Tuesday 28 November 2017

OH MY GOD, Why is There a Season 2 of Good Morning Call?

So I go onto Netflix, not expecting anything new, and what do I find? Good Morning Call has a season two. GOOD MORNING CALL. *screams into a pillow* What the fuck did this show do to deserve a second season? I'm gonna rant for a while. It may be amusing, it may not. Feel free to read if you want to.

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Mao decides when she starts high school that she wants a place of her own, but in a real estate scam, ends up sharing her apartment with a boy who attends her school. They find splitting rent more convenient for them, so they just decide to swing with it. But their cohabitation will become an issue in their school lives and their love lives too, due to Mao's blossoming feelings for him. 

Image result for itazura na kiss love in tokyoMy main issue with this show is crystal clear - this drama is a clone of Itazura na Kiss. For anyone who somehow hasn't seen it, it's a show about how a girl and a boy's families end up living together. He's a snotty prick, and she's dumb as a brick. I, obviously, didn't like it much, but the manga turned anime turned drama is considered pretty popular.
  For anyone who's seen Good Morning Call, this will sound pretty damn familiar. The similarities between this and that are too numerous too be ignored. The dynamic between the leads is identical - she falls first, constantly doubts him, he turns it around with some abrupt romantic gesture, and the rest of time he ignores her. 
  Not to mention the fact the second leads are thrown into the story like road-blocks whenever it's convenient. This applies for both shows - clearly, the only way to establish conflict in a romance story is to give the leads about a thousand (often better) romantic options. And yet, we're never worried - in fact, we're amused, because we know that no matter how ridiculous it gets, it'll be happily resolved at the drop of a hat.
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  Plus, there's the progression of the story - was it bad enough that a season 2 of such a cliched and pointless story is here? Clearly not, since it also totally mirrors how the plot progresses for season 2 of Itazura na Kiss. Sure, these two aren't married, but migrating to a campus setting makes us think they've grown up a little bit. But, ha, no. After one episode, I can confirm that the formula of the show hasn't changed one bit - we fight, we break up, we kiss, we make up. The characters may be a little different, and yet the show hasn't seemed the change at all. 
  I'm making my bets now - Mao will doubt Uehara's feelings, Uehara will get jealous and distant when Mao makes guy friends, guy friends will inevitably fall in love with the irresistible Mao, and that'll spur Uehara to reel her back in. Hey, maybe there will even be marriage at the end of this season. 
  What really pisses me off though isn't the lazy writing, the lackluster acting, or the boring and conventional romance - it's that Itazura na Kiss did all these things, but at least it had some heart! I can't speak for the original manga of Good Morning Call, by the way, since I haven't read it and I'm not sure how faithful an adaptation the drama is, but still. The writer of Itazura na Kiss, who sadly never got to finish her most popular work as she died before she could, at least cared about her characters. I may hate it, but it was original back then, and important to her. 
  Good Morning Call is what happens what a team picks up popular (and sometimes dated) romantic tropes and throws them all together in a cauldron. It's not awful, but it's nothing new either. They didn't have a story to tell, so tell me, why the fuck did they get away with it? How did this become popular enough to warrant a season 2? They've proved that riding off Itazura na Kiss's coattails works! How sick is that?!
  And am I going to watch this idiotic show anyway? Yes I am. *sigh*

(I think this is the longest post I've ever written - and it was fuelled by blind rage.)

1 comment:

  1. OMG I HAVE TO SEARCH IF IT CAME FROM THE SAME MANGA CUZ I COULD'VE SWORE IT IS ALMOST THE SAME. I'VE WATCHED ITAZURA NA KISS (ALL VERSIONS) AND I ENJOYED IT. I KINDA ENJOY THIS SHOW AS WELL BUT IT'S TOO MUCH OF A CLONE OF ITAZURA NA KISS THAT I JUST CAN'T IGNORE WTHHHHHHHH HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THISSSS

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