Drama Digest
Kakenai!?: Kyakuhonka Yoshimaru Keisuke no Sujigaki no Nai Seikatsu or Can’t Write!? Screenwriter Keisuke Yoshimaru’s Life Without is a Japanese drama about Keisuke Yoshimaru who always wanted to become a screenwriter but fails to do so even after taking part in multiple contests. Out of disappointment, he stops trying to write and joins a real estate company. Here he meets Nami, a single mother who works at a bookstore.
Later, Nami becomes a best-selling writer, and Keisuke wins a screen-writing competition and leaves his job at the real estate company. As he doesn’t have any projects to work on, he is currently taking care of the housework and his kids. Suddenly, he is given a job as a screenwriter for a prime-time drama because the main writer of the drama quits. Nami is at first apprehensive about him taking on the role but soon starts supporting him because she sees how hard he is working for it.
The Feel-Good Part
This show is very over the top, as is the storyline, perfect to chase away the blues, whenever they hit you. It is very light, with nothing that makes its cloudy sort of fun feel down at any given time. The show argues that media has become well-polished at the cost of being predictable and encourages uniqueness and creativity, even if it means that the work will not look quite as polished as it should.
The show has multiple subplots, dealing with jealousy over your spouse’s success, writer’s block, anxiety, and low self-esteem. The series normalizes women being the main provider of the family which is, honestly, always a plus in my book.
The Disappointing Factor
As the show progresses, it definitely loses its light-hearted feel, as the themes become deeper and deeper in their meaning to the point that it feels awkward to laugh at jokes by the end of it. You will have to push through the force of the first episode. It was filmed in “one take” fashion and is a bit awkward to watch. It also does not have a high rewatch value, with episodes better as part of a binge session instead of going at it in an episodic manner.
In-Depth Analysis
Though the series is a comedy, it is also a drama. It is brilliant at both clashing aspects, but it is totally up to the person watching on how they feel about these elements. Some things are rather fun, such as the toddler’s perspective on how annoying adults are. Cinematography is done brilliantly. You can tell what kind of person someone is by the things that surround them at any given time.
Star Power
All characters have played really well, though they could have been better developed had the drama been longer. Either way, none of the cast feels like an afterthought and all of them have a place in the drama.
Overall Opinion
A family comedy that is fun for the whole family is definitely going to keep you entertained. Best watched while being binge to better show-off the performance and relationships between the characters.
