Kyoko Saito: "Nukarumi no Shokutaku" drama, episode nine(final) of nine recap

 

 Air Dates: October 21st until December 16, 2023 on TV Asahi, Saturdays at 11:30 pm

Episodes are 24 minutes in length, subs were done by ArPsanSubs

Main Cast: Not too large of a cast as it appears there will only be six major characters. Of course the main one is Kyoko who is my reason for viewing this drama. Wrote most of the below up after watching the first two episodes, will keep updating this section as we go along. This is a nine episode series so will have three batches of three recaps. The setting has never been mentioned but the location is a smallish city.

 Kyoko Saito as Mia Neijiki.... Young woman of about 24 in age who works at the smallish Super Suzuran market. Until the third episode that is as Mia quit due to her feelings about her manager Natsuo's family. Mia lives with her mother who constantly puts her down but she puts up with it, Mia has zero confidence in herself. The father died eight yeas ago and he too was so strict with his daughter, she's seen no happiness in her life. Until recently as Mia has started an affair with her store manager who is twenty years older, she thinks the world of him and why? His name is Natsuo who is married but his wife is suffering from a mental condition so eventually wanted to break it off with Mia. Who would hear nothing of it and has plans to 'cure' the wife thinking it'll reunite her with Natsuo!? There is another in this ordeal who is the manager's son Haruki who has fallen head over heels for her.... Mia too has feelings for this high school senior.

 Hisashi Yoshizawa as Natsuo Nasukawa.... Did give a lot of info about him above. He's the manager of the Super Suzuran store and is twenty yeas older than Mia. When Natsuo's wife became sick he began an affair with Mia but when the series began it hadn't been going on for too long. When his wife Fumiko's condition became worse Natsuo wanted to end things with Mia as he had to do all of the chores at home which he actually hadn't been doing as it was a pig sty at his apartment! The next character is his eighteen year old son Haruki who is a senior in high school.

Kaito Sakurai as Haruki Nasukawa.... Son of the above man and while skipping school one day had met Mia at the back of his father's store. Haruki has become so smitten with her and the feeling may be mutual but he does have someone who worships him in an eerie way. Her name is Chifuyu and is Natsuo's classmate at school, she's had a crush on him for many years. However Chifuyu has spread rumors around school about the condition of Haruki's mother and how the two once had sex after he pushed himself onto Chifuyu! Which was an out and out lie but she hasn't taken it back and now Haruki has become an outcast at school and is often truant, he is an excellent runner and is on the track team.

Naho Toda as Fumiko Nasugawa.... That's Fumiko below on the left, her mental condition has been improving thanks to Mia and in real life Naho really is a very attractive woman. She's been married to Natsuo for twenty years and it's her problems that have prevented him and Mia from continuing their affair!

Nanoka Hara as Chifuyu Ozaki.... We met her in the second episode and she wants to be with Haruki so desperately, the pair are classmates. The pair have been friends for a while but he wants to end that, Chifuyu comes off as such a sweet young woman but is anything but that! She's spread rumors about the condition of Haruki's mother and has even hinted that he raped her which was such a massive lie.

Mariko Tsutsui as Miyuki Neijiki.... The second screenshot is of Mia's father who died eight years ago, on occasion we will be seeing him in a flashback scene. Miyuki is Mia's mother and she constantly berates her only daughter, this is not a likable mother! The pair do live together and Miyuki often throws in snide remarks such as 'why would any man want you as a wife'!

Previous recaps: May not often refer back to what's taken place so it may be wise to skim through these recaps which aren't too long.

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

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

 

 Final recap and what's up next for me is still up in the air but think a week's break from dramas may be in the cards before I get burnt out on them. A solid but not great grade in school is a B and think that's what I would give this series, say an 85/100. Did enjoy this show and of course seeing so much of Kyoko was by far the biggest plus. My biggest gripe for most of these nine episodes is how things were built way up so you would think some sort of intense/thrilling conclusion would happen but it rarely did. But this final episode was the best of all nine and it did go out on a high note so would recommend this drama if you're into semi-creepy/eerie shows, all in all it just could have been a bit better.

 At first thought there would be ten episodes but there were only nine. What I think happened is that the last two shows were combined as this final episode was close to 48 minutes in length or twice as long as the first eight shows. So that of course means this recap will be the longest of all but will try not making it too long though quite a bit did happen. Of course if you're a Kyoko fan this is a must watch and you will notice in these screenshots how frazzled her character of Mia looked as her life spiraled down so quickly and the conclusion was satisfying, let's get to what took place.

 That's Mia right above and doesn't it look as though she stepped out of some horror movie?! This show opened with two brief scenes that were a continuation of how the previous episode ended. The top screenshot is of Haruki telling his mother she was correct, his father Natsuo was having an affair with Mia! We never learned what Mia's 'grand scheme' was as far as putting the mother Fumiko out of the way so she could continue her affair. Mia had posed as a county health counselor and truly did help Fumiko recover from her mental condition, did Mia abandon her plan because she became friends with Fumiko? Who has decided to move out of the condo and will be taking Haruki with her to Fumiko's parent's house and those screenshots above show a bit of the action. At school Haruki said he was dropping out and during the meeting with his teacher Haruki was asked about the cruel things his ex-fiend Chifuyu had been doing to him. Haruki denied everything but somehow Chifuyu's actions will be known to the school.

