"Love or Not" drama from 2017: Episode nine recap

 

 Air Dates: March 20 until May 22, 2017 on dTV/FOD at 2:10 am,  then from July 20 to September 28, 2017 on Fuji. Total of ten episodes and subs were done by neutrinoxs.

 Main Cast: Just these characters but we see the boss of Kosuka and Wataru on occasion.

Yuika Motokariya as Mako Hirosawa.... Interior designer who is 29 in age and it appears she's never had a boyfriend. That's because Mako's heart still pines for a boy she met when she was nine and he saved her from some bullies who were trying to steal her rabbit doll. She finally met the man in the first show and he didn't live up to her expectations at all. But a person who did was Kosuke's best friend Wataru and they began dating in the third show.

Kenjiro Yamashita as Kosuke Usami.... Also 29 in age and the boy that helped out Mako all those years ago. He's currently a Salaryman with the Sanba Shoji company and is not that efficient of a worker. When Mako finally met Kosuke after twenty years she was extremely disappointed, in the first show he moved into the apartment below hers. 

Keita Machida as Wataru Sano.... Kosuke's junior at the company but he knows much more than his senpai and is often bailing him out at work. Wataru's father is extremely wealthy and the women flock to him but early on Wataru fell hard for Mako.

Reina Asami as Shiho Hojo.... Mako's friend since high school and she works as a free lance photographer. Like her friend Shiho is quite timid around men but does have a boyfriend who is a doctor though that may not be a lasting relationship. It wasn't as Shiho broke up with the creep in the fifth show and then began dating Kosuke.

Erena Mizusawa as Misuzu Mori.... Met Mako in high school, she's two years younger, and currently works as a web writer. She is just so darn attractive and also very outgoing, the next man has been trying to woo her but she's set her sights on Wataru. In the fifth episode we learned that Misuzu is the mother of an eight year old boy named Shin!!!! But Misuzu has hooked back up with her ex-husband in the eighth show, will another marriage happen?

Masayasu Yagi as Sota Yabuki.... Owner of the Itsomuno bar/cafe where Kosuke and Wataru often eat lunch or dinner. Sota has been dumped too many times to count by women, after meeting Misuzu in the first show he's fallen head over heels for her but the feeling wasn't mutual until the sixth episode.

Links to the previous recaps:

Episode one .... Episode two .... Episode three .... Episode four

Episode five .... Episode six .... Episode seven .... Episode eight

 We've hit the end of this series and am often sad when I wrap up an enjoyable drama but that does mean another can be started. At this time have no clue what's coming up next but do need to get back to a series that's currently airing. Before I view the last episode want to write this up and bet most of my predictions and scenarios will be wrong. In that first episode most viewers thought that Mako and Kosuke would end up being together. At the conclusion of this show it wasn't a guarantee but it's inching that way and kind of hoping it won't happen. In the final episode there will be a celebration party for someone and think that's where everything will be settled. But then again not everything may be settled as there was a second season but sadly that was never subbed.

 As in the seventh episode not much screen time for Misuzu and Sota though they do have an important sub story going on. They'll also play a key role in the final show and let me discuss their happenings first. In the last show after being gone for so many years Misuzu's ex-husband Shogo suddenly popped up and wants to get back with her and their son Shin. Shogo has changed his ways and is now a successful game creator, Shogo knew he made many mistakes during their marriage and wants to give it another go. To top it off Sota took a liking to this man and though he wants to date Misuzu knows her ex-husband may be a better choice. And for Misuzu that was the choice as in the beginning of this episode told Sota she'd be returning to her husband which of course did break his heart. But not for long as Sota realized what he wants to see is Misuzu and Shin lead a happy life so in the final episode he'll be throwing a celebration party for Misuzu and that could be the key event of the series.

 Meanwhile at the end of the eighth show Kosuke's new girlfriend Shiho had gone to his best friend Wataru for advice and help. Shiho is still so envious of the way Kosuke and Mako get along so well and she'll never change that attitude. Shiho had found the button eye that Kosuke had kept for twenty years which was from Mako's bunny doll which has been discussed in the episodes up until now. Thought Wataru knew but looks like he didn't and that's of Mako being Kosuke's first love when they were nine years old. Wataru hasn't been too jealous of their relationship but over time has become like Shiho and wished they weren't spending so much time together. But Wataru is a stand up person, he told Shiho at the mini encounter to get her act together and stop being so petty. If she didn't like how well Kosuke and Mako got along then become a better person so he'll only have eyes for her, sound advice but don't know if it got through to Shiho.

 Every romance drama seems to have some sort of small keepsake that binds the story and main characters together, that bunny doll and it's missing eye were this show's keepsake. The following night Shiho threw the canister away that held the button eye that Kosuke had for twenty years. But she only threw away the canister in the hopes Kosuke would find it in the trash which he did. But Shiho was playing an experiment on Kosuke to see what his reaction would be, he was upset but not mad which made the situation worse as Shiho wondered why can't Kosuke ever express his true feelings towards her like he does to Mako? Shiho gave him back the red button eye and stormed out of the apartment, last we saw of Shiho in this show. I'd be surprised if they got back together and have said their being a couple was a mistake from the get go.

 The above bottom three screenshots were from this episode's most key scene. Wataru had been staying quite late at his job at the Sanba Shoji company and it appeared it was because Wataru was working on his plans to build a unique hotel in Japan. That's only partially true as we learned he was also studying for an intern test at a prestigious hotel in Switzerland. Those late nights paid off as Wataru aced the test and has been offered a two year internship at the hotel!!!! That news stunned Mako who like us viewers knew nothing of the test or Wataru's plans. But things have to move quickly as Wataru needs to start the internship in two weeks, he's already resigned from his job. So as mentioned that news stunned Mako but even more so when Wataru proposed to her and wants her to come to Switzerland with him! We didn't see her response but Mako did accept the marriage proposal and for now it appears the couple will be leaving Japan in two weeks.

 Guess the riff between Wataru and Kosuke had grown larger as he didn't learn of the marriage until his boss told him at work when he wanted Kosuke to take over some of Wataru's tasks. In the final scene which was kind of long Kosuke met Mako that night at the trash area for their apartment building, there he discovered that Mako had thrown out the bunny doll. She had returned to her apartment by that time and a furious Kosuke ended up going there demanding to know why she was throwing it out. Mako confessed to him that the bunny had been holding her back for so many years as she was clinging to her first crush who she had only known for five minutes. Wasn't sure up until now but this scene answered the question. So while Kosuke knew Mako was that girl he saved from bullies twenty years ago she didn't know that boy had been Kosuke! 

 Kosuke didn't realize either that Mako didn't know he was her first crush and as mentioned neither did Wataru. But ever since Kosuke entered her life Mako can't stop thinking of that incident from twenty years ago and throwing away that bunny may be the only way to get Kosuke out of her mind once and for all. As the episode came to it's conclusion appearing outside of Mako's apartment was Wataru and it seems there may be a bit of a confrontation between him and Kosuke to start the final show off with. Longest recap since the first episode and much did happen in this 23 minute show, now on to view the grand finale and that's the next post.