mood
Skipping meals = she faints
What I like about Tendo, however, is that he’s proactive. He knows that she must file an injury report, and will further delay him, so he goes ahead and requests the other trainee, Nurse Saiki to fill in for Nanase. This also buys Nanase more time to attend to her needle accident.
Note 2: He warns her not to get too involved with a single patient after he observes her and Kando talking like good friends in the dining hall.
His warning may seem to prove his cold demeanor, but I think there’s another reason going on here. The pediatric doctor, Dr. Sayoko, also sees the scene between Nanase and Kando, and she immediately praises Nanase for getting Kando to eat again.
Tendo, however, walks away with a serious look.
Then, when he next sees Nanase, he wastes no time in warning her about being close to Kando.
To me, he’s warning her out of concern for her mental health. Given her compassionate soul, he foresees that she’s going to get crushed when something goes wrong with a patient. And he’s right. She was deeply affected by Kando’s death.
While both Drs. Rokuru and Sayoko saw the benefits of having a cheerful Nanase bonding with the patients, and acting as a second pair of hands, it’s Tendo who understands the toll her attachment to her patients will have on her. In his own way, he’s looking out for her.
He actually looks at her as an individual, not just as a nurse.
See that? That’s how the writer and director build up Tendo so he becomes a believable hero. The writing is subtle enough, and it helps that the director spotlights Tendo’s reactions at the right moment to show us that there’s more to the story than what appears on the surface.
I’ll end here now. Due to time constraints, I’ve limited myself to only three points: the rice cooker as prop, the director’s penchant for circling back, and the hero-building. There are more topics to discuss in this episode, (like Nanase’s constant bowing, and her relationship with the Nurse Saiki), but small is beautiful, so I’ll leave the rest for you to explore. 🙂
Episode 3 is up next.
Arigato! 🙇🏻♀️ I’m going to rewatch on blitzfansub. Hopefully I can get it to work. 🤞🏻
I liked that Nanase really interacts with the patients like they’re her friends. I thought Tendo scolds/is abrupt with her but he doesn’t want her to get into accidents too just like that needle prick. He really can see through her.
Yeah that glare is something, I’m sure it’s a bonus that she got through it ok with him watching her like a hawk. No wonder she couldn’t muster it the next time.
I love the rice cooker prop, I felt sad that Kando passed away just like that. ☹️
A couple of the blitzfansub episodes don’t work on my iPhone. No audio, like you said. But when I watch on my iPad and laptop, they’re fine.
I’m looking at the new kdrama offerings for August. A couple of them have our “favorite” actors, Lee Jae Wook (the second male lead guy in Extraordinary You) and Kim MinJae (the lead in Joseon Marriage Agency).
There’s a thriller too starring Gong Yoo.
😱
Thank you. ☺️ Hopefully it’ll be ok. 🤞🏻
Oh I’m in for those kdramas if you give them the ok 👌
Gong Yoo, who can resist him, really? 😍😁
Yeah those cdramas are everywhere. 😊
Arigatou gozaimasu @pm3 for continuing the review 😀 !
Japanese women can be more agressive when it comes to confessing their love than guys do. Nanase’s confession is not a surprise except that she did it on her first meeting with Tendo after 5 years. However, finding connection to other people is not common coz they are typically reserved, sometimes shy and they value much privacy. Nanase’s nickname as warrior-chick fits her.
I’m so interested with Satoh Takeru’s masculine character, and being such an amazing dedicated doctor. I don’t like the way Tendo treat Nanase, it’s way too harsh and I can’t imagine being in Nanase’s shoes. It’s against my girl power motto! Hospital staff and the way they treat each other like family is refreshing for a workplace. I’m not sure if Nanase’s character is that humble as she always apologize for repeated mistakes.
Regarding the sound on Iphone, I’m using super old Iphone and there’s a sound control on the upper right corner.
I believe that the reason many viewers fell for the actor Satoh Takeru is because he flirts for the camera. If you notice, in many episodes, there’s a scene when the camera films him up-close. The camera acts like OUR stand-in. When he stares intently at the camera and makes a face (e.g., frowns, smirks, grins), we FEEL like he’s directly interacting with us.
WE’re the camera…or rather, we become Nanase. We put ourselves in Nanase’s shoes and we’re seeing him react from from Nanase’s perspective. And remember now, Nanase’s head over heels in love with him. lol.
The effect of these close-up camera shots is different from those scenes when the camera films Tendo and Nanase in the same frame together. Then, we’re viewing the interaction as spectators. We’re the third party.
Thanks for the iphone tip. 🙂 I’ll try to look for the volume control on the upper right corner as you said.
