Overprotected Kahoko

 

"Being needed by someone in this world besides my family and for that person to want to see me all the time is such an amazing thing. It's like I've been told that it's okay for me to exist." 

— Kahoko, Overprotected Kahoko

I have been in my Japanese drama-binging era for the past month and Overprotected Kahoko (Kahogo no Kahoko) is one of the ones I have recently finished watching. 

Weirdly as it is, I spent a lot of episodes of this series crying and pouring my heart out. 

Before anything else, however, let's talk about what the story of this drama is all about. 

 

Overprotected Kahoko. As the title suggests, the story of this drama revolves around our heroine, Kahoko, and her struggles in asserting her own identity against the odds that were probably caused by her upbringing. She has a very hands-on mother and a father who, despite the awareness of problems in their family's situation, does not do anything to fix it or say anything about it. He doesn't and he couldn't, making his character that of a weak-willed husband that is often overshadowed by his wife. 

Kahoko's inability to do simple tasks and chores inside the house and even going as far as being unable to choose a career for herself is without a doubt caused by the way her mother treats her like a baby. She is seen to be privileged and lacks the understanding of an adult entirely. This is challenged when he meets a guy who stands at the opposite end of her seemingly shallow struggles. 

It has been months since I watched this movie that only the faces of the cast are left in my memory and apart from Kahoko, I honestly cannot remember the other characters' names. I had to check online so I could write them down here. 

The guy that Kahoko will meet is Hajime. He's an art major who is determined to be a successful painter and to eventually live off of that job. However, for that to happen he has to spend his days doing part-time and odd jobs to make ends meet because you can't exactly be a famous artist overnight. That's not how the industry works which is the whole point of the struggle that makes Kahoko's problems seem shallow. He even goes as far as to say that people like Kahoko are the burdens of society as they contribute nothing to the economy or the development of a country. 

None of these is Kahoko's fault, however. Throughout the drama, Kahoko has proven how she wants to have her own identity and she wants to get out of this safety cocoon that her mother has built for her and yet she is having a hard time because everything is that new to her. She hasn't worked a day in her life, she can't make meals for herself, and she can't even choose what dress she would wear to school. Everything is a new learning experience that it's so confusing. It's like making a toddler walk for the first time. 

Apart from this nurtured trait, I can't help but think that Kahoko has more underlying issues than what was mentioned in the series though. I can't confirm because I am not an expert and it was never explicitly said by anyone in the story, but I have this inkling that she could be autistic or at least within the spectrum. The way her emotions overflow and how she has a hard time regulating them, or how honest she is with little control about her reactions as she is unable to read the room all points to that possibility. Again, I could be wrong, but this could essentially explain more about her as a person that no one around her could have understood. But in the end, they chuck up everything into Kahoko being what she was and everything is somehow okay. 

This theory aside, let me now talk about the characters that infuriated me as I watched this, 

Number one, on the top of the list, is her mother. Almost all of Kahoko's problems are caused by how her mother treats her. I hated it when she outwardly showed how displeased she was at the way her daughter was finally gaining independence. Like finally! For the entirety of her whole life. Normal parents would've been happy, albeit still sad, at the signs of their children finally leaving the nest. But the way she handled it was not how a parent should've done, especially as the mother who was always there to support her through and from childhood. It made Kahoko feel helpless as if she is bound to be trapped in her mother's hands. It is borderline obsessiveness and is actually creepy in a way. The tone of the series made it seem lighter than reality. I like the delivery, however, that is if we're talking about it story-wise. 

Number two, her father. He's not the better parent despite how he thinks he might be. He's a pushover and doesn't do anything to help his daughter that much. He has this grand plan every time but doesn't have enough of the will to execute them. I pity him too, in a way. I don't feel the chemistry between him and his wife. I've been wondering as I watch this couple interact onscreen, but I see no reason why they would ever get married. But they did. Maybe it's all the grown-up stuff again that won't make sense in the view of the outsider. He cared about his family though and that has been one of the traits that I like about him. He doesn't hold back Kahoko as well and he does his best to support her when his wife stubbornly rejects her. I don't know, maybe he is a bit of a better parent when it comes to nurture and all. 