 The other scene that continued over was of Mia's mother Miyuki asking her daughter who was this man she was planning on marrying???? Thought Mia would remain silent but she did utter the name Nasukawa which is Natsuo's last name and said her soon to be husband(!) worked at the Suzuran Market where Mia had also worked for two years but had quit a month or so ago. Miyuki dragged her daughter to the store to confront the man and and Miyuki is the type of woman who can put a man in his place. But when she saw Natsuo Miyuki did clam up and was it because she didn't want to make a scene... or perhaps wanted to spare Mia's feelings? Natsuo also didn't say a word as Miyuki and Mia soon left the store, this was the first Miyuki had learned of Mia's quitting the store and wondered was it because of the affair? Miyuki never did learn that Natsuo was married with a teenage son, what would her reactions have been then?

 We didn't see much of the deranged Chifuyu up until now but she will be so key to what takes place and that will be coming up shortly. There was one early scene with her and at school she was all of a sudden being shunned by her friends and classmates, she thought could they have found out what she's been saying about Haruki have been lies? Then Chifuyu noticed her father entering a meeting room with her teacher, there this man told the father about the cruel acts to Haruki she had been doing. Not sure who would have blabbed about Chifuyu, it wasn't Haruki so am thinking it may have been the friend he spent two nights with in the previous episode as he's the only other person to know the facts. So Chifuyu's life is spiraling downwards quickly(good!) as her father did bring the subject up at home which sent her into a tirade, sadly she may not get her dur justice at the end. Above you can see Mia talking with her mother Miyuki who never mentioned Natsuo when they returned home. Miyuki said Mia can stay with her the rest of Mia's life, both really seemed so scared to be alone and don't think Miyuki is as heartless as she was made out to be at first.

 In a very odd scene which is above guess who showed up at the condo door of Natsuo and Fumiko? That would be Mia and needless to say Fumiko was a bit stunned to see her, it had to be uncomfortable for Fumiko talking with the woman her husband was having an affair with! But Fumiko does care for Mia as after all she's the main reason Fumiko has almost recovered from her mental illness, she invited Mia in and gave her more cooking lessons. The oddness continued for the pair made a meal and joining the women was Fumiko's son Haruki who of course has been smitten with Mia since meeting her about two months(?) ago. This will be the final meal at the apartment as Fumiko and Haruki have packed, they will be moving in with Fumiko's parents the next day. Fumiko did tell Mia this would be the final time teaching her cooking and seeing her, it was said in a way you had to read between the lines. So this meal was going well and it wasn't as uncomfortable as it could have been for everyone, could anything wreck their enjoyment? YES there was and in the bottom screenshot above ringing the door buzzer was Chifuyu, she's demanding to enter the building but can't unless Haruki buzzes her in!

 Of course Haruki wouldn't press the buzzer to let her in and told the others not to let Chifuyu in either. But just at that moment entering the lobby was the father, husband and Mia's lover Natsuo. Chifuyu changed her face from a raged one to an innocent looking teen and knowing her well Natsuo brought her up to the condo, what a huge mistake. But then again in the end this act may have saved Natsuo's marriage. That face of Chifuyu's changed immediately again upon entering the condo, she wants answers and who told the school and parents about the way she's been abusing and blackmailing Haruki? When Chifuyu got no answers she turned to Fumiko and asked do you want to know who your husband has been having an affair with? But unknown to Chifuyu Funiko did know but was outraged at this girl for saying such a thing, why would she rush in trying to destroy their family.... it's already been done!!! If that's the case then next on Chifuyu's 'revenge list' is Mia and unknown to Chifuyu her 'rival' was standing in the living room. When Chifuyu saw her she became even more deranged than she usually is and jumped at Mia but was held back by Fumiko.

 Quickly Chifuyu jumped back up and grabbed a huge knife from the kitchen, death to Mia is the only thing that was on Chifuyu's mind! Once again she attacked Mia who had stumbled down and was a sitting duck as Chifuyu thrust the knife at Mia! But out of nowhere leapt Natsuo who covered up Mia and took the knife in his side, it was quite a deep wound. It's not just Mia Natsuo was protecting as of course he would have done the same for Fumiko or Haruki. Seeing Natsuo badly wounded sent Chifuyu into a panic and she dashed from the condo, we saw her only briefly after this scene where she was just running around town and I had a strong feeling killing herself was what Chifuyu was thinking and to her was the only option. Just occurred to me now which is that I don't think the police were ever notified about the stabbing to arrest her and soon Natsuo was taken away in an ambulance  Fumiko was by his side and it took a tragedy like this to bring the pair back together, highly doubt if Fumiko will be leaving her husband now. As the ambulance pulled away both waved back to Mia saying 'Bye Bye', they and they knew that would be the last time Mia would ever see them.

 Final segment for this series and there was just one scene to go in the episode. Mia knew it was all over with Natsuo after the ambulance sped away, she herself left the area to wander aimlessly around town. On her tail was Haruki and though he hated that Mia had an affair with his father he still would do anything to be with her.... forever! Then again as his father once told him still being a high school student means Haruki knows zero about life which is true and Mia is the first female he's ever fallen hard for. She jumped on a bus and still on her tail was Haruki as the pair sat alone at the back. Haruki eventually told Mia forget what's happened in the past, he'll stick with her forever and would she still leave town with him? To that Mia replied Haruki should go visit his parents in the hospital and have a long talk with them, if he still wants to leave town come back and she'll decide then. But Haruki knew if he left now that would be the last time he would ever see Mia and she also was aware of that as she practically threw him off the bus.

 It had to be the eternal travelling bus as hours later Mia was still on it by herself and where will her final destination be? That's in the bottom screenshot above and that was how the series ended, who knows what lies ahead for Mia? On that note the drama came to it's conclusion and don't think it set itself up at all for a possible second season. This series did end with it's top episode and I thought the finale was a fitting ending though definitely a bit sad. Did give my final thoughts and grade in the intro so this wraps up this drama and as mentioned unsure what I'll be recapping next.