Common Name: Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
Alternative Names: After the Rain, Love is Like the Rain
Score: 7/10, 5/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Shoujo, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, School Life
Summary: Before her injury, Tachibana Akira was the ace women's track team at her school. Now, running alongside her friends seems all but impossible. Still, Akira has found a new passion to keep herself occupied while she works part-time as a waitress. Unfortunately, that new passion is a romantic interest in her 45-year-old manager, Kondou Masami--the man that showed her kindness and gave her a new life when her old life crumbled around her. To her manager, however, Akira is little more than a dour and quiet employee who still has her whole life ahead of her. She is little more than a reminder of how old he is now and all the hopes and dreams he gave up on when he became an adult. Still, there might just be something these two lost souls can do for each other to drive away the clouds and rain that has filled their days.
Review: Allow me to start this review off by stating simply that this show isn't perfect, but I'll be damned it if doesn't try its best with what it has to work with. Romance is already a pretty tricky genre to work with. If an author doesn't accurately express the highs, lows, and in-betweens of an average romance, they'll be criticized for it not being believable. If they try too hard, though, they'll likely fall into the pit where all Harlequin romance novels go to die. Against all logic and reason, After the Rain actually manages to find that happy medium while simultaneously walking an even finer line as it tackles the social and moral issues that go hand-in-hand with an age-gap romance. It definitely doesn't manage to do this trick flawlessly, but it does manage to keep the act going until everything is said and done.
Regardless of how clumsy the show's plot may or may not be, the fact it looks
drop dead gorgeous, from start to finish, cannot be denied.
Were I to take a stab at why this show manages to balance it's already unwieldy romance, I'd honestly say its because it manages to tell the stories of these two, polar opposite characters in such a way that the underlying romance becomes utterly forgettable. It becomes so easy to get wrapped up in the growing pains that characterize this teenage girl and middle-aged man that the romance ends up serving little purpose in the grand scheme of things. With Akira, we get to see and feel the barrage of her raw and unfiltered that's typical of stories that involve young people trying to find their place in the world. Yet it's clear that her story is one far more complicated than most of her peers'. After all, with the loss of her ability to run track, she's essentially been forced into a position where she needs to rethink her entire life. As much as she would love to laugh and play with her track mates like she used to, being forced to sit on the sidelines only sours her feelings toward them and the life she used to have. So, desperate to find something new to define herself, she falls into and for the welcoming and supportive graces of a 45-year-old family restaurant manager.
I think it's fair to say that life is pretty tough for Akira at this point.
To Akira's credit, she's fallen for a pretty nice and considerate guy. Despite his age, Kondou Masami usually carries himself with an almost childish personality and wit. Just as quick to tell a joke as he is to become one, Kondou is the one person who showed Akira some consideration when she couldn't even bother to consider her own well-being. So, just like that, she ends up falling head over heels for a man nearly three times her age and throws herself into a life where she is working part-time for the man she has a one-sided crush on. As if to dissuade the obvious fears that Kondou might come to abuse her feelings or take advantage of their uneven power balance, though, it becomes clear that Kondou has no memory of the day he brightened the world of a young girl whose old life was crumbling around her. To him, Akira actually ends up seeming a bit dour and scary, confusing her dazed and spacey expressions as a sign that she might be silently criticizing or actively hating him.
To be fair, Akira does look pretty intense. I know I'd be uncomfortable
if I had that hawk-like stare boring into the back of my skull every day.
As Akira's feelings come to light, though, and in a manner in which they cannot be misunderstood, the show actually ends up taking a pretty interesting turn. While the story remains in Akira's hands most of the time, we begin to get a newfound understanding of who Kondou actually is as a person and a weird kind of "cooperative storytelling" begins to take place. As we slowly get to know Kondou more and more, the more it becomes clear that this middle-aged man has a lot of problems of his own that he's been running from in much the same way that Akira is running from her old life. Their experiences and problems might not align perfectly at the start but the similarities of their situations offer a weird kind of character progression that starts of as things to be contrasted but end up being nearly identical toward the end. Particularly at the start of the show, there's a kind of discordance between them as messages, expressions, and feelings end up being misunderstood or lost entirely in the yawning gap that still divides these two. Yet, as the show goes on, progress is slowly made as they slowly begin to understand one another.
