Why I Dress Up For Love Review: This Feel-good Dorama With An Adorable Cast Will Leave You Smiling
Kikazaranai Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte aka Why I Dress Up For Love is a Japanese drama dealing with the lives of four housemates and their landlord. Romantic relationship is the core of this show that goes on to explore challenges that each of the housemates faces and how love gets them together.
When I say Japanese dramas are under-rated, shows like this proves my point. I loved this dorama a lot and let me tell you what I liked most about it.
Why I Dress Up For Love (Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte) (2021) (10 Episodes)
Kurumi Mashiba (Haruna Kawaguchi) works as a PR for an interior design company. As a part of her job, she is also a social media influencer who puts up her fashionable outfits and life on social media, which makes her popular amongst kids and women. Kurumi loves her job and also her boss, Shogo Hayama who inspired her to take up the job in the first place.
Busy managing her job, and two social media handles, Kurumi forgets to renew the lease on her house because of which she lands up at her friend Kouko’s house where she has to share a house with three other tenants.
Her next-door (actually it’s just a wall) neighbor is Shun Fujino (Ryusei Yokohama) who is a chef and runs a food truck. The next housemate is Haruto Terai (Shun’s cousin) who works as a counselor. Her third housemate is Ayaka Hase who is a struggling artist but works as a delivery person to makes ends meet. Kouko also lives in the same house but only for a few more days as she plans to go abroad to study.
As Kurumi starts living with her housemates she learns a lot about life, relationships, and even herself.
I enjoyed watching ‘Why I Dress Up For Love’ because…
…of its strong female lead. The show starts with Kurumi Mashiba (or shall I call her Mameshiba Mashiba the way Shun calls her?) who is a hardworking PR person and social media influencer. She is very honest and passionate about her job. She loves to dress up and put up pictures that impress her followers. Her popularity helps promote the products of her company too.
From a young age, Mashiba admired the president of her company, Hayama Shogo. She dreamt of working for his company someday and when her dream comes true she gives her job her best. Gradually, she also falls for Hayama but has no clue of how he feels for her even though everyone in her office is convinced that he likes her.
One day, the upper managements’ decision causes Hayama to quit the company without any prior notice. He disappears without telling Mashiba or anyone anything about his whereabouts. Mashiba is left heartbroken as she was waiting to see Cherry Blossoms with him as promised.
Sad and dejected, Mashiba finds comfort in her neighbor Shun Fujino’s encouraging words and delicious food. His warm presence and kind gestures soothe her vulnerable heart and she falls for him. However, Hayama makes a sudden entry into her life, which makes Fujino doubtful of his relationship with Mashiba.
Mashiba is a good female lead as she is never confused or in two minds about a certain thing. Once she decides something for herself, she goes for it with all her might. The same applies to her love life. Once she decides to be with Shun her mind never wavers and despite the challenges they face as a couple, they stay strong together for each other.
…of its realistic characters and real-world problems. Every character in the show we see is dealing with his or her respective problems.
Sometimes two people even face the same problems but deal with them differently. For instance, when Fujino fails at work, he puts on a façade of being carefree and cheerful whereas when Hase fails to get appreciated for her work she retreats in her shell and avoids people. We see how life experiences shape their personalities and how they still find a reason to smile.
Of all the characters, I found Fujino to be most interesting. Fujino is a professional chef who is extremely talented and once worked at a very popular restaurant in Spain. His food was loved by his clients and people around him suggested he start a restaurant himself.
Seeing the positive feedback, Fujino does indeed head a restaurant and gives it his all. But sadly, due to several reasons the restaurant shuts down breaking Fujino’s spirit and confidence. The experience is so traumatic that Fujino decides to change his life completely and not be attached to anything or anyone.
He detaches himself from things that matter to him and starts living a minimalistic life in which he requires the bare minimum to live. He runs a food cart to make a living but works only as and when he pleases. He avoids unnecessary stress and wishes to live a happy life.