In Tendo’s solo, close-up shots, we replace Nanase.
Morning! Yeah those close ups like him testing Nanase how long she can last with his stare when they were eating out, forgot the name of the special day but you get 2 eggs in your ramen. Is it something appreciation day? Of course, there’s the Jenga game. I’d loose that every time if it’s him or Yang Yang. 😂
Hahaha. The Jenga game? What about the ice cream scene at the amusement park? When he told her that he wasn’t going to clean off the smudge on her nose but he did it anyway. I thought Nanase looked cute when she deliberately smeared ice cream on her lips, and wiggled her face.
If you’re going to do a rewatch, please keep a list of all the close-up shots. 🙂
Jerry Yan and his new drama keeps popping up on my Youtube “recommendation.”
You’re making me hungry for ramen. It’s only 5:45 am here in my neck of the woods. 🙂
Oh yes Mam! 🙋🏻♀️ I will definitely count all of his close up scenes. 😍
That amusement park date was so cute! He couldn’t resist and ate his words and her ice cream anyway! I thought Nanase‘s expression was perfect after he kissed off her ice cream. Nanase won that one! 😍😂
It was actually this scene that I video-ed and was shown to my sisters telling them to watch it too. 😁
I was going to ask you how come your up so early. But yeah, ramen sounds good. 😋
Aha!!! So you recommended this dorama to your sisters?
Thank you. 🙂 I can make a list just like what we did with Love O2O. Weird. Somebody must have discovered Love O2O recently because he/she is going through the old posts here in this blog. lol.
The title of Jerry Yan and Shen Yue’s cdrama is Count Your Lucky Stars. Hopefully it’s good. This will be my first time watching him. 😊
I’ve a “board meeting” (~ bored) morning so I’m getting ready. Hair and make-up alone will take me an hour today (hahaha).
I think there’s many people who are just discovering our Yang Yang and LoveO2O. 😍
Yup, let’s make a list of Tendo-sensei’s close ups. I’m just catching up on PBIO.
Funny about LLF, when I mentioned it again I was with my 2 sisters and Mom. After I said it Mom said ‘just sleep’. 😂
Jerry Yan was in the original Meteor Garden. He was the original F4. Shen Yue was in the remake of Meteor Garden. So there’s a what??!! 15? 20? year difference between them? lol.
He isn’t going to be as cool as when he was younger but as long as he doesn’t come off as a “Dirty Old Man,” I’ll be fine. (I’m convincing myself here).
Here he is with the rest of his boy band. He was the IT guy, before all these “oppa! oppa!” guys came.
A throwback.
https://youtu.be/ocTdA8NytIc
Nice song there and wow, those long hairs. 😁 Jerry is the most handsome there definitely but I did watch Vaness Wu in Autumn Concerto which I love.
Yes, I knew he was the original bad boy but I never watched the original Meteor Garden. 😁 Did you? Should I?
From the preview he doesn’t come off as old to me, just matured and hot looking. It’s Shen Yue that’s coming off as very young like I can see her as 18 😁
Hopefully it’ll be a nice light romantic cdrama. 🤞🏻☺️
What did your mom mean when she said, “Just sleep”? Were you discussing the last episode and whether or not Nanase and Tendo slept or made love?
lol. Your mom has daughters so of course, she expected you all to just sleep. I grew up brothers, and I have sons. So anything goes… I make it a point to always provide extra rooms for the girlfriends when they join us on vacation. But it’s up to them if they want to play merry-go-round with the rooms at night. I’m not going to patrol the hallway at night, if you know what I mean. 🙂
It just shows you that I’m biased: I can only recognize Jerry’s face. The other three guys look the same to me. What with their long hair, slim faces, high cheekbones, gleaming teeth and blue tops, I’m going to have a difficult time telling them apart.
One guy seems to be the lead singer though.
I didn’t watch Meteor Garden either. I saw him on “Down With Love.”
Have you seen this video?
https://youtu.be/IQGrtrEdPiU
hahaha. The melody is from Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” I thought it was funny that grown-up men were using Lilo and Stitch’s surfboard.
No Queen, we were on the way back to my sister’s place from the supermarket when I mentioned that it’s a great Japanese drama and Mom said just sleep because she knows I lose sleep when I watch dramas 😂 Mom knows all her daughters are into kdramas. 😊
Oh once the boy’s are adults then it’s their call when it comes to privacy especially with regards to those. I won’t patrol too. 😬 I don’t want to hear anything 🙅🏻♀️😂
Ah the lead singer there is Vaness Wu, the one with the bandanna. 😊 I haven’t seen that video but Jerry is a standout there. Hehehe I love that song. 😍
I think there’s another Jerry Yan drama in Netflix but I can’t remember the title. Maybe it’s that Down With Love that you mentioned?
