#cherry magic rewatch

I wrote before that I think the notion of what communication IS between two people is so well played with in this show -- it’s exactly the kind of messiness I love in dramas when it comes to things that usually “can” or “can’t” be said in everyday Asian society.

What I thought was particularly beautiful and complicated was how Adachi’s magic power was essentially treated as a communication tool -- but it’s not a means of traditionally real communication between two people, as only Adachi hears other people’s thoughts. There’s inflow to only one person, without the other person’s knowledge (or consent, interestingly, but that’s for another meditation). More on this in a sec.

Adachi’s magic power is treated in two important ways, to me, in the course of the show. In episode 7, he states that maybe his power was INTENDED for a beautiful, loving, good use in touching Kurosawa’s heart. Forgive the crappy screencaps:

And then in episode 12 -- the culmination of their struggle and the confirmation of their relationship -- Kurosawa states that he’s grateful to the power that Adachi will soon lose, as it was the means by which they could be together.

So much of the BL content that I love dances around the notions of confession and admission -- if there’s a seme who wants to confess to, or urge on, an unknowing or reluctant uke, how do you actually do that? How do you communicate that? What does that communication look like?

In our (okay, my) favorite BLs, it goes all over the place. Shiro-san under a face towel at the salon while he invites Kenji to live with him in Kinou Nani Tabeta. Togawa having a panic moment before pulling Nozue to him in Old Fashion Cupcake. 

In how I’m analyzing these moments in Cherry Magic, I’m thinking about the utterly fabulous dialogue I had with the amazing Absolute BL last week regarding identity politics and collectivism. After that dialogue, I’ve come to understand that the trope of confession in BL is actually far more subtle and complicated than I could have ever appreciated. I hope this makes sense, but I’ve come to realize that a confession in Asian BL contextualizes and respects the receiver’s feelings far more than in Western content (well, maybe not Togawa so much during the urgent kiss, but let’s let him be in peace for a sec). 

Meaning -- in Western content, one person can just SAY, “I LOVE YOU,” without regard for the recipient, or the context of where the recipient is at, emotionally. It’s okay in the States, for instance, to value the intention and emotion of the person speaking, without regard for the person receiving. That’s okay in America. That’s our individualistic culture. Many times in art and real life, what we value in the West is the courage of a person to “speak up,” with less or no focus on the person who is receiving the speaking. 

Whereas in the Japanese BL doramas that I enjoy, there is far more regard for the person receiving the communication. 

So in the case of Cherry Magic, it’s eventually acknowledged by both Adachi and Kurosawa, at different times, that Adachi’s magic power was a means by which Adachi could learn about and realize Kurosawa’s feelings. Without knowing about Kurosawa’s feelings at the start of the show, Adachi would not have intentionally begun to spend more time with Kurosawa. By spending more time with Kurosawa, Adachi got to know him better, AND Kurosawa admits at the end of episode 6, in his first confession, that spending more time with Adachi LED him to his confession, one in which he couldn’t help but make. 

It’s all a little circular and complicated (love love love it), but the magic is the means of the confession. I think that that complicatedness is a lovely mirror reflection of who Adachi himself is as a person -- a kind of sad sack guy who actually comes to realize that there are people in his life who care for him, love him, cheer for him. 

AND, there’s one more point to make that I absolutely love. It SEEMS like in episode 12, that Kurosawa is saying in the screencaps, that WITHOUT the magic, they might not be together. That MAY be true, considering that Adachi had begun spending more time with Kurosawa when he first learned about Kurosawa’s feelings.

But -- it MIGHT NOT be true. I do wonder, how I wonder, if Kurosawa may have ever confessed to Adachi WITHOUT Adachi’s magic power powering Adachi to be closer to Kurosawa. WITH the magic power, Adachi could understand the CONTEXT of Kurosawa’s feelings during the confession in episode 6.

BUT: Kurosawa HIMSELF didn’t know about that magic power then, and about Adachi’s prior knowledge of Kurosawa’s feelings. Kurosawa couldn’t help but confess to Adachi, and apologized for the impact he thought the confession would have on Adachi. He told Adachi to forget about it, and that they’d return to normal.

Kurosawa cares so much for Adachi that he doesn’t want his feelings to complicate Adachi’s life. He cares for his recipient, despite not being able to hold back his confession.

I REALLY love this. It makes me think that Kurosawa would have been courageous enough (a Western read, mind you) to confess to Adachi eventually, if Adachi hadn’t had prior knowledge of Kurosawa’s feelings. But Kurosawa is always considering Adachi’s feelings, balancing where Adachi is at with what Kurosawa is compelled to do to be close to Adachi -- helping him file papers, tending to Adachi’s hand. Whatever Kurosawa could do in small ways to be in Adachi’s life, he tries to do.

Kurosawa loses his composure at times and pulls back. He leaves Adachi’s apartment in episode 5 because he’s so overcome with feelings and fear.

I love Kurosawa’s push and pull between his feelings and his consideration for Adachi. Adachi silently urges Kurosawa to come back to him -- Adachi admits he doesn’t want Kurosawa’s feelings to change. But there’s Kurosawa himself, considering the both of them, trying to figure out what’s right for each of themselves as he struggles with his truth. 

And the gorgeous culmination of this for me is when Kurosawa states to Adachi at the end that Adachi never needed the magic power for Kurosawa to FALL for Adachi. The falling had happened well prior to Adachi becoming a wizard. It was when Adachi cared for Kurosawa in Kurosawa’s own time of need after a disastrous business dinner.

Kurosawa loves Adachi because Adachi is a good guy. The magic power was the means by which Adachi himself could realize that people love him. Otherwise, Adachi was so bottled up and unaware that he himself couldn’t recognize that he was a person worthy of love.

Kurosawa realized that, though, and patiently waited for his guy to come around. 

The total whirl of communication spikes all over the place. I just love how this drama played so heavily with an otherwise dualistic notion of communication between two people, and turned it into a dialectic on what can, can’t, should, shouldn’t, could, and can’t be said. In the end, what needed to be said was said, in such a loving and hopeful way. 

The fact that such characters don't often appear in dramas has given the feeling that people like Fujisaki-san are "non-existent" in society.

Cherry Magic Rewatch: Episode 1

Adachi thinks too lowly of himself. He’s always reading the atmosphere. Always taking a step back... He lets others use the elevator in the mornings. He doesn’t get offended even when his senior pushes work to him. He’s actually an extremely kind and nice guy. Besides, he is careful and meticulous in his work.

Cherry Magic Rewatch: Episode 4