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Pin to Kona
Today I thought I'd talk about another J-drama, Pin to Kona, because the protagonist reminds me a bit of my fanon Onozuka's relationship with his dad, although the drama is about Kabuki rather than wagashi. The main character is a high school girl named Ayame who is a huge Kabuki fan and eventually gets involved in a love triangle between her first love Ichiya, a young up-and-coming Kabuki actor, and Kawamura Kyonosuke, the heir to a prestigious family of Kabuki actors. Like my version of Onozuka, he is a reluctant heir being forced into the family business at the insistence of his stern father, and performs his duties half-heartedly until he meets Ayame, who scolds him for his bad performance.
Despite this beginning, the two soon become friends, and Ayame helps him to rediscover his love for Kabuki. It turns out that the real reason he hates his father--and by extension, Kabuki--is because his father went on with a scheduled performance even though his mother was on her deathbed. The father does seem strict, cold, and unbending at first, but gradually as the series progresses, we see that he really does love his son even though he doesn't show it very well. And we get to see a slightly softer side to him when he meets Ayame, and sees what a good influence she is on Kyonosuke. With his strictness and his insistence on doing one's duty and keeping up the family tradition, after a couple of episodes I realized, "OMG, this is exactly what Onozuka's dad is like!" Plus, being a Kabuki actor, he always wears a kimono even when he's at home, so he also has that "traditional" air that I picture Onozuka's dad having--sort of like Iwaki's dad, too, now that I think about it. So now I totally picture the Pin to Kona dad (played by Kishitani Goro) when I'm imagining Onozuka family scenes in my head.
Despite this beginning, the two soon become friends, and Ayame helps him to rediscover his love for Kabuki. It turns out that the real reason he hates his father--and by extension, Kabuki--is because his father went on with a scheduled performance even though his mother was on her deathbed. The father does seem strict, cold, and unbending at first, but gradually as the series progresses, we see that he really does love his son even though he doesn't show it very well. And we get to see a slightly softer side to him when he meets Ayame, and sees what a good influence she is on Kyonosuke. With his strictness and his insistence on doing one's duty and keeping up the family tradition, after a couple of episodes I realized, "OMG, this is exactly what Onozuka's dad is like!" Plus, being a Kabuki actor, he always wears a kimono even when he's at home, so he also has that "traditional" air that I picture Onozuka's dad having--sort of like Iwaki's dad, too, now that I think about it. So now I totally picture the Pin to Kona dad (played by Kishitani Goro) when I'm imagining Onozuka family scenes in my head.