Saraba, Yoki Hi (2023)

Forbidden.

This is not my first brush with an art form related to incest – back when I was in high-school, Tabitha Suzuma’s novel titled Forbidden (the same as my review's) created a stir in Goodreads, Cassandra Clare's Dark Artifices features two characters (though not blood related) bound to be forever in a sibling like relationship with each other due to circumstances.
The most recent one is the currently airing Taiwanese drama, Unknown, based on the novel Da Ge by Priest.

I don't condone or encourage incest by any means, but I have to admit, I would be in the exact same predicament as the leading characters’ friends’, had something as such happened before me.
I view almost everything from an objective point of view or through the eyes of the characters, which might be why I did not find this as abhorrent as expected.
Plus, the immaculate performances by the leading and supporting cast was an added bonus.

The Plot:
The story opens with two supposedly newlyweds moving into a neighborhood for a fresh start. We soon learn the shocking truth: Akira and Keicchi are not husband and wife, but siblings by blood. And hence begins a flashback into the past, which step by step explains what finally leads them to this point.

My Thoughts: Typical Japanese style, this drama is simple with an excellent cast, and a slice-of-life calm ambience whose very power lies in the hands of the characters.
A common aspect that I've noticed in such dramas and novels hinting at sibling relationships going awry is the children being forced to grow up as adults way too soon.

From the get go, it's clear that Hirose Akira, the younger sister was the mother of the household – it's not that anyone assigned her to do it, but their neglectful and absent mother, combined with a distinct alienation of Akira from the family pictures speaks volumes.
She automatically accepts the role and takes care of her elder brother Keiichi. However, somewhere along the way, she begins to realize that she has reached a point where she just can't let him go.

The same goes for Keiichi, who is heavily dependent on his younger sibling to take care of him. I have to point out, Keiichi had no idea about Akira's feelings towards him and it's not until she confessed multiple times that it finally hit a nail across his head.

Another common theme revolving around characters growing up too soon seems to be this – they seek permanent safety, happiness and warmth from someone whom they know will never be able to abandon them rather than try out transient emotions. Both Akira and Keiichi had only each other to seek out during difficult times. They are burdened by insecurities and responsibilities. (I did feel that Akira was a bit too stringent, though.)

Their friends, particularly Takumi and Go-san, are two other characters who have a fair share of their own dilemmas. Impossible unrequited loves, dysfunctional families, growing up different… Saraba, Yoki Hi had quite a lot going on.

The Cast: Is the real reason why this drama is a success. Hirose Akira in particular, has one of the most emotionally draining performances I've seen in such a subdued drama and I applaud Yamashita Mizuki for taking on such a role. One minor flaw would've changed the entire vibe of the drama from real and raw to plain creepy.
I'm familiar with Suzuki Jin's work and he did a decent job here. Kato Konatsu and Ito Asahi, Takami and Go-san, were excellently portrayed for supporting characters.

The Music: Was not too memorable for me. It was rather mellow and blended in with the scenes, without overpowering it.

Many thanks to massterchef @Tumblr for the subtitles. It was a different experience from my previous watches as it directly dealt with a taboo and sensitive topic.
As for that part… I'm not one to judge, and will not do so in this case. But, Saraba Yoki Hi was indeed a pleasant watch for me.

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Memorable. Ep 1-4 are very thoughtful & Ep 5-8 are more melodramatic.

General spoilers only. "You can't help if you fall for a boy or a girl, or someone else." About multiple characters who feel different from "normal" in various ways. Characters experience a lot of yearning and pining (a lot of it is romantic in nature though characters also yearn to fit in or to find their place in life too), internal struggles and insecurity, and waivering back & forth.

The two main characters are blood-related siblings, so this is best watched with a non-judgmental approach, otherwise you might want to skip this one. There is also an openly gay secondary character and a tertiary character who loves their step-sibling (not related by blood).

There are great messages explored throughout the screenplay about questioning societal norms, mores, and expectations (especially when it doesn't hurt others- the people who feel like outliers are the ones that are hurt by trying to conform to other's opinions), deciding what's right for one's self, not being passive in one's own life, and more in that vein.

Nothing is handled lightly, by the story as a whole or by the individual characters. Various concerns about each character's feelings and their situations are explored. There are voice-over thoughts from multiple characters.

This is NOT a spicy story. There is some skinship but not a lot, two light lip presses, and one brief scene near the end that only implies the two lead characters slept together.

Technically I would rate this a 7.5/10 overall, but there were a few things I loved about it, and it engaged my thoughts and emotions enough to be quite memorable so I'm giving it an 8/10.

The first half is well crafted and thoughtful. I would give Ep 1-4 a 9/10. The second half gets more melodramatic in ways that I found excessive at times and I would rate Ep 5-8 a 6/10; the plot starts feeling less realistic and increasingly stretches credulity. A couple of actions or reactions didn't feel quite in line with a character's previous build. Overall I still found it pretty satisfying though; it helped that the show starts at the end before going back in time so I already had an idea of how things were going to work out. That allowed me to mostly shrug off the frusterations in storytelling and character actions as I watched things unfold in the second half.

All of the actors (except the mother) were very well suited for their rolls. Suzuki Jin, Yamashita Mizuki, and Ito Asahi were especially enjoyable to watch and almost immediately got me invested in their characters. The mother, on the other hand, is extra in a way that is not written or acted particularly well. Which makes her even more annoying. Luckily she's not around much.

General Spoilers below.

The number of times people dramatically drop to the ground (in faints or illness) is ridiculous. I could handle one, but after that it breaks credulity.

I loved one of the internal thoughts of a character with unrequited love. The character being daunted by the difficulty and hopeless pain of it was so relatable; "You want to be best friends forever? Then I can't tell you forever."

FYI SIDE NOTE ON SUBTITLES:
I could only find this streaming in the USA on KissAsian (as a last resort) in February 2024. Ep 4-8 all had lagging subtitle issues. It would be fine for about the first 15min of every episode and then the rest would lag behind by multiple sentences.
So I recommend checking if this is going to happen in whatever platform you find it on before starting to avoid frusteration.

Edit: I ended up downloading the video and subtitle files on my computer in order to re-watch it properly.

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