The same applies to his love life. He likes Kurumi but he is also aware of her feelings for her boss at work. Instead of stepping up his game, he takes a backseat because he does not want to fight in a competition of love. He is too afraid of losing what he loves the most so he decides to not fight at all and instead allow Kurumi to go if she wants to.
Through the course of the show, we see how Fujino learns to confront his fears and what he eventually decides to do with his life. This is a Japanese show so do not expect him to make a drastic change that will make him rich and famous overnight. The solution here is more practical and realistic which is what I love about J-drama in general.
…I loved my lead couple Fujino and Mashiba. Their romance does not run on a lot of physical gestures of love but on the unspoken understanding between them. With a capable second-lead, there is a lot of scope for misunderstandings. But our leads do not fall for it and stick by one another’s side. Sometimes they seem too understanding but it is okay as they are both dealing with too much in life to be bothered by minor distractions in love.
The best part about this pair is how they balance their relationship. Fujino and Mashiba are both passionate individuals who love their work. But he prefers to take things slow while she believes in going all out.
Together they make a balanced couple. For instance, headstrong Mashiba is the perfect partner for the indecisive Fujino who easily backs out from difficult situations. She makes up for his lack of determination while he teaches her how to not get caught up in work and relax whenever she gets the opportunity. She inspires him to work hard while he motivates her and lifts her spirits whenever she is low.
All credit to the writer who has clearly given a lot of thought when creating this beautiful couple. Fujino and Mashiba seem like an unlikely pair on the surface because of the vast difference in lifestyle. But as a couple, it is their difference in nature that connects them. Their entry into one another’s life marks the change in the course of their life, which shows how they are a catalyst for each other.
…Ryusei Yokohama was fabulous as usual. My primary motivation to watch the drama was actor, Ryusei Yokohama. After watching a couple of his shows and movies I have come to admire this young actor. And as expected, he was fab as the minimalistic Shun. He is mostly happy and cheery throughout the drama but there are instances where you see a glimpse of the serious Shun and my boy does a great job at it. His intense look is as attractive as his charming smile.
For instance, look at those eyes and the way he looks at Kurumi before going in for that ‘truck kiss’.
The same goes for the female lead, Haruna Kawaguchi. I especially loved her in emotional scenes. She has the ability to look strong and vulnerable as and when required. Her acting talent is evident when you are able to see the flicker of self-doubt on her face when she gets into a tough situation.
…apart from the main couple, I liked the love story of Hase-chan and Haruto. Ayaka or Hase-chan has only one dream that is to become a famous artist. She has been struggling for years to fulfill her dreams but is yet to taste even slight success. Haruto sees her struggle and being an emphatic person he understands how she feels.
He slowly starts admiring her determination and is unable to stop himself from helping her. Hase-chan may seem a tough nut on the exterior but Haruto’s kind gestures and care eventually move her and she starts seeing him in a different light. Her change in feelings for him also stirs something in his heart. Theirs is a sweet love story where two individuals come together because of their mutual affection.
I did NOT LIKE ‘Why I Dress Up For Love’ because…
…I was a little disappointed by its ending. The ending felt a little rushed. I understand the makers have to wrap up the dorama in 10 episodes but the ending I felt could have been more polished (?). Also, I felt that somewhere in between the story gets a tiny bit slow. It happens just before the climax. Nothing major but I didn’t like the dip in pace.
Why I Dress Up For Love is an entertaining slice-of-life drama with characters that will make you love them. Its uplifting music sets the tone for a feel-good drama, which it is in every way. The main leads, Haruna Kawaguchi and Ryusei Yokohama do a great job at portraying their respective characters and so do the supporting cast. In fact, the supporting cast is so good that one couple even has a separate short series taking their love story forward.
I give ‘Why I Dress Up For Love’ 4 out of 5 rating. I loved everything about this show and would recommend you to watch it for its peppy music and happy theme. The sweet characters are sure to leave a smile on your face with every episode.
Image courtesy: TBS
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