Published 2026-01-25
tag(s): #random-thoughts #film-tv
The wife is on a trip, so it's been only kiddo and me for a few days. One night I sat down to
watch a few episodes on Netflix, and got caught up with almost everything I had pending. On
the recommendations thing that pops up when you are done with a show, I got Stranger Things
(we watched it on my wife's profile), Rayearth (I re-watched
it somewhat
recently on another service), and Witchwatch.
Now, I had seen mentions of the Witchwatch manga before, and thought it would be to my tastes.
Comedy plus romance? Right up my alley. But I never got started reading the comic, the anime
was one button away, I gave it a chance.
It took me a short time to finish it. So I was sleepy most of the week 👀 but totally worth
it. It was funny, yep. But also, ahhh the romance. That's what really kept me hooked. And the
next recommendation, was something I had added to my list a while ago, a show called "The
Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity".
The name is weird, really. I am sure that there's something about the kanjis for flower and
dignity that make this a poetic metaphor (or a pun) to "he is tall and she is short"
or something like that.
And the show was....ehhh. It wasn't bad. Or was it?
You know how they say in movies and TV you have to show, not tell? Well, in this
thing every single character told their backstory and explained their thoughts with
annoying detail. Two or three scenes in a row of just inner monologue.
Also something that definitely is an anime trope, everyone apologized excessively
about perceived mistakes they made, and their reasoning for being in the wrong were just
bizarre. This was semi-justified as a character trait for just one of them, in the rest it
made so little sense. It was almost annoying.
Also, when you are over 40, having "high school rivalries" as a major plot point,
doesn't quite land. Well, that's maybe on me, for watching shows about teenagers. :)
Yet, I devoured the 13 episodes. In about half of them, I had a stupid smile in my face for way longer than it would make sense to do. My cheeks hurt from grinning so much. Which takes us to the original title of this post.
All they needed to keep me hooked was advance the main romance about half a
millimeter.[2] Is she blushing a bit more? Is he realizing that he is
happy when she smiles? BOOM, I am pushing that "next episode" button before the credits
begin to roll, and smiling like an idiot.
Why is that? The simple answer is: I am sucker for love stories. And this one wasn't a
particularly good one, but I just couldn't help get to the end to see if they get together.
Actually, that's silly, we all knew from the first episode that they would end up together.
And yet I still watched, I needed to see it happen.
Okay, that's was anime. It's different in live action TV shows, or movies. Or is it?
There's a lot of TV series where the will they, won't they thing keeps you hooked even if you
know they will end up together (first one that came to mind is "The Nanny", but there
are countless newer, and older, examples).
And we all know the movie rom-com formula: they meet, there's some hurdle (class differences?
clashing personalities? some kind of misunderstanding? [3]), but "real
love" always wins in the end. And yet those movies (thankfully, hehehe) still exist. Some
have a slight twist about them, like "Definitely, maybe". Some make the romance
secondary to the comedy, or to the growth of one of the characters in particular, like
"About a boy".
Some add fantastic elements, or go into raunchy territory ("Anyone but you") but the
basic formula is still there.
I did put "real love" in quotes up there, because I've been married for over 10 years
by now. I've learned that a relationship takes work.
I know that some days your partner is just insufferable, or annoying. I've had to make my fair
share of apologies for having those behaviours myself. When someone has to put up with you
daily, they eventually see it all, no matter how much you try to hide it. A lot of love is
vulnerability.
There's days when things are just off, and the wavelengths don't match at all. And there are
many amazing days where I cannot imagine my life without her.
And then, there's most days. Most days are the same as most days. But a little
something in the familiarity of what we have built together makes them good. I can't deny that
I've found the most enduring love in the mundane little things that can happen at any moment.
Not the big gestures (although those still happen), but the small and consistent ones.
Nothing of what I said is on display in most of these movies. Probably in none of them. They
are really about the (very real) thrill of just falling in love. Which makes sense, we all
fall in love.[4], so they are relatable.
But even at that they are, sometimes, really dubious.
My mom and I are huge "Sleepless in Seattle" fans. Famously, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks
share like 2 scenes together. She leaves her boyfriend (or fiancee? it's been a while) behind
to go meet this guy that for all she knows, could have stabbed his wife to death.
The boyfriend did nothing wrong, if anything, they try really hard to paint him as boring
because otherwise he seems like a great dude. Even when she is leaving on this crazy plan, he
is very understanding. I mean, she is leaving the future President of the United States for a
voice on a radio show!!!
"While you were sleeping", another common fixture of late 90s cable? Tricking the
entire family.
"Notting Hill", with the contrived ending about their misunderstanding, and the
press conference scene.
I am a fan of "Love Actually", and even before the internet did their best to ruin it,
I could see that some of the stories were...questionable . (If you like the movie, and silly
comedy, you should watch this Tiny Idea
skit).
More recently, the last season of Bridgerton? With him traveling the world, and getting laid
in every port, while she was a chaste lady patiently waiting for him? I hated that.
But no matter how far fetched the situations, how contrived the plot devices that separate or
unite the couple to the whims of the script, I can't help loving these stories.
The excitement of the first few dates or encounters, the snappy dialogue, the happy endings.
When the story is good, just them holding hands and getting into an elevator makes
you know they had a happy life together.
We all know how these end. Like when the magician asks your to pick a card, and you know he
will pull it out of someplace by the end of the act. But just like the magician, how
they put the story together, how they sell it to you, can make all the difference in the
world.
And I figure the same can be said about action movies. Which I also like a lot...but.
There's something special about love stories that just GETS to me. And I tried for a lot of words to get to the WHY, and this post is huge, and I really can't explain it. I bet someone wrote about why like them we like by know, which means I should have done some research before writing this. =P
All I know is that now I want to re-watch everything I mentioned in this post, and feel happy
and cozy vibes.
The same I felt every time Kaoruko and Rintaro shared a scene...