#anyway since i'm also kind of in an ml mood right now i feel like talking about adrien here too

[marshmallowgoop]

Howdy hey Goop! I had a funny observation with the episode Heiji first appears in (episode 48 I believe.) specifically with the english FUNimation dub.

While he talks about wanting to meet Kudo/always compared to him, he says "I want to see if the great Jimmy (Shinichi) Kudo is talented enough to be in my league, if he is he'll be the first!"

I wonder what he meant by that? Like, as in rivalry, or as in friends? I'd love to hear your interpretation on this, you always have such intriguing opinions and interpretations on things!

Howdy! Thank you!

My response here will actually be fairly heavy and discuss abuse, so please proceed with caution. There will also be minor spoilers for Episode 263.

To really delve into this question, I feel like I have to start by saying that the view I have of Heiji is that of an incredibly insecure person who struggles immensely with feelings of inferiority. No truly confident person would (assumedly) hop on a plane to go "prove" that they're better than a peer in their field. But that's exactly what Heiji does.

And his self-doubt is, sadly, sensical. His father Heizo is Osaka's Chief of Police, who, as Ran states in the man's first appearance (Episode 77), "[is] always on TV whenever something happens in Osaka." Heizo is presented as a huge, well-respected public figure, and that's got to be a lot for Heiji to live up to. Even when Kazuha's father attempts to be encouraging after Heiji is insulted (more on that later), his words only help pile on the pressure (Episode 263):

Ginshiro Toyama: He's the spitting image of you when you were younger, Heizou. Who knows what he'll grow into?

So, it's no wonder that Heiji is so absolutely desperate to prove himself. He's got big shoes to fill, that he's seemingly expected to fill, and, more than that, every interaction I've seen between him and his father is uncomfortably negative. Despite being a capable, experienced, and well-renowned detective of his own, Heizo constantly dismisses his son and his abilities, only ever complimenting Heiji when it's paired with a stinging barb. The first time you ever see the two on screen together (Episode 77), I'm not sure if Heizo comes off worse in the original Japanese script (top) or in FUNimation's English localization (bottom):

Heizo (Japanese script): He's still green, but he's got good intuition.

Heizo (FUNimation English dub script): But don't be deceived by his appearance. He's actually a whole lot smarter than he looks.

...well, in retrospect, maybe it's obvious that the English dub makes it so much worse.

But the point is, Heizo isn't portrayed as an especially supportive father. As far as I've watched, he never once says that he's proud of Heiji, and his insults only grow to be more degrading after this initial snapshot of their relationship. When even Kogoro applauds Heiji's work in Episode 263, Heizo can only belittle him:

Kogoro: Like father, like son! He solved that case in record time.

Heizo: No, this dull-witted son of mine just likes to play detective sometimes. He's got a long way to go to catch up to you, Mouri.

Later in the episode, Heizo even physically assaults Heiji, going so far as to draw blood, in front of a crowd of people:

Heiji: Dad...

And as if that wasn't enough, he verbally assaults Heiji, too, flinging insult after insult at him (and this is really only a small sampling):

Heizo: He's just getting in the way! The spoiled brat let all this nonsense about "high school detectives" go to his head.

I know I've kind of been dancing around the original question here, but I think this background is crucial. While it might be argued that Heizo is simply trying to keep his son humble through his brand of parenting, I feel like his behavior and treatment of Heiji has instead helped nurture something very sad: a boy who gallivants around acting the exact opposite of humble to conceal the fact that he's dangerously insecure.

After all, as I said before, no truly confident person would (assumedly) hop on a plane to go "prove" that they're better than somebody else. Why would they?

So, when Heiji says that he wants to "[confirm] whether or not the great Jimmy [Shinichi] Kudo is talented enough to be in [his] league" in FUNimation's English dub of Episode 48, or that he "[wants to] see if Kudo Shinichi's really worthy of being compared to [him]" in the original Japanese script...

Heiji: I wanna see if Kudo Shinichi's really worthy of being compared to me.

