k so the next in my series of writing longer posts about dramas i’ve already reviewed is my writing on the drama that is at this current moment and likely for a long long while will be my favorite drama of all time, Proposal Daisakusen. I have so many reasons for this drama becoming my favorite, some of which only now do i realize but when the thought occurred to me, it made perfect sense.
First of all, quick summary of the drama in the case you don’t know or can’t be bothered to look earlier in my posts or on drama wiki. The basic storyline is one of second chances. We have a man who wakes up to hurry to the wedding of his best friend. The best friend he’s known his whole life. And the best friend that he is madly in love with. As he gives his congratulation speech and watches the slideshow, he starts to remember the events that are forever captured in the stills. He sees the sad face on his friend and begins to feel regret and guilt. The prevailing thought he keeps having is “if only i had made that frown a smile, if only i had made that memory a happy one, would i be the one there right now next to her?” He begins to feel intense regret, wishing for a second chance to make things right. And he is given that, a second chance to go back into the future with the time limit of whenever the picture was taken, after which he will be sent back to the present. And so with a second chance to make things right again, our main character quests on a journey to win back the girl he is convinced is the only one for her.
Nice story huh? I liked it alot as well. And from the beginning i felt it would be a simple story. Go back, change the past, win the girl. If it was that simple, i would have been content, given it a cute rating of maybe 7-8/10, and gone on with my life. Instead, i was shocked at what unfolded before my very eyes, and what ended up being my highest ranked drama out of all i’ve seen since.
One of my favorite kinds of plots are those like Densha Otoko, and Nobuta Wo Produce. Densha’s very nature is one of romance, Nobuta Wo Produce’s not so much. What ties these together and make them amazing was their decision to focus on character growth and make it a critical portion of their storyline. I personally thoroughly enjoy watching dramas and stories in which you watch the evolution of a character, a profound change, and by the end look back and think, “my how far (s)he has come”. And that was what i found in this show. I found the story of a man’s development. I said this in my actual first review of this, but the reason i would have given it a rating of 7-8/10 would have been that it would have been far too simple, and i wouldn’t have enjoyed it to the level i did. Instead, i watched what felt more real, a drama of a person who evolves from beginning to end. From a man that wishes, to a person that desperately desires. In the beginning, he merely wanted, by the end, it is clear he has decided he needs her, and no one else. There is the moment, which i feel is the defining moment of this entire series where he is given a chance to cut ties, forget her forever, and save himself from the agony he will feel when he returns. It is a time when it feels he is beyond saving, when it is now impossible for him to get her back, to just give up forever. Watching that moment, the moment as his tears begin to flow, is a moment i would never forget ever, and when you see the gravity of his decision, and you realize this is no simple matter to him. The moments like that dispersed through this drama are what hit it home for me and made me realize how much of a favorite this drama had become to me. As you looked back at the man of the beginning, you realize he wanted her but did not deserve her at all. he was just simply not ready to provide everything he thought he could or would be able to. Hence the reason for this story. This story became one of learning and growth as you followed him learning his shortcomings and slowly overcoming them. He first had to gain courage, the courage to go for it even when told not to. He had to gain prediction, the ability to understand her messages and signs. He had to make known his feelings, and make that first strand that has the potential to grow a connection and relationship. He had to gain the resolve, the resolve to continue and go for it despite everything else, the resolve to go after her and never give up. Finally, he had to gain what i feel, and still feel, is the most important thing in any relationship, and that is he had to remind her he was still and always would be there for her, and reminded her of all that they had gone through, and how they were friends. And so we watched a man who went, metaphorically speaking, from a sad little caterpillar who wished they could, undergo a metamorphosis and gain wings. I felt it every minute of every episode, and it hooked me enough to watch it till the end, all 11 hours of it in 1 day.
The story was not the only reason i loved this drama, the music helped greatly as well. The OST here was dramatic when needed, comedic at times to give some breathing room between the serious, and just wonderful to relax and listen to. Music was definately top notch. Chiisana Koi No Uta, haven’t heard? Change that now, song’s amazing, enough said.
However, there was a huge reason, the biggest one in fact, for why this became and has stayed my favorite for so long. And it is a reason i have just recently begun to realize was one. And that was because of my personal connection to this drama. I felt so attached to this drama, because of how much of myself i saw in the main character. Watching this man struggle through it all, i felt like i knew exactly what he was going through, how he was feeling. As i watched him wish for second chances, i remembered my own feelings of sadness and regret at the past. As i watched him struggle through hurdles and grow, it made me realize how much i too personally had to grow up. Stop being a selfish kid. It made me realize that selfishness and self-want ends the moment you decide on someone, and watching him made me realize how much he was willing to give for her, rather than thinking of what he wanted from her. Call me lame, call me old-fashioned, call me whatever, i learned so much from watching this drama. To the day i die, i would never forget this show, or that main character. And never will i forget what it helped me to gain, and how it helped me to grow up, even if it was just a little bit.
Through every episode, i thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. watching the rise and fall of a man. I say this each time, but every time i mean it, this is not a drama to be missed, in fact it would be even sadder if you never watched it.
-Aznanimedude
For placing the organized chaos that is my mind 