My friend who watched the original Meteor Garden said Jerry’s character is more arrogant and more nasty. She wanted to compare all the Meteor Garden dramas. 😂
Spoken like a good mom!! Your mom is keeping it real.
True! It’s so real that it’s just hard to do especially if you’re addicted to it.
It’s your fault. 😈 Thanks you! 😂
Good afternoon. Episode 2 made me cry a lot. The whole Kando thing, from his cute giggle when Nanase bumped Kairi, through the op, the nurses wiping his body after death, the meeting with Yu and the stickers, and her sorrow at home. I can’t believe that the hospital has the nurses tending the body of someone they have cared for over time. Talk about traumatic!
I think that as a co-worker Tendo wants to protect her from getting too close to patients, but he comes to realise that her ability to interact with them is her gift, right?
I wrote this to one of our fave posters: ‘I had the feeling that Tendo realised, once she was in his arms, that he needed the hug as much as she did. He was clearly upset immediately after the operation, too, but holding it in. It had been 8 years since his girlfriend died and I had the feeling that back then was the last time anyone hugged him. (except maybe his mum) He could as easily have sat her back down immediately. I think it was a turning point for them.’
Ref the close-ups, I liked that some are shot from below, because Nanase is much shorter and we’re getting her viewpoint. Since it was said that he didn’t smile in 8 years (except to patients) I’ve been counting his smiles. Very subtle at first.
I agree @Fern that it is definitely a gift, Nanase’s interaction with the patients. She’s looking and noticing them not just as patients in the hospital, it’s their total wellbeing that she connects with. I love it when those patients tease her back too or if they give her a courage boost. ☺️
I checked the upcoming drama of Jerry Yan, he just aged a bit but still have the same vibe like in the original Meteor Garden. With his new leading lady, the age gap doesn’t look that much. Thanks for the info, I want to see the orginal hearthrob!
You’re right that Satoh Takeru has a certain angle that would make him looks hotter that the viewers can be transformed into Nanase… and it depends on the scene too! Camera close-up is working in his favor. I’ve checked his 2014 action drama-Blood Bitter, he’s not that gorgeous though.
In episode 2, Tendo is indeed devilish but at the same time from the corner of his heart have a soft spot for Nanase. Everytime he watches the warrior-chic bonding with the patients, I sense some jealousy but the facial expression is that blank, as if he doesn’t care. Only Dr. Koichi/Kisugi can sense that feeling. He really knows Tendo.
Will answer you back on jealousy later. On zoom conference now. 😀
@Eureka, I thought he might be a bit jealous that she got Kando to eat with friendliness rather than meds. Dr. Kisugi knows that he’s competitive. Jealousy seems a bit of a theme here, along with the other themes, but it ultimately seems constructive rather than destructive in this dorama.
@pm3 will read your views on jealousy tomorrow, I have to force myself to sleep to avoid health problems. Not a good idea to visit the hospital in my side of the world.
@fern, you’re right that jealousy is a positive trigger. I also agree with you that Tendo needs that hug from Nanase when he was asked to take care of her otherwise Kisugi will do so. It also seems that everytime he calls Nanase stupid and the warrior-chic replies with apology (plus sometime pitiful smile), the hardness in his heart is replaced with a bit of tenderness, until he gave in later.
Good Nyt everyone! – from this side of the Pacific.
Same here. 😂 I initially thought he was jealous of her friendliness with Kando because he was paying close attention to her when she first met Kando.
But, in her next meeting, it was revealed that Kando had a crush for a colleague. So Tendo knew that her friendliness was just that.
Then (this part I’m not sure) while Kando was telling Nanase to be thankful of Tendo’s tutelage and about his girl, Tendo was listening from the balcony. He could hear them, right?
That’s when I thought no, he couldn’t still be jealous because the two of them were talking like friends, and Nanase blurted out that Kando was taking his crush out on a date. He knew that Nanase was still crushing on him because she joked about trying to steal his sadistic heart 😂🤦♀️ and volunteering to be his date. 😂😂🤦♀️🤦♀️
For me then, the reason he looked serious when he walked away after watching them in dining hall was because he was worried for her. Not because of he was jealous of her. She was going to get hurt if she gets emotionally too attached to one patient. And he tried to warn her again before the emergency ablation. She pleaded with him to allow her to assist and he said no. “You can’t do anything right now. I told you not to get too involved with a single patient.” Then he orders Nurse Sakai to help him.