I see a boy so desperately trying to convince himself that he is good at what he does. If he can best Shinichi—the person he's compared so much to in FUNimation's dub that he's even robbed of his own name, known by some only as "The Kudo of the West"—then it means he's not the dull-witted detective his father (at least openly) thinks of him as. It means he's not a worthless embarrassment.

That's how I view it, anyway. I don't think Heiji sought to befriend Shinichi at all when he left for Tokyo, or that he was looking for someone "worthy" of being his friend, but part of what I like so much about Heiji and Shinichi's eventual friendship is that it starts when Shinichi tells Heiji to stop with the comparisons and competitions. So much of Heiji's life has been defined by comparison; even when people around him are trying to treat him kindly, he's still compared to his father, and, of course, he's also compared to Shinichi.

But in that classic moment, Shinichi doesn't compare Heiji to anyone. He explains straight out that he sees no point in it. And I think that's really, endlessly freeing to Heiji, and it's part of why he admires and loves Shinichi as much as he does.

[letsbeoutoftouch]

Three days ago, I decided to start watching one of the Chinese dramas that had been sitting on my Netflix to-watch list for as long as I use it: 'A Love So Beautiful'.

I was (am) really excited over the Korean version because the FL is So Joo Yeon, whom I love since I watched 'Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 2' last year―she's adorable!

However, I knew that the Korean version was a remake, so I figured I should start with the Chinese one first. Besides, a few years ago one of my ex-friends told me I should watch it, and she has a pretty good taste in dramas... So, well―I succumbed. And, oh my! I'm so glad I did!

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'A Love So Beautiful' is a coming of age drama, which depicts the lives of five friends as from the moment they meet in high school up to adulthood, and how they learn about love, friendship and life in general. It especially revolves around Chen Xiaoxi (Shen Yue, from 'Meteor Garden') and Jiang Chen (Hu Yi Tian, from 'Unrequited Love').

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♡ PLOT & EPISODES:

It is a really light-hearted drama, and its plot is uncomplicated. It is ideal for when you are in the mood for something that doesn't have twists and turns, and/or whose plot doesn't require a great effort to follow. If you feel like watching a drama like that, then I really recommend you to start this one.

Although it's made up of 23 episodes (and one special episode), they are approximately 40-minutes long each. Therefore, I didn't feel that they were tiresome to watch. Also, as a person who gets distracted quite easily ―I have the attention span of a goldfish―, I must emphasise that I didnt pause it at all―except, maybe, to go and grab some snacks... And to post that screenshot with a reference to Argentina, lol.

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♡ CHARACTERS:

Xiaoxi (FL): This character is a well-known one in dramaland―the typical female lead who is really (and when I say really, I mean extremely, blindly) in love with the male lead, no matter his actions or the words that leave his mouth.

I normally find this type of character annoying (yes, I'm looking at you, Nao). I find it painful to watch that she keeps resiliently following the male lead, even when he is continuously humilliating her. Of course, if you keep in mind that she is a teenager, then you may be able to understand the way she behaves―we were all a little bit like that during our younger years... Or, at least, I know I was. However, that's hard to remember when the story depicts her to be neither a teenager nor an adult, although she is supposed to be the former. By this I don't mean that teenagers can't go through situations that may force them to 'grow up' quickly, but stuff like 'living alone with my classmate' is not a normal situation for a teen (especially, with their parents consent ¿¿¿¿¿)―that's more adult-ish.

Anyways, back to Xiaoxi.

When I think about my younger self, I think she might ―in some points― relate to Xiaoxi. Why? That's simple―because she truly acts like a teenager. For her, the problems she faces are like the end of the world, and deals with them as (most) young people would.

Amongst those problems, love is obviously included. She's devoted to the love she feels, and doesn't waver. She's always true to her feelings and to her heart―sometimes, a little too much for my liking. However, her genuiness and stubborness are two of the traits I liked the most about her.

