Just here for the Spatort Pretty-Boys

I don't know what came over me but I decided to binge the original Ossan's Love last night.

It was kind of fascinating. Not good. But fascinating.

I haven't watched many BL's from before 2020, but I had heard mixed things about this one: mostly people saying that it's a classic but a problematic one.

There are parts of it that are very poignant and compelling. There are other parts that are like watching a train collision. It is overall a pretty mean spirited comedy that is quite cruel to its characters.

I will say I was never bored.

I also kind of liked the idea of a love triangle between an older married man discovering his bisexuality, a loser in his 30s also discovering his bisexuality under 15 layers of internalized homophobia, and a 25 year old guy who has already accepted his sexuality even if the world doesn't accept him.

I didn't even mind the rampant miscommunication trope that drives most of the plot. I thought Haruta's avoidant tendencies and his inability to cope with seeing anyone in pain to be as endearing as it is exasperating, and added depth to his bafoonish personality.

I could've done without the predatory gay trope, and the rampant consent issues. It was supposed to be played for laughs and it just didn't land. I hated the squeamishness around intimacy between men. Haruta's misogyny and homophobia could've been explored to greater effect if he showed any kind of introspection or growth by the end of the show. Instead he pretty much remains the same "loveable" idiot, and I was left feeling like he mostly wanted a maid instead of a boyfriend.

And because of that Kurosawa and Maki ended up feeling quite tragic to me. They both are shown to violate boundaries, but overall Kurosawa's pushiness comes across as almost childish overexcitement at the new feeling he's experiencing so late in life. It's meant to be cringe but underneath that it's pathetic and heart breaking. And Maki seems so accustomed to disappointment that him ending up with Haruta at the end doesn't feel like a triumph--it feels like a great guy who has decided that he can't do any better than an immature loser who refuses to touch him.

Again, many interesting ideas worth exploring, but they were handled in this mean-spirited punching down kind of way.

I think my favorite characters were Choko (Kurosawa's ex wife) and Mako (the young co-worker thirsting after her).