BLOG 2: LOVE COMPLEX!

Bungus, my friend James, and I began watching a Japanese drama called "Love Complex" (2000) a few weeks ago! 

I initially used it as an excuse to watch a show instead of doing homework (we joked that I was watching it to improve my Japanese), but jokes aside, watching media is a great way to learn a language! We are about three episodes in (as you can probably tell, I've procrastinated watching it, too). 

Caption: Me, Bungus, and James, the "Love Complex" lovers 

The first episode is called "The Final Act" and literally opens with the last scene of the show, which features one of the main characters falling out of a building. Every subsequent scene is equally disorienting. We learn that someone at Wonder Electronics has been embezzling company money, and two men by the name of Shinyoji and Ryuzaki are tasked with finding the culprit. The twist? It could be any one of the seven *beautiful* secretaries. 

It's a very strange show---you can never really get bored watching it. The editing is so weird---out of place music, random speed-ups and slow downs, B-rolls that make no sense, repeated scenes. Every character is quirky. 

And despite how silly it is, the show does a good job of exploring the effects of patriarchy in the corporate world (if you want to read into it that much). While Shinyoki and Riyazaki scramble to find the culprit, the seven girl-boss secretaries band together and disorient them in every way possible. 

There's a really good video essay on the show if you want to watch it---shoot me a message and I'll send the link! It got me interested! 

I watched the show on Internet archives. A crazy fan decided to sub-title the entire show and upload it for preservation! Here's the thread I found it on: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ObscureMedia/comments/vnzue4/love_complex_2000_my_fansub_of_this_bizarre/