still, i think the show, if it can endure the bad taste it has left in the fandom’s mouth, will do some neat, albeit non-manga-related things with these characters. as i previously rambled about, there is potential for night/riko chemistry in the future. it will just happen slower, in a way that makes the most sense in context of the drama where riko can actually hold her own. this appeals more to me than the manga version, i guess.

what bothers me most about the show is its fixation on baked goods. i’m considering making a spin-off series called “absolute cream puff.” man.

it’s easy to write mika’s character off as a bitch/slut/man-stealing-whore etc. but recall the scene where she has just exited the car with her “boyfriend” who has not yet broken up with his real girlfriend to be with her, even though she asked him to. in trying to win mika over, night says something along the lines of: “she only acts this way because she’s only ever had to deal with people like you” [referring to the other man]“. it’s very easy to become jaded after being hurt repeatedly in relationships before, and mika is only mimicking the way she’s been treated in the past by others. it’s nothing sinister or scheming. she is a good friend– we see this when she calls up riko in the middle of the night to ask for her permission to fall in love with night. i think riko is justified in forgiving mika because she of all people understands what it’s like to be rejected by someone that she was devoted to.

i think mika’s flaws, like many other things in the drama, are more realistic and true to how people actually act. yes, i agree that the original spirit of the manga has been abandoned in this show. yet– i also would argue that the manga is naive. it’s a cute story, sure. but the drama has done a good job of humanizing a story as far-fetched as one about a robot-lover and making it accessible for an audience as something they can relate to.

you said yourself that riko is no longer a teenager in the drama. she’s an adult, and as a result is not as boy-centric nor are her hormones still rattling around like overexcited popcorn. it makes sense that she will not gravitate towards night right away, let alone fall in love with him at this point. having to date a robot, even if he is ‘ideal’ for you, is an admission of defeat in finding someone real and human to love you. it’s embarassing and depressing, not ‘ideal’ at all. you’re correct in saying that night is a bit of a cockblocker to the soushi/riko chemistry right now, but i’d be completely unconvinced if riko was even reluctantly falling for night at this point. they need more time together, and night is gradually becoming less ‘programmed’ and more genuine in his affections (first evidence of this: his memories of riko intact) riko will be doing the same soon.

where the hell is this drama going? someplace new. and someplace more positive. why are you all lamenting the loss of another sappy knight-in-shining armor rescuing the damsel-in-distress? i think the fact that it was riko’s begrudging kiss that saves night instead of a sappy rescue-embrace is far more empowering for her character. i also think its easy to pigeonhole characters like mika as a “bitch, slut, betrayer” when mika and riko are both doing the best they can in this relationship ‘game’ using rules that have long been established by a larger society and even being subversive whenever possible. riko isn’t taking night’s shit. he’s ideal, but he’s not yet genuine in his affections. (keyword- yet) if she starts to fall in love with him, it will be on her own terms– not his. so what exactly is wrong with this?

sorry for the rant, but i want to stick up for the drama because i think it has a lot going for it, even though it is straying from the original ideas in the manga. instead of watching this with the lens of “they changed this!” maybe ask “they changed this…why?” the answer may actually reveal that the show is not “going to hell” as an above commenter says, but just going someplace different. not necessarily a bad thing.

thoughts?

I don’t mind the changes to Soushi. I like manga!Soushi and just tend to think of the drama!Soushi as a different person entirely. Riko really, really annoys me though.