I can't not write about Kaseifu no Mita getting 40% rating for the last episode. The last time it happened was Beautiful Life back in 2000, back when KimuTaku was king of ratings. As I wrote at in my 2011 fall roundup, I just find in incomprehensible that Mita managed to average 20+%. WTF is so entertaining about watching this stupid badly acted family giving stupid orders to Mita over and over when they know that she will take it literally and cause havok?
As I said, the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I could see it working if the show was more black comedy instead of trying to be cute comedy. I kept watching until episode 7, hoping that having Natsushima Nanako, Suzuki sensei and the writer of Jyoou no Kyoushitsu would turn things around.
Episode 7 was supposed to be this huge payoff with Suzuki sensei breaking down but it was so artificial and contrived. The dialogue and the characters just never felt natural. The whole scene with Suzuki sensei trying to bawl his eyes out and trying to say dialogue that belonged in an afternoon soap opera. It just did not have that heartfelt conviction. Well, the whole build up sucked anyway. I could understand if the characters get desperate enough that they felt they had no choice but to use Mita but the desperation was never palatable.
I tried to watch the remaining episodes just to see what caused the 40% viewership but clearly I am unable to see in Mita what 40% of Japanese like. What I see is just a family dorama that tried to manufacture touching moments without organic execution. Its like the director pointing to the audience. "Here's rousing music with some corny lines and bad crying. Aren't you moved?"
I am moved when the characters feel real. Characters feel real when they have a personality, not a distinct role like Urara. Character have personality when the dialogue is flows naturally and the acting is good. Compare the kids in Mita with the kids in Suzuki sensei. Sure they say stuff that seem outrageous for middle school kids but the acting is so good that the characters believe what they are saying and its not just for the sake of setting something up.
It is interesting to note that unlike the big rating doramas back in the 'golden era', Mita is not a romance story. Off the top of my head, there haven't been good straight forward boy meets girl doramas with the exception of KDO. now that's a show that deserves to get 40% rating. Perhaps something about family values in Mita that has captured the attention of Japanese audiences?
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