And it's just as awkward and concerning as you might think.
To hone back in on Kondou himself, this rift between them begins to close more rapidly than ever before as we come to learn that Kondou is something of a literature buff. More importantly, however, we learn that he used to be an aspiring author. Yet, like so many adults before him, Kondou gave up on that dream as he came crashing into the world's harsher realities. So, in this way, we learn of the life he used to live, how he is still denying what he wants just so he can live an easier life, and the way his running from his past ties him to his fellow runaway, Akira. Just as soon as all this is established, though, we learn one little fact that neither of these two characters want to admit: you can't run away from your past forever.
Especially if you've crippled yourself in the effort, your past will eventually catch up.
Once both Akira and Kondou's problems have been established and the similarities between them are drawn, this show starts its jog toward the finish line as each of them are simultaneously forced to ask themselves whether they're actually happy settling for something easy. Try though they might to make excuses and put off promises for another day, their pasts and the friends they made back then come to call and take them to task for their cowardice. While Akira's problems are more fresh and emotional, her friends are just as desperate to help her recover and get back to the track team as she is to run away from it and them. By comparison, Kondou's old classmate expresses a quieter but similar kind of desperation to have Kondou as a colleague once more, just so he'll have someone to share his problems and frustrations with. Yet, these ghosts of the past don't actually end up being the push that gets the ball rolling. Rather, they are simply a voice of reason that serves to remind these two that they can return to their old lives whenever they're ready. True to form with real people, it's not some outside influence but their own personal, but also shared, realization, watching each other struggle and suffer just because they're too scared and ashamed to get up try again, that gives them the courage to face their old lives again. In this way, the relationship and similarities Kondou and Akira share end up being the one thing that could help them strive to be truly happy again.
So, you might be asking by this point where their romance
comes into the equation. Funnily enough, it never does.
One of the things I think I like most about this show is the fact that the "romance" I've been talking about this entire time might as well not exist. It is there, to be sure, but nothing actually "romantic" occurs during the entirety of this story. Considering that neither of these two is emotionally, let alone physically, ready for a relationship, the simple fact that nothing happens between them speaks all the more about how well this show ended up treating its subject matter. If anything, this show's underlying and wholly chaste "romance" ends up being little more than justification for these two to stay by each other's side while they come to terms with what they want out of life. Yet their misguided feelings and infatuation for one another give us more than enough reason to care about them in spite of their, and the show's, numerous flaws. I suppose that's all this romance boils down to in the end though: misguided feelings and infatuation.
Granted, that pretty much sums up every teenage romance ever.
It makes a great deal of sense, though, why this less-than-real romance exists in spite of its relatively minor, but no less essential role. As I have expressed a couple times already, Akira falling for Kondou was ultimately just a simple and agreeable means for her to run away from her own problems. Wanting to stay by his side gave her an excuse to snub her friends whose presence only reminds of her cowardice and failures. I don't mean to say that her feelings were by any means false though. After all, in her eyes, Kondou seemed like a kind, mature, and worldly adult. It just makes sense that she would naturally gravitate toward someone who seems to be everything she wants to be and everything she isn't. Yet, at the end of the day, that kind of idolization and escapism can't be anything more than a kind of wish-fulfilling infatuation. Still, since she's a teenager with little romantic experience, it makes sense that she'd think her feelings are a sign of something more.
Yep, that's some textbook "True Love"™ right there.