Number three, Kahoko's cousin. Sure, I understand where she's coming from. I understand her tendencies and I sympathized with her as a fellow artist who knows how hard it would be if I were robbed of the one thing that enables me to create. But that doesn't mean that she instantly has the pass to be a brat and toss away everyone who cares about her. She could be mad. No one is stopping her, but in turn, she has to communicate why she is mad and understand her parents and relatives as well. If she wants to cut them off, have the decency to be reasonable and not be stupid. She is a realistic character in the sense that she is molded as a teenager with the tendency for rebellion, but I still do not like her, especially with how she treats Kahoko. 

Those complaints aside, the premise of character development made me think better of each character. They have a lot to change, however. A simple step to the better won't cut in the long run. I would like to imagine that everything is better past the scenes of the show.

Now let's go back to our main character. 

I like her. I could see why her mother would want to protect her all her life. She is childlike and her brightness and honesty that other people might take advantage of is something you would want to shield so she wouldn't get hurt. But what I most admire about her is her will to find out what she can be. When she wants something, she is bound to not stop until she gets it. When she knows something is wrong, she might hesitate for a while, but still, she would do something about it because she knows that something wrong should not be left to stay wrong. She is admirable and it was hard not to want to be like her.

Overall, I liked the story, One thing I would have wanted more of however are moments between Hajime and Kahoko. Their love story is cute as how they supported each other was so wholesome and pure. I needed more!

 

BLUE'S CORNER:

        Hi. You're here.

        I wouldn't have expected my eyes to water and pour the tears out like a waterfall when I watched the first episode. I thought it would be this light show that would give me a few laughs and might even bore me with some of its cliche plots. But lo and behold, I was crying before I could realize that I was crying. 

        If I were to go over the reasons why, I would put this reason at the top of the list. I'm a sucker for stories that portray a mother-and-daughter relationship. Whether that relationship is wholesome or terrible and toxic, I wouldn't care. It would make me cry. I guess that says a lot about my own life as a daughter. That is something I can elaborate in fiction but can't explain in real truthful tales.

        As I'm writing this, I'm beginning to wonder whether I would be a good parent to a non-existent child that I might not even have in the future. I'm so unstable as I am now. My traumas and burdens tell me what I should and should not do, but the familiarity of all that might still lead me to do the things I shouldn't. My own emotions would overpower me and that usually ends up with me lashing out to other people.

        I don't know, just a random thought. Thinking about it, if I become a mother now I wouldn't be able to handle it. That makes me wonder how my mother managed to raise me when she was my age. 

        Going past this first reason is Kahoko's character. I relate to her in some ways, and in some ways, I wish I could be more like her. I am incapable of doing simple chores. I am scared of going outside because of some unexplained anxiety that I wish I could solve. I understand her outburst due to overstimulating situations. When her cousin yelled at her and she had a panic attack because of it, I had a panic attack along with her. I don't like shouting. It takes me back to a bad memory that happened a few years ago. Every time I hear shouting, whether it be due to happiness or frustration, it always seems to me that somewhere within close proximity from me is a scene of someone fighting and the image of violence rises. I do not like violence.

        But with every scene that shows Kajoko's strengths and tenacity, I became more and more sure that she is way better than me at this. She has the potential to be more than what she is. I'm not sure I have that. I wish I did. I keep rooting for her at every obstacle and I cry at the way she cries with the new emotions she's discovering with the help of her new experiences. "I have never felt this way before," that was her usual phrase with a eureka moment of some sort. I find myself saying that phrase in my head more often recently. 

        Last but not the least reason, the grandmother. By the end of the show (spoiler alert) Kahoko's grandmother died. I still haven't gotten over the death of my grandma. I called her Lola, as per Filipino culture. Her death was the second time and yet the most impactful event that made me realize what true loss and grief are. I can't elaborate further without setting myself up through emotional self-torture. Although that is a usual occurrence, I would like to spare myself from such this time around, thank you very much. 

        So that's it. 

KAHOGO NO KAHOKO

(overprotected kahoko)

PERSONAL                               

CONNECTION                                   

RATING:                9/10

_______________________ thanks for reading ^^

a/n. As I reread this, I feel like I hadn't written enough. I don't know if it's just me but I seem far too detached that I am usually on my blog. I hope it didn't seem like that to you. I still want thus to feel like a letter addressed to a close friend. I left out a few details on my corner because of reasons. I really have been too unstable recently. Thinking about it now, maybe I left those out because while I'm writing this blog I was at the verge of wanting to take self control and so I made seem like a school assignment unconsciously. I don't really want that. I want this to be personal and I want you to know how Kahoko really made me want to be a better version me. Seems I forgot tho because I'm not any better as compared to the me who watched this a month back. Well, we'll keep trying.