Aired : 14 February 2022
8 Episodes
Country: Japan
Cast: Shinohara Ryoko, Iwata Takanori, Ando Masanobu, Hasegawa Kyoko
This drama follows the lives of six married