天下制覇

This show is… something.

Impressions:

This will be a little complicated. For the first 15 or so minutes, it's indistinguishable from a pretty trashy drama. Maybe telling on myself slightly here, but the over-saturation of the visuals and all the upskirt shots, overly detailed clothing clinging to their curves, and boob bouncing noises really makes it feel a step removed from porn. At the 15 minute mark though, it rips off its mask and goes "Ha ha! It was all an act. I'm not a cliche imbecile! The cliches are on purpose! I'm actually a cliche jackass! I'm not a nice guy! I'm a nice guy!" Then it pretty much just continues forward with what it was doing before, except now, instead of doing character introductions every time he talks to someone, he scowls and tells the audience "How dare this slut not like me after I faked being nice to seduce her!?" Is that really better? It certainly seems to think so.

The Jekyll and Hyde call-out the show itself makes is certainly apt, but calling out its own first two thirds being crap does not excuse or absolve it. Its "Hyde" turn is also almost as distasteful. I think we're supposed to take it as come-uppance that a girl knows the real him and is blackmailing him over it… except that she's blackmailing him with affection and adoration for secretly being a (supposedly) manipulative ass. Negging is only okay when he does it. It might've been able to get by if every character had been a two-faced jackass, all of them engaging in shenanigans and deserving whatever they got in turn… kind of a Seinfeld "no hugging, no learning" routine, and that may be the direction this eventually goes once it stops with the upskirt shots. As far as this episode goes, though, there's just the one abhorrent "nice guy."