Proposal Daisakusen: A Japanese Drama

Aaaand, for this category, this time I’ll review a Japanese Drama with the title: Proposal Daisakusen or Operation Love. For the previous list or review of Japanese dramas, you can read it here 🙂

Actually I watched this drama a very long time ago so I can’t really remember the details but I remember what I learn. I do not forget valuable lessons from the dramas or the movies that I watch. Even if I forget the title, the actors, and the details, if the stories are impressive, I would usually remember 😉

So, well, what about Proposal Daisakusen? Well, actually it centers around romance, about a guy who had to give a speech on his friend’s wedding but it turned out that the guy was actually in love with her. Well, she’s in love with him too but couldn’t figure how he truly felt that’s why she decided to marry another man who loved her. The man (Ken Iwase, played by Yamapi/Yamashita Tomohisa) kept wishing to go back to the past to prevent the wedding from happening. And, miraculously, that wish was granted. With every photo shown during his speech, he was given the opportunity to go back to the time when the photo was taken. His time was limited. With every episode, he went back to the past, in which a different photo was taken. I don’t remember exactly whether they were always buddies until college, but I remember they were buddies from high school because some of the photos he could go back to were from the high school times where they played baseball and stuff. It was really interesting to see how each time he went back to the past, he tried to confess his feelings but never managed to succeed doing so before his time was up. At the end, he realized that no matter how many times he went back to the past, he would never be able to prevent the wedding. He realized that if he wanted it to change, then the time is “now”. Finally, as he said the wedding speech, he gathered the courage to confess his feelings to the bride, the girl that she loved, saying he wished her to marry him instead (not sure about this, but he did tell her how he felt. And, if I remember correctly, the wedding was cancelled. The girl decided to start the relationship with the guy that she loved.

Well, I know this kind of story is kinda disturbing. I personally hate it. But at the same time I understand, so it’s really frustrating. I mean, you expect and wait for someone to love you but he never did so you decide to give a try with someone else who’s clearly in love with you. It’s not easy to decide on something like that. But then after you begin appreciating this person, that guy you’ve always dreamed comes and snatches you away, trying to win you over. Jeez, I really feel sorry for the guy ☹ I mean, the girl is at fault too, right? Why didn’t she confess herself? Why only waited for the guy to confess? But at the same time, I understand too. I’m a girl, too. And we’ve raised in the era where, when it comes to love, men should be the one who pursues, confesses, etc. So yeah, it’s tough. And it’s really complicated. You want to be happy. The person you’ve always loved and wanted finally found the courage to tell you that he’s been feeling the same. And you naturally want to be with him, you guys love each other after all. Sure you feel bad and guilty for the other guy, but….ugh, see? I hate it, because it just cannot be helped. Something just has to happen. Someone just has to hurt or get hurt. You don’t want to be with the other guy just because you feel sorry for him either, right? In this case, I usually root for the other guy and hope he will find the girl that will love him, one that he’ll love, one that will make him happy, one that will be happy with him. Well, everyone deserves to be happy, so, yeah. I mean, if I were in the girl’s position, I know it must be difficult and whatever decision she makes, someone will inevitably get hurt, so, well, I just hope that I’ll never be in that situation. Not that any guy will like me anyway. LoL

But anyway, I love this drama because the realization just struck me. Well, I know it’s kinda stupid to realize such things from a fiction, but I think it still is relevant. Many of us often resent the present and wish to go back to the past and change something hoping things can be different. But the past cannot be changed. We can never change the past. If we want to change something, the time is now. The only thing we can change is the present. If we want a better or different future then do something NOW, at the present. So yeah, I list this drama here for that reason. But, well, time traveling is always fascinating for me. That’s why.

PS: Some people might find this drama boring, though. That’s because every episode has the same pattern: a picture was shown, he went back to the past, and he went back to the present without being able to confess his feeling in that past, until the last episode. I didn’t remember feeling bored when watching this, though. I just read some comments that said this drama was boring for them for that reason. So, whether you want to watch it yourself or not, it’s your call 😊

PPS: Actually I’m starting to wonder if this kind of review of Japanese Drama is helpful. But I remind myself that I write to express, not to impress. Even though nobody actually reads it, I think I can keep it for myself for documentation. And, if somebody reads this, who knows they do not have the time to watch the drama themselves but still can learn the lesson from what I wrote here. Well, who knows. I guess it’s okay to be delusional sometimes ^^