Let’s Get Divorced Review: (離婚しようよ) The brand new Japanese addition starring Riisa Naka and Tori Matsuzaka in the lead roles is an entertaining watch that runs for 9 episodes, each one of them having a duration of 57-68 minutes. Directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakagami and co-written by Kankuro Kudo and Shizuka Oishi, the Netflix original series is a full-fledged romantic comedy that also stars Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto, Arata Furata, Reiko Takashima and others.
Turning the usual initiating trope of rom-coms that welcomes the leading couple’s meet-cute and the subsequent unfolding of their romantic saga, Let’s Get Divorced Netflix series switches the pace around love stories. The pair in question is instead too desperate to part ways from each other, but fate never complies, and keeps conspiring against them at every turn.
Let’s Get Divorced Review Does Not Contain Spoilers
Let’s Get Divorced Review: Discussion
When you’re a public figure in a relationship, the partnership between you and your significant other is equally possessed (or even more so in some cases) by the general public and the people around you. So, is the said relationship even yours to claim anymore?
The basic premise driving this series is that a “power couple” caught in the public eye appears to be the definition of perfection, with both of them appearing as dutiful spouses for the other, but the behind the scenes scenario is quite different at home. Although (Riisa Naka) Yui Kurosawa, a famed actress whose reputation rides on her “perfect wife” persona, and (Tori Matsuzaka) Taishi Shoji, a third-generation politician who’s been “half-assing” his work and heavily relying on his wife’s image to gain attention, initially did believe that their love and eventual marriage would help attain the imagined “happy-ever-after” fairytale ending, their subsequent marriage gives them a reality check.
Yet once this harsh and true picture of marriage slaps them hard, they can’t do anything but tag along for the ride because everyone around them advises them otherwise despite them pining for separation. With both of their reputations staying afloat due to their marital status one way or another, taking the plunge becomes even harder than anticipated.
The series wins you over with the way the leading couple’s public relationship is dealt with. Riisa Naka and Tori Matsuzaka, and their electrifying and chaotic chemistry are the brightest highlights. Together, this combination works up to to bring out an ambiguous relationship that leaves you in splits whenever they discuss their divorce matters, but also encourages you to root for them to get back together in the end. In some ways, the eventual path taken by the series is predictable, but it again interweaves some twists. Therefore, the journey stays fresh and engaging throughout.
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Through their marital issues, we also get an insight into these characters’ individual identities, vulnerabilities and insecurities, which further ascribe them with realistic human qualities. Other than the main pair, some supporting characters appear as caricatures, but here, we can credit the show’s writing flair for being aware of it and making their characterisations chucklesome-worthy. Similarly, most of the charade put on in the show is for comic relief, but the bursts of genuine energy here and there peel back a layer of the main characters to reveal a heartwarming foundation.
What surfaces as a somewhat problematic aspect of the show is that it stretches out its duration a bit too much. Several subplots are incorporated into the string of events, and though, they don’t particularly distract us from the main attraction, their involvement results in a greater number of episodes, which could’ve otherwise also been cut down to make way for a movie, or at least a shorter series.
Without offering any serious commentary on marriage and its associated themes, the Let’s Get Divorced Japanese series brings out a comical journey that hints at problematic areas, while also highlighting that in most marriages, the conversation doesn’t end with the either-or divide, especially when both individuals are equally flawed.
Let’s Get Divorced: Final Thoughts
In the end, the series makes for an engrossing storyline that probes into the ambiguity that governs many relationships, especially when they’re to be performed in the public eye and the supposedly famed individuals end up as puppets in the hand of the audience and their respective management teams. Moreover, the direction is also visually appealing, especially when the action shifts to Ehime in Japan, offering us many picturesque getaways, supported by an equally warming background score, which also often musically portrayed the hilarity of the situations when needed.
All 9 episodes of the J-drama series are now streaming on Netflix.
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