An interesting point to consider, however, is that Kondou's feelings for Akira make just as much sense as the reverse. In Akira, Kondou not only sees but starts to feel a twinge of that enthusiasm and raw emotion that characterized his youth. In her, he sees the boundless idealism and opportunities that he's now lost as an adult. While his means of running away from his problems don't hinge on Akira, staying by her side does offer its own kind of escapist infatuation that lets him live vicariously relive his long-lost youth through her. Yet, ever reminded that he is an old man, Kondou understands and ensures that their relationship can't go past admiring one another. Even though there are flashes where he seems to want more and it is clear that she wants him to want more, he doesn't waver on this point because he knows taking that extra step would only end with him destroying her chance to face her old life and make everything better in a way he firmly believes he can't. So, emotionally fraught and confusing as their relationship might seem, nothing ever actually comes of it. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that though since, like Kondou seemed to understand from the start, the one thing both of them needed wasn't a lover so much as a friend. Because both of them don't cross that line, they end up caring for and supporting each other just enough to give them the push they needed to grow and improve. I suppose it is worth noting, however, that, while a real relationship between these two might not be possible now, the show does end with the implication that something might come of their shared recovery once they've well and truly grown on their own.
Even if nothing comes of it, though, there is a great deal of satisfaction in knowing
that it was their friendship ended up saving them from themselves.
To be honest, I could fangirl about how good this show is and how well it handles its materials for a while longer but I suppose it's high time I started explaining why this show isn't as perfect as I have make it out to be. To put the matter simply, After the Rain still ends up suffering from a few sexist issues that got under my skin and couldn't be ignored, in spite of everything else. Most notably, the show has this weird tendency to compromise some of Akira's quieter, more personal moments by lingering on her body and sullen expressions in a way that's typically indicative of a "male gaze." In these moments, the show seems to insist on sexualizing their female lead in these vulnerable moments when, most of the time, it seems just as determined as Kondou not to cross that line. This weird inconsistency is only aggravated further due to the existence of a scene that seemed intent on justifying the initial idea of featuring an actual age gap romance through the expressing that there are far worse kinds of "romances" out there. Putting Akira in a situation with a guy who forces himself on her doesn't justify her romance with Kondou in any way though. It's just a fucking disgusting scene that ended up making her believe that wanting to express her love for Kondou would be no better than some asshat forcing himself on her. Were this issue ever brought up past this point, I might have seen an argument for it having significance, but it doesn't and only serves to further reveal some of the show's few contradictory moments that hurt the show as a whole.
See this guy? Fuck this guy.
Moving swiftly away from the emotionally charged criticisms and personal bias, the other main issue with After the Rain is that it's pacing isn't great. While, in retrospect, I did eventually came to understand the meaning behind some of the show's choices, said choices did little to help the actual enjoyment of the show. More often than not, these pockets of pacing problems are born from the show losing its focus on the main cast, focusing instead on some of the show's supporting cast while Akira and Kondou are either moping around or privately sussing out their feelings. Though these moments tend to be good in their own right and make sudden character changes seem less jarring, they are still a distraction and deviation from the plot itself. So, in the end, the result is still that this show's pacing tends to be a bit slipshod.
Still, credit where it's due. I did love some of the show's side stories. In particular, I was a big fan of the subplot were two of the show's mildly obnoxious side characters got together.
In spite of its many flaws, I'll admit that I still love this show to pieces. On top of being artistically distinct and gorgeous, the overall story and message turned out to be fun and worthwhile. It's got a lot of heart and is careful enough with its characters and subject matter to be a fairly tense and concerning but enjoyable show with some fantastic music and breathtaking art. I know the subject matter will discourage a lot of people, but I encourage people to give it a shot in spite of their initial and completely reasonable concerns or grievances. If you did give it a shot, however, I feel I should at least offer one, simple suggestion. Come at this with an open mind. If you can do that much, I truly believe you'll find After the Rain to be one of the better romantic dramas we've gotten from the industry in recent years.