But Xiaoxi is not entirely naïve―not all the time, at least. She stood her ground in some parts of the story, as a teenager and, mostly, as an adult. I must admit that one kick was amazing―I was lying in bed and I literally had to sit up and scream 'APLICADÍSIMA' (an Argentinian slang that, in this context, could be translated as 'nicely done').

▫ ▫ ▫

Jiang Chen (ML): Yet another typical character in dramas. He's one of those guys who barely speaks, looks serious 24/7 and, the most important thing, has feelings but is unable to show them most of the time.

I'm not going to deny that people like that do exist in real life (now that I think about it, I may be like that irl, lol), but the real problem is how they are portrayed in dramas. I mean, the fact that a person gathers all those characteristics within them does not equal to being an a*shole (again, I'm so looking at you, Uehara).

Jian Chen sometimes acts like an a*shole, I'm not going to deny that. He mostly acts like that out of jealousy, which doesn't make it right. However, he's continuously growing out of that behaviour (maybe not so much out of jealousy 🙃), and that's what I liked about this character. Even if his character doesn't entirely lose his true essence (being serious is not a bad trait per se, just to name something), it was refreshing to see that, when he's with her, he wouldn't act like he doesn't care about her at all.

▫ ▫ ▫

Wu Bosong (SML): Oh, dear. He's the sweetest. For real.

I'm not the kind of person who usually falls for the second male lead (for example, in Heirs I was always team Kim Tan, although everyone loved Young Do and shipped Eun Sang with him). However, this time, I found myself falling for Bosong really, really hard.

His character is yet another cliché―the sweet boy who's always helping the FL and has to be content with watching her from the sidelines. However, his kind and tender nature slowly captured my heart.

*spoiler alert* It broke my soul that the story was unfair to him―he deserved way better. Not only romantically speaking―all the scenes where his grandma doesn't recognise him were so, so heartbreaking. I know life isn't fair, but it is a drama! Don't make the poor boy suffer that much 😭.

However, even though I loved this character a lot, I ―by no means― shipped him and Xiaoxi. He deserved someone who would give him their entire heart―and, let's face it, Xiaoxi would never grow out of her love for Jian Chen. *end of spoiler alert*

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♡ FRIENDSHIP:

As far as I'm concerned, most people are only interested in the romantic side of dramas ―which is fine, of course―, but I'm adding this item because it was seriously one of the things I enjoyed the most about this drama.

The chemistry between the five of them is awesome. Sometimes, it's not just about how nicely the leads are to each other―I think that portraying a great friendship is equally important. After all, life is not just about romantic love―it's about all the other kinds of love, as well.

It was sweet that they not only grew up together, but also that they stayed friends even if they had other things going on in their lives. They were unconditional to each other, but that didn't just stayed in high school―it followed them to their adult lives. They still tried to find the time to meet, even if they were busy (*spoiler alert* Xiaoxi's fansigning! *end of spoiler alert*), and supported and had each other's back no matter what.

I liked how friendship was one of the main topics in the drama.

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♡ SUMMARY:

If you're looking for a cute and light coming-of-age drama (and you don't mind a school drama―i.e., dealing with the fact that they are teenagers during most of it), then A Love So Beautiful is the one for you.

Also, if you haven't ever seen a Chinese drama (and you're up to a drama with the characteristics abovementioned), then I recommend you start with this one. It's not boring, chapters are relatively short (40-minutes-long episodes are considerably shorter than Korean drama's one-hour ones).

The acting was great (again, bear in mind that the characters are teenagers!), the chemistry between the leads was good, and, if you're like me, you'll enjoy the chemistry between the entire group (*spoiler alert* although Bosong and Jian Cheng are ready to throw hands at each other like 99% of the time *end of spoiler alert*).

If you have some time, I highly recommend you to watch it!

I'm leaving the trailer here, if you want to check it out:

A Love So Beautiful is available on NETFLIX, VIKI and YOUTUBE!

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I hope you liked this 'review'. I wanted to write one since I finished the drama, but I have been busy studying for my finals.

Sending lots of love during these weird times ♡