#487 TV Theory 24 | 101st Proposal
Following up on "The End of the World" which I introduced last time, today we will go back even further in time to talk about a trendy drama that represents the 90s—The 101st Proposal (this work is also written by the brilliant Shinji Nojima).
The 101st Proposal Synopsis
The protagonist, Tatsuro Hoshino (Tetsuya Takeda) is a perennial section chief working at a mid-sized construction company, a mediocre middle-aged man who is constantly being passed over for promotions by his juniors and peers. Furthermore, he is not popular with women and has been rejected in 99 consecutive matchmaking sessions, a level of bad luck that would even surprise
Yoichi Otenai—but!
The woman who came to his 100th matchmaking session was Kaoru Yabuki (Atsuko Asano), a stunning woman. Tatsuro was absolutely thrilled, and with his intense self-assurance and convenient interpretations, he aggressively pursued Kaoru.
As for Kaoru, she had experienced a super-traumatic event where her fiancé died in an accident on their wedding day. She was an "ice girl" who had no intention of falling in love and was only at the aforementioned matchmaking session because it was forced upon her, but gradually, Tatsuro's aggressive dribbling melted Kaoru's icy heart... and he finally made her turn his way!
That's how it goes, but in the final stages, a man who looks exactly like her late fiancé appears. Kaoru chooses the man who looks like her fiancé instead of Tatsuro, and Tatsuro's 100th matchmaking session also ends in failure, but...
After that, there is the 101st Proposal mentioned in the title... and it ends with a truly wonderful conclusion. I really want you to watch it.
The 101st Proposal Appeal
1. I will not die!!
This phrase is famous to the point of death. Many people probably know only this phrase. When Kaoru said something like, "I have trauma from my fiancé dying, so I'm afraid that the next person I fall in love with will die too," Tatsuro, who had become
too blinded by love and went crazy, jumped in front of a truck and said the aforementioned line... Anyway, it's a huge nuisance to the truck driver, and you would normally die, lol. Even if you survived, the angry truck driver would beat you to death, so you'd die either way, lol (quoted from Lily Franky's essay).
By the way, in this scene, Tatsuro—or rather, Tetsuya Takeda—was worried, saying, "I'm playing a teacher in this role, is it okay for me to commit a traffic violation?" He's so serious, lol.
2. Wicked! Atsuko Asano
Kaoru is actually quite mean, and she says hellish things to Tatsuro like, "Take more risks! Bet your entire bonus on horse racing!" pushing him around. Even when she says such crazy things that would make you think she deserves a
face punch, Tatsuro, weak from being in love, goes all-in and gets instantly crushed! Well, if you consider that investment led to the end, it makes sense... but anyway, Kaoru was as bad as a semi-gangster.
3. Ritsuko Tanaka
Ritsuko Tanaka appears as Kaoru's younger sister. I was in second grade at the time, so while my older sister and others were watching this drama with great enthusiasm, I have almost no memory of it. Despite only having fragmented memories like "Tetsuya jumping in front of a truck" and "the theme song is SAY YES," even the young me recognized that Ritsuko Tanaka was
a very beautiful person. She is still beautiful on the bus travel show she does with Mr. Tokumitsu on Saturdays. Anyway, I remember Ritsuko.
4. Riki Takeuchi in his younger days
Riki Takeuchi, known as the King of V-Cinema, appears as a violinist (Kaoru's colleague). He was a very good character who, despite being in love with Kaoru, helps assist the romance between Kaoru and Tatsuro. However, who would have thought such a handsome actor would, a few years later...Riki Takeuchi...
Who could have predicted he would turn out like this, haha. I personally like the 'After' version much better, though, haha.
5. The moving final scene
And, above all, it has to be this scene. It felt like a love triangle where she was once taken by a man who looked exactly like Kaoru's fiancé, and since that man was Tatsuro's boss, things got awkward and he quit his job. He then took the bar exam to pursue his former dream of becoming a lawyer, but he failed that too... While working part-time at a construction site in despair, Kaoru appears in a wedding dress... Thinking about it now, it's a surreal image, but it is, in any case, a
moving scene
.
101st Proposal Summary
With that, I've introduced the masterpiece '101st Proposal,' but perhaps one of the reasons this drama is a masterpiece is that the theme song was just too perfect, don't you think? The destructive power of the 'da-an' at the intro, the piano that follows—it was, in any case, the best tie-in to elevate this drama.
Next time, I will introduce 'In the Name of Love'.