Somewhere in the middle of the series, Boku to Kano started to get a bit slow for me. Coincidentally, it was about the same time that Shiroi Haru started coming out. Both were shows about fathers discovering their relationship with their daughters, though in very different circumstances. At first, I thought it was because of the shallow reason that Sachi was more kawaii than Rin. Somehow Rin wasn't as fun or interesting to watch. Then I realised that it was because Rin was a more realistic character.
Rin is the typical child caught up in a divorce. She cannot choose between both parents and is confused as to the sudden change in her family situation. Sachi in Shiroi Haru is seemingly smarter than your average girl or at least she for some reason has an affinity for Abe's character Haruo. This is good for the audience as it is something that we want to see and kids in doramas need to exhibit some sort of mental sophistication in order to draw the audience sympathy. They shouldn't be too smart like the girl in Man on Fire or she'll seem too scary.
Yes, my enthusiasm for Boku to Kano waned because Rin was not smart enough. Actually that's not the main reason. The main reason is that character development for Tetsuro had finished. He had finally become Rin's father and the only thing left was for the court to decide child custody orders. Seeing that Tetsuro and to a certain extant, his father are the only well developed characters that provoke audience understanding, there wasn't anything to look forward to.
The Tetsuro and Yura sensei relationship had gotten stale and was in a holding pattern. Too much beating around the bush with no interesting problems to solve. As for Kanako, she's the default villain and yet is not portrayed as one. Wrapping up the series in one neat little bow tie at the end just seemed too...... simple. Stories are built on conflict and the Tetsuro-Kanako conflict just failed to grab my attention. Maybe its because I work for the Family Court that I just cannot accept a divorce dorama where there are barely any shouting matches between husband and wife. Where are the abusive languages and allegations of alcoholism, child porn, drug addiction and other vices? Boku to kano has taken out all the fun out of divorce shows.
Its still a watchable show but IMO inferior to Boku no Aruku Michi. In summary, father-daughter parts are fun, divorce parts are boring and Shiroi Haru pawns every show this season.
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