To marry the 10-billion-yen heiress has been Eight’s goal from episode 1, the road to which has been a less turbulent one since Kazuma was out of the picture… until another opposition appears to block his attempts, that is Takauji. Hence the beginning of the love triangle… between Eight, Takauji, and Namiki Group. Heh
The last one should’ve been Mikoto, huh? Well, both men are competing to win her heart, indeed, but the ultimate target is the top spot at the company, with her being the stepping stone to reach the finish line. Takauji had nothing against Eight, initially, but the enmity between them intensifies when he realizes Eight is after Mikoto, or rather the fortune, whom/which he later on decides he desires too.
At this stage, i question his feelings or sincerity toward his not-sister given his transformation from a patient and caring brother to a self-serving and scheming suitor. How much of it is influenced by his uncle’s threat is unknown, but he goes deep into the villainy territory to secure the position, even if it means murder, on own accord. I still don’t get why he needs to go to extremes to keep the truth under wraps when it’s essentially an accident. Yes, it was a traumatic event that took Eight’s brother Kouta’s life (any other casualty wasn’t mentioned) but it couldn’t be that huge of a deal since he was still a kid and it was undeliberate — except for the fact that it was covered up and Eight’s dad was made the scapegoat. But yeah, that’s the drama’s main conflict, which also spurred Takauji’s switch. He’s now in the same boat as Eight that i cannot tell who’s sleazier.
As predicted, Eight jumps back a week again to intercept Takauji’s grand plan to rise to power, but as he will soon learn, some things are unchangeable even with a time leap. Mikoto’s dad survives in the original timeline, but even if Eight comes in time to alert the doctor and nurses, he still passes the second time around. The wedding between the once-siblings is thus still under way. So Eight is searching for another thing to bring his rival down, which brings him to the certain tape thanks to Hasebe (Hayato Sano). He’s one of the other characters whose role was unclear if not for this turn. His scenes are increased considerably in these two episodes, serving as the reluctant ‘informant’ and dying because of that. Like Mikoto’s dad, he’s probably bound to die, but Eight refuses to let that happen and leaps back numerous times to prevent his death.
Six episodes and countless kisses later, there is barely any setback or loophole to time-turning and life-manipulating Eight does. Until Harumi ominously warns Saiko that repeated do-overs could backfire. We still have yet to learn about his identity or even name (i got his character’s name from the official page), much less why he seems so knowledgeable about this whole time-leap business and Saiko when she doesn’t know him, but he’s been telling only the truth so far, including the possible fallouts. ‘Cause soon after he said so, the amiable partnership between the time leapers turns bitter following the disclosure of their connection dated back to the cruise incident, Eight becomes the victim in his rescue-Hasebe mission, and her kisses don’t work this time.
Again, i’m not concerned about this twist because of the superpower. It may only work when both parties are conscious, and while i doubt that Eight died — even if he indeed did — he could still be saved if Saiko turned back time in the next seven days. Like, the deadly kiss works on anybody so she can just kiss somebody else, right? If that happens, it’ll be interesting to note which memory version Eight retains. If that happens, that means they will be preventing Takauji from becoming a murderer, twice. They’re like saving him from himself. I’m not sure he’ll ever revert back to his old self but i gotta admit that Macken acts better as a bad guy than a good guy.
Another niggling bit i have is on The Namikis’ upbringing. They refuse to let Takauji be the group’s successor following Mikoto’s birth but they don’t prepare her to lead the company and simply depend on her future-husband to do so, who can be anyone, even Takauji himself. It’s funny that neither her or her mom questions his motive or shows any kind of qualms regarding his sudden proposal. I could understand if Mikoto’s heart is still on him, but she has moved on to Eight by then. It’s certainly a business marriage, but it’s still somewhat incest, no? Regardless, it just doesn’t feel right and the lack of objection makes it even weirder.
Or, they should’ve at least groomed her to be a sensible and savvy lady, because now, she is nothing but a sheltered heiress who barely knows anything about the company or critically-thinks for herself and hence easily ping-ponged between the men’s schemes. Like, she easily buys everything they say and doesn’t even bother to check the facts for herself. The characterizations in this drama aren’t that complex or interesting, but i just wish Mikoto were a lot less naive and a lot more independent. She remains as bland as she was at the start, and i don’t think that’s gonna change.
I still feel that the plot runs in circles with these repeated do-overs even if we’re getting some kind of development with each repeat. Because timeline-wise, it’s barely moving forward. Like, they have figured that the past isn’t always changeable and the future can change if they move forward, so i hope they would depend less on the kiss and make more effort in the present. (Or at least spend less time on the jerky kisses, Show; it gets really uncomfortable to watch. We know how it’s done, just skip that part already!) Because the time loops take away the emotions and built-up tension. Saiko and her grandma plot point, for example: it was sad the first time and sweet the second time, but because of the third loop, the last we saw of her was a comical one. It eventually detaches me from the narrative and the characters. I’m not liking anyone.
As for the growing relationship between the time leapers, i wrote that i enjoyed it but even after six episodes, it feels very one-sided. The contract is never established or followed through, because Eight continues to steal Saiko’s lips without her full consent and never grants her wish as per his promise. He was abusing her superpower but it feels even more so now, even with the so-called contract, as only he benefits from it while she is forced to relive the past week as a result. We’re following the story from his POV so we never know what kind of life she lives or her feelings toward being essentially taken advantaged of. I’m disappointed that she’s a mere plot device for Eight. That’s why the tunnel kiss is probably my favorite because it’s finally mutual, for once. She not only willingly offers to travel back in time with him so he can save his mom but she also agrees to help him complete his mission. And his eyes before the kiss were full of gratefulness. How i wish we got more of such moments.
.BeansSpilled. 