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Drama / Kocchi Muite yo Mukai-kun /
Kocchi Muite yo Mukai-kun (2023)
OverviewMediaEpisodesReviewsNewsOshi Spots
| Country | Japan |
| Season Year | Summer 2023 |
| Air Dates | Jul 12, 2023 – Sep 13, 2023 |
| Episodes | 10 |
| Runtime | 60 |
| Timeslot | Wednesday at 10:00 pm |
| Network(s) | NTV |
| Official Site | |
| Licensed | No |
Native Title こっち向いてよ向井くん
English Title Turn to Me Mukai-kun
Synopsis
33-year-old office employee Mukai Satoru has been single for 10 years now, but still has a lingering attachment to his previous ex-girlfriend Miwako. After noticing others around him in serious relationships, he wishes to get back into the dating scene, but despite his best efforts finds himself struggling to attempt a romantic relationship with anyone.
Cast
- Akaso Eiji as Mukai Satoru
- Lead Role
- Ikuta Erika as Todo Miwako
- Support Role
- Fujiwara Sakura as Takeda Mami
- Support Role
- Satoru's Sister
- Okayama Amane as Takeda Genki
- Support Role
- Mami's Husband
- Haru (1991) as Sakaido Kouki
- Support Role
- Ichihara Hayato as Kanda Kazuya
- Support Role
- Zaizen Naomi as Mukai Kimiko
- Support Role
- Mother of Satoru and Mami
- Moriwaki Kenji as Kuroda Kenichi
- Support Role
- Naito Shuichiro as Kasai Shota
- Support Role
- Uechi Haruna as Hirose Kaori
- Support Role
- Iwai Kenshiro as Tozaki Yoshihito
- Support Role
- Wakabayashi Jiei as Fukamachi Takuya
- Support Role
- Hoshi Moeka as Fukuda Mei
- Support Role
- Regular Customer at "Paireo"
- Episode(s): 4, 5, 6, 7
- Tanabe Momoko as Nakatani Mayu
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 1
- Kumada Rinka as Hatori Ann
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 2
- Nakashima Moeko as Tanaka Sari
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 2
- Kuriyama Hideyoshi
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 2
- Azuma Hikari
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 2
- Oho Sayoko as Colleague
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 2, 3
- Fujima Sawako as Hara Chika
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 3
- Kase Nobuyuki as Realtor
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 3
- Irie Jingi as Murata Tsuyoshi
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 3
- First Summer Uika as First Summer Uika
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 3
- Okubo Kayoko as Okubo Kayoko
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 3
- Nomura Masumi as Sugi-san
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 4, 5, 6, 7
- Ogata Takahiro
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 4
- Toyama Toshiya as Todo Wataru
- Guest Role
- Miwako's father
- Episode(s): 6, 7
- Mitsuishi Ken as Mukai Takashi
- Guest Role
- Satoru and Mami's father
- Episode(s): 7
- Fukushige Mari as Piano Performer
- Guest Role
- Episode(s): 10
Crew
- Watanabe Mako
- Screenwriter
- Kusano Shogo
- Director
- Shigeyama Yoshinori
- Director
- Nemu Yoko
- Original Creator
- Fukushige Mari
- Composer
Music
Theme Song 3
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Promotional images, screencaps, .gifs, etc.
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Episode 1 - July 12, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 守るって何…？
Episode 2 - July 19, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 10年、キスもしてないの？してあげよっか？
- Notes:
- [spoiler][/spoiler]
Episode 3 - July 26, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 私と、結婚に向かってみるってどうでしょう？
Episode 4 - August 2, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 大人の恋愛って…何？
Episode 5 - August 9, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 10年前の元カレなんて、ただの他人…？
Episode 6 - August 17, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 俺って美和子の何…?
Episode 7 - August 23, 2023 (51)
- Native Title: 私たちは、なんで10年前に別れたんだと思う？
- Synopsis:
Alternative title: 終わりにしよう
Episode 8 - August 30, 2023 (51)
- English Title: When does love expire?
- Native Title: 恋愛の賞味期限って…いつ？
- Synopsis:
Alternative Title: The Parfait Philosophy
Episode 9 - September 6, 2023 (51)
- English Title: Is it ok to just want to be together?
- Native Title: ただ一緒にいたいと思うだけじゃ…ダメ?
- Synopsis:
Alternative Title: 虹 (Rainbow)
Episode 10 - September 13, 2023 (51)
- English Title: What is happiness?
- Native Title: 幸せって…何？
- Synopsis:
Alternative Title: Meeting you where you are.
- Notes:
- Director Kusano Shogo shared on his Twitter (@KusanoKid) that he was inspired by movies such as When Harry Met Sally, Before Sunset, and classics such as Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. He picked Before Sunset for episode 10 as he felt that episode 8 was his Before Sunrise. You can see Kusano's use of green and grey/beige as the thematic colours for the core scene as Kouki and Mukai wait hours to meet Gondo. Note the deliberate use of green traffic cones, and green wardrobe of the extras in the screenshots below.
- Might this be an Easter egg from Director Kusano? The claw machine that Kouki and Mukai are playing at the arcade is called 'Adores.' Refer to screenshot included, this starts at 22'12". This is surely not a coincidence, and with Kouki on the left, and Mukai on the right, it's telling you this is not some one-sided thing from Mukai.
- The man appearing at 36'18" playing a TV show host is the comedian and radio show host Panther Mukai. Panther Mukai's stories were the inspiration for the manga Kocchi Muite yo Mukai-kun by nemuyoku. In a radio segment after the finale, Panther Mukai reveals that the line where Mukai-kun asks if the host is Panther Mukai, was ad-libbed by actor Akaso Eiji. Panther Mukai was otherwise going to be playing an un-named TV show host.
- The name of the graphic designer Gondo, is a homage to Waiting for Godot. Director Kusano shares that he gave the non-speaking role of Gondo (at 37'26") to Arakawa-san, a well known set designer who has worked on many famous dramas.
- The lines Mukai says as he emerges from the train station (40'33") mirror that of episode 1 (44'46"). In episode 1, he ends those lines with acknowledging that he has never really thought about what kind of life he wanted. In episode 10, he realises that Kouki is the one. These repeated lines and scenes really bookend the show and remind you of where Mukai was when this all started, and how he's progressed by the end.
- In the final confession scene between Kouki and Mukai, Mukai says to her "俺は坂井戸さんと向き合いたい” "Ore wa Sakaido-san to muki aitai" (45'06") - he uses the verb 向き合う (muki au - to face someone), a departure from the traditional 付き合う(tsuki au - to date someone) used in jdramas. I've translated 向き合う in the scene, as to meet someone where they are, versus the more literal to face someone, so to better convey the meaning of what Mukai says to Kouki in that scene. Meeting someone where they are means bridging the gap between your own expectations and where the other person is coming from. It means intentionally listening to understand their values, needs, desires, etc. This show has threaded Mukai's growth journey with each passing episode, and this final confession scene encapsulates where he was in episode 1 vs 10, and he doesn't see Kouki just as someone he wants to date, but as someone he sees as a partner in his continuing life journey.
- Screenshots:
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11 Reviews for Kocchi Muite yo Mukai-kun
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