He was actually telling her two separate things here:
1. She wasn’t ready to do an ablation. She hadn’t studied it and she’d only get in the way. To his credit, he didn’t tell her that and called her a Boulder. 😂 He simply said she couldn’t do anything, NOT that she was going to be in his way.
2. She was getting too emotional right there and then because she was worried about Kando. She was agitated and he wanted her to calm down.
But because of the curt way he communicated these, it seemed as if there was a correlation between the two things. That is, she wasn’t calm and collected THEREFORE she wouldn’t be of any help in the emergency room. But that wasn’t what he meant. He meant that she wasn’t prepared to handle the operation, both mentally and emotionally. He was giving an assessment, not a judgment.
@packmule3, I agree that Tendo was worried for her and her mental health. Jealousy may not be the right term. Certainly not romantic jealousy for Nanase and Kanda. I thought about the other doctor looking at Tendo and asking ‘What’s wrong?’. He replied that he had been going to prescribe stomach medicine. The other doctor praised Nanase for doing a good job. He didn’t begrudge Nanase’s success because the patient’s well-being is such a priority for him, but I felt he may have felt very slightly piqued that she succeeded where he didn’t. But yes, as he continued to watch them, his concern was growing and I’m with you about the ablation.
I’ve re-watched this episode on another site. The subtitles are quite different and some but not all make more sense to me given the action. Also, homonyms are explained which is helpful to me. Here, Nanase is called Hero and not Warrior-chick. Unfortunately the site is annoying with adverts and doesn’t have the extras you found in the Blitz site.
Agree with you. It’s kinda like romantic jealousy and yet it’s not really jealousy because, logically, he knew there wasn’t any need to be jealous. Yes, I like that Tendo’s trained response was to find a “cure” for Kanda’s eating problem by medicine, but Nanase found a simple, non-medical cure: communication.
I think with Koichi. yes, that was jealousy. I’ll write about this in my review of Ep 3. In Koichi’s case, he was right to feel jealous. He knows Koichi was a better catch.
And that rich son’s kid, that was jealousy, too, but on a whole different level. That one, he had to control because of the existing patient-doctor relationship. But lol. It was cute when he told her to go home but his hand moved to detain her by his side as he slept.
It’s fun exploring the many “colors” of jealousy here. Fun because it’s easily understood yet people don’t pay attention to it, and lump them all together as jealousy.
Did you watch it on kissasian? or dramacool? I’ve seen a couple of episodes there but like you, the ads (cartoon porn!! ugh) grossed me out so I googled if there’s another site. Besides, Blitzfansub.com is private blogger so I like to support her/him.
@packmule3, I’m watching on dailymotion, which sort of sounds scatological. The ads are not porn, but are at least 30 seconds before you can skip, so quite annoying. The scenes seem a bit longer on dm, so there is more of a sense of what’s going on compared to Blitzfansub.com which seems slightly edited. An example: the day after Kanda died, the scene where Nanase is bustling around the office getting supplies but keeping her back to everyone and avoiding their eyes. The camera lingered on her longer and on Tendo, so there was more of a sense that Tendo was assessing her behaviour, as you said above, rather than just watching her. Haha, each of the two sites has some benefits.
Why do you say Koichi is a better catch? Because he’s easier to like? Or because he’s more similar to Nanase? I was thinking that between the two new nurses, Sakai is likewise a better catch for Tendo, as well as a better match. She’s more refined, attractive, serious, less spontaneous and, depending on the translation, either a university grad or an Honor student. And Minori’s sister, a stellar surgeon, could be considered even better. However, one of the unique themes of this dorama is being with someone who is complementary, rather than similar. This helps to move from two extremes towards a common ground, and forward together from there.
Certainly Nurse Sakai became jealous of Nanase, both personally and professionally, once she no longer felt superior to her. But she wasn’t toxic with it, which is refreshing compared to some kdramas I’ve seen.
Ohayo gozaimasu! 😀
At first, I’ve watched on dramacool then kissasian and finally with blitzfansub, thanks for the rescue, I got to watch those extra minutes for each episodes. Yeah, this dorama has that cute faces of jealousy. Kisugi-sensei’s goal to help Tendo get over and moved on from Minori’s death through Nanase was purely a friendship concern at first. When he suggested to Nanase to act like their flirting with each other, he didn’t realized he would fall for Nanase.
Tendo has the right to be jealous with Kisugi because people working under him is stable and tend to stick with him. Is this what you mean @pm3? Kisugi sensei is a popular doctor in and out of hospital, he is easier to deal with, and a kind of opposite withTendo’s character in communicating with others. Everytime Tendo see Nanase with Kisugi, they are always happy and pleasant together. Kisugi’s closeness and tenderness towards Nanase, those things Tendo could’t express yet with Nanase.
