“Soon we only started to see each other’s flaws. I was so afraid of destroying the relationship we had built…..Even if I die, I want to be with you.” – quotes from Ossan’s Love

This story is a classic one as it reflects an age-old tale of a ‘mid-life’ crisis. While season one is 5 years and the sequel movie is 4 years ago, both ‘hold up’ today as being relevant, funny, and still charming. Beyond that, both are wondrously entertaining. My husband, by all accounts, is a movie buff, and when it comes to watching movies, he calls me an ‘old curmudgeon’. For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it means someone who is a faulter, grumpy, and a whiner, especially about comedies. They never hold my interest for very long. I proved him wrong not just with “Love or Dead” but with season one as well. It is funny. Very funny – throughout. And it completely held my attention. That is hard to do. To sustain a level of humor and constantly recreating realities that are funny is not easy to do, but this series and movie does so with great skill. The comedic timing is sheer perfection, and the physical comedy is outstanding especially for Tanaka Kei as Haruta Sochi. Many others also displayed great comedic timing as well. That is a reflection not only of good acting talent but also of exemplary directing.

Simply, the entire series centers around the love life of Haruta Sochi. He is a love magnet of ginormous proportions. And throughout, never ever realizes it. This unassuming 30-something-year-old man works in the sales department of a real estate company and his Chief, an older very distinguished-looking gentleman named Kurosawa Musashi (Yoshida Kotaro) has had a secret crush on Haruta for a long time. The problem is he is married to a regal and beautiful woman named Kurosawa Choko (Ohtsuka Nena). So begins a rather amusing but at times also poignant and life-changing human drama adventure. Not just for the Chief and Haruta but also for the myriad of others who fall in love with Haruta and for all those who surround Haruta.

While Haruta thinks he is ‘straight’, we witness a different journey of self-discovery for him when he asks a coworker to come live with him named Maki Ryota (Hayashi Kento). Almost immediately, Maki falls in love with Haruta as well, despite Haruta being the opposite of him. Somehow, Maki is drawn to him and while not necessarily evident, which makes it so much more intriguing, so is Haruta. In essence, we see them grow to love each other in a quiet, then not so quiet fashion; reflective, then disregarding ways. Oxymoron? For sure. Yet, so real, genuine, human, and damn relatable. That is why the quote above makes so much sense.

Everyone here is a winner! There is not one bad performance throughout. While there are obviously strong lead performers for the duration, the supporting cast each has his/her moments that shine. The synergy of the ensemble in the series and movie is a sight to behold. They seem to feed off each other and it works masterfully. For example, in the movie there is a sauna scene when the men are all in there, mostly fighting over or for Haruta. I was howling with laughter. Some of it bordered on slapstick. If there were ‘out takes’ to that scene, I would love to have seen them as what was shown was hysterical. Then when the announcement came that the sauna was closing, they calmly and adeptly walked out as if they were all just leaving a business meeting. Perhaps that was the funniest skit of all. While I do not know Japanese culture or customs well, but if that is remotely how the Japanese handle conflict afterwards, they are masterful. I can guarantee you that in the United States, that would not have happened. I for one appreciated it even more than a parody.

Both the series and movie have their slow moments, but they are few and far between. Most of it is filled with quirky side stories or odd off-the-cuff romances that are unexpected but so wonderfully portrayed and made believable, especially with the former Chief’s wife and a younger coworker of his. There are also some bittersweet moments that happen to some of the characters, and several have some profoundly sad experiences in their backstories. I wept openly and for good reasons.

Overall, the series and movie play with emotions. Just when you think dense-headed Haruta gets it, he does not. He is exasperating. Dim-witted at times. A slob most of the time as well. Yet charming, caring, passionate about people, and above all, honest, with integrity and trustworthiness. Perhaps that is what made him ‘sexy’ and attractive to others. However, he never fully senses his own strengths or sees himself as others do.

There is so much more to this series and movie than what I am describing. Throughout, there are subplots, twists and turns, and ups and downs especially in the relationship between Haruta and Maki. Somehow in some way, you just knew and felt it would all be ‘ok’. Near the end, Haruta lists off a litany of sometimes humorously yet profoundly moving reasons why he wants to be with Maki for the rest of his life. When he goes into his soliloquy of streaming his reasons why Maki is the love of his love and wants to be with him until death no matter what the dire consequence of getting old together are, it is one of the finest, unfeigned, and noblest outpouring of reasons I have ever heard. I guarantee you will never hear anything so beautiful, yet comical, confession of love ever again. It is remarkable. That entire scene had me laughing and crying at the same time.

This series and movie are, steadfastly, a humorous reflection of life, in all its quirkiness. It is so entertaining. The screenplay is one of the finest I have ever seen. Acting is top-notch. Literally everything works here. I sat down and ‘binged watched’ this. It made me mostly laugh; it also made me cry in a lot in places. Weirdly, it made me think about my own struggles with my love life, and it helped me to see my attempts were like Haruta and others. The writers capture in vivid detail the tribulations, be they gay or straight, of finding love and defining it in not so clear terms. What this series and movie did, was undoubtedly show that love has nothing to do with age, or gender, or weight, or beauty, or career, or any other myriad of excuses to dismiss the affection of another. It all had to do with whether the connection was there in the first place, perhaps not yet defined or clear, but with a desire to see the bond grow and nurture with that individual until the day you die. Idealistic? Perhaps. Yet, that is the true nature of a relationship – any relationship. “Ossan’s Love” shows that through entertainment, humor, poignancy, and authenticity.

As a side note, there is a “Pilot” episode that was done in 2016 with some of the same performers in it that later went on to make the series. It mirrored a lot of the plot in the series, and it was fun to watch. While not a prequel, it will essentially set up the premise. I found it to be amusing and entertaining as well. Its humor is also stellar. This is an exceptional series and movie, and I would highly recommend you take the time to see this ‘oldie’ if you want to be thoroughly entertained. There is nothing pretentious about this series or movie. I would consider them all to be BL classics.

Rating- 5 out of 5

Streaming on- Gagaoolala