“Love is like online shopping, then? You can return the goods.” – quote from Ossan’s Love -Season 2

The natural tendency is to want to compare this to the first season of “Ossan’s Love” or the movie. I know the mind naturally gravitates towards the comparison. But once you get into this second season, within about 5 minutes, your mind will readjust itself and begin to process that you are watching something very distinct, very different, and very original. For those of you who have not seen season one, you do not need to watch that to appreciate this series. It is nothing like the first season, yet it does feel recognizable. Some faces are indeed familiar. Tanaka Kei reprises his role as the bumbling Haruta Soichi while Yoshida Kotaro also remains as Kurosawa Musashi. However, the setting is very different. Kurosawa Musashi is a Captain for the Kenku Peach Airlines and by sheer luck and a little bit of personal tenacity, Haruta becomes a CA (cabin assistant). Typical of Haruta, he is ‘late’ on his first day on the job. Yet his lateness is for a reason that envelops Haruta like an aura – his compassion. His overriding need, almost compulsion to help people above anything else. And his unwillingness to explain/defend himself as he knows it is futile. He is unequivocally late.

In a sense, this story is deeper than in season one. While still about Haruta, the story circumvents him to encompass more individuals around him and does so in a deeply, introspective, and immensely emotional fashion. To be sure, the keystone remains parallel to season one. The Captain, an older distinguished-looking man, falls in love with Haruta, a much younger and energetic man. Yet, in the end there is such a surprising twist that it caught me off guard. I honestly did not know what to make of it. Was it real or a profound cry out of a desperately lonely man? I cried at either prospect as Haruta, for the first time, truly seemed adrift.

There are, of course, others who fall in love with Haruta. One is Shino (Totsugi Shigeyki) who is a lead mechanic, and one of Haruta’s closest friends. While Haruta does try to ‘date’ Shino for the sake of their friendship, he in the end tells Shino he only likes him as a friend and cannot be in a romantic relationship with him. Shino’s backstory had me weeping almost uncontrollably. His reconciliation with his estranged young son, which in these kinds of series is handled only for affect, is so much more than that. We see Shino as a real personality and feel his pain much more acutely. Of all the characters in this series, we understand and see who Shino is, in all his strengths, and vulnerabilities, and understand his weaknesses. The exchange between his young son, his former wife, and himself, which is just one of many emotional interactions in this series, had me in tears. It is profoundly moving and astonishingly heartwarming.

However, who is deeply in love with Shino is the young co-pilot under the tutelage of the Captain, named Naruse Ryu (Chiba Yudai). He too has a fascinating and somewhat melancholic backstory that we are only privy to a part of. Just enough to understand what makes him so withdrawn, curt, and difficult. Yet, who comes to the rescue is none other than Haruta who helps breaks down those anger barriers and helps him begin to feel again. Unfortunately, in that process Haruta falls in love with him but like Haruta with Shino, he can only be friends with him and has the deepest regards for him as a special mentor and companion. While this crushes Haruta, true to his nature, he continues to help Naruse fight to win over the affection for Shino. All of that is both humorous and poignant and true to the core of the story.

Honestly, I am not doing this series justice in this description. I cannot even begin to describe its nuances and twists and turns. There are so many of them. The ‘sumo-wrestling’ scene, for example, to clear the air and make feelings open and exposed among all of them is just classic. It is cathartic as well as pure slapstick comedy with an astonishingly poignant essence. Again, I laughed and cried at the same time.

While Haruta is center, he is off stage quite a bit. The story gives the other characters a chance to shine and develop their own substories. We get to see them develop and frankly shine. We see, for example, Naruse goes from a withdrawn, bitter, anti-social obviously hurting individual to one opening up and being vulnerable, thanks mostly to Haruta. We also see other characters, almost all, growing because of their involvement with Haruta. Yet, in a very ironic sense, in this series, we see Haruta, mostly alone, unsure as always, and feeling perhaps jealous, and wayward. While crucial to people all around him, he seems unable to find an anchor for himself. In a sense, while certainly funny and comedic in nature, I found the story of Haruta quite sad. All the other characters become deeply insightful about themselves except for Haruta himself. Somehow, he still seems ‘lost’. Still flawed, still clumsy in trying to convey his true feelings, he remains straightforward, honest, and principled. But alone.

This series is nearly flawless. Nearly. The exception is the editing. It is choppy and sometimes went abruptly from scene to scene and frequently without adequate or no appropriate closure from the last one. I found the story hard to follow at times. The transitions were way too quick. However, the acting is simply outstanding by all. The screenplay is exceptional. The story is funny, witty, poignant, and so charming. It tugs at your heartstrings with a tremendous pull so much so that I honestly cried more in this one than I laughed. It is deep, melancholic at times, but never maudlin. It presents life with a certain degree of aphorism.

Japanese series have a way of making you experience the scenes not as a passive observer but almost as a member of the entourage. I was not watching this BL; I was living it with them. I felt everything they did. When Haruta cried, I cried. When Hina falls for Haruta and tries to date him, she turns his strength into a weakness, and I understood what she meant. “I like the gentler side of you but with this kindness [by agreeing to go out on a date with her], I’ve been hurt.” When Naruse needed comforting after losing his father, it was understood who would be there to comfort him. There is example after example of this kind of touching the heart that makes you feel this series on a deeper more gut-wrenching level, thus giving it a more powerful impact on you as a whole.
This is effulgent and, along with the previous “Ossan’s Love” productions, are worthy of our reverence. This is a jewel of virtuosity and therefore I would consider it a ‘Masterpiece’. They may be archival but should not be forgotten.

Treat yourself to pure joy!

Rating- 5 out of 5

Streaming on- Gagaoolala