There were some deleted scenes that I saw on Instagram, such as that part when Tendo folowed Nanase in her hometown in Kagoshima. Nanase’s family her father, mother and brother came to the bus station to see them off, bought them a lot of stuff and waved while the bus moves away. I hope we could find a website without those deleted scenes.
@Packmule3, about Nanase’s bowing: I found an interesting scene in ep. 4 that sheds some light for us non-Japanese on the practice of bowing. When Nanase is speaking in front of a review board, passionately trying to get approval for a patient to be granted an excursion to attend her daughter’s wedding, Tendo volunteers to be the doctor to accompany her. He stands and does a 90-degree bow when he asks to please be allowed to do so. Nanase also does a deep bow and asks please, which is not particularly notable because she’d already been bowing a lot during the meeting. But then several senior nurses from the cardiac unit stand, bow, and say please. Polite, profound supplication for permission from their superiors.
I have limited knowledge of Japanese culture, but I interpret Nanase’s frequent bowing to reflect her low position in the hospital. She’s a nurse trainee, so almost everyone else is her superior. She is showing respect. But I like that when she bows, it comes across as matter of fact, rather than groveling. She’s cheerful and exudes gratitude, rather than looking like she’s wheedling.
Hi Eureka,
you can check here for directors cut
https://blitzfansub.com/koi-wa-tsuzuku-yo-dokomade-mo-directors-cut/
hope it help!
Arigatou @azuyim, upon checking I should download an app, not sure if it’s gonna work in my area.
@Packmule3, I did a bit more follow-up about bowing in Japanese culture. Both of my daughters studied Japanese language and culture with the same teacher starting in eighth grade and all four years of high school (their middle school was next door to their high school). Sensei has now become a personal friend of mine. I spoke with her last night about bowing. She said that some words in Japanese are always accompanied with a bow; it is so ingrained that people cannot speak them without the bow, even if they’re talking over the telephone. After watching a clip from an early episode in LLF, she did note that Nanase’s bows are deep; however, frequency of bowing, depth of a bow, and length of a bow is subject to people’s relative position in the social hierarchy and/or severity of the wrong being addressed with an apology.
Thanks, Welmaris!
I’m going to comment on the bowing later. 🙂
I’m looking at Tendo’s bedroom now and I see a square bed? 🤔😁 I don’t know.
Wow! You’re men are so tall! ☺️
I think it’s not just their feet that will dangle, it’s half of their body on that bed 😆
After rewatching episode 2.
I liked how Tendo didn’t let Nanase think that Ryuko is his girlfriend but sister.
Another Nanase warrior chick scene was when she took Tendo’s cup while he was brushing is teeth. She really wanted to be in Kanda’s operation and she got it even if it’s just a back up. 😊
Tendo reading Nanase’s notes on Kanda is another eye opener for him.
Yes. I’m glad that was cleared right away. Whether it’s intentional or not (I want to think it was intentional) that he call her “sis” I’m glad he cleared up the confusion.
Personally, I think he did it on purpose. He never called her “sister” in other episodes. But then again I don’t speak Japanese, so I don’t know if the subbers omitted “sister” in other occasions.
Yes. 😂 I find it cute when the director shoots her in her warrior outfit. That’s a nice touch. It makes the dorama manga-ish which it’s supposed to be anyway.
I agree that it’s intentional because why would he clear it when that’s the perfect way out for him to rid of her feelings for him?
I think it’s the two cream buns that he got from her that made him clear it. He wants more 😂
Yes! I find it cool when the warrior costume comes into the scenes. 😄
Oh did we get the link to the actual manga of this drama? I’d like to read it too.
I was going to buy the mangas online. When @welmaris told us the other title “the incurable case of love” I checked it online.
But the samplers I found on Apple Books didn’t look particularly colorful. And Tendo is just like any other cartoon character. I think the writer for the Tirana fleshed him out and Sato Takeru’s interpretation gave the manga character a bit more oomph. More nuanced.
Oh it looked a bit plain? Thanks for the info. It would have been nice to compare it but I liked Tendo in the drama so all good. ☺️
You can see for yourself. 🙂 It’s basically two people talking like fish with bubbles coming out of their mouths. Hahaha.
It’s not like Love O2O where the novel had descriptions not included in the drama. That was fun to read.
This one is pared down. And the first meeting seemed more confrontational. In the dorama, Tendo made an impression bec he thanked her sincerely as he was about to leave. It was a farewell.
Here…??? I don’t know. It didn’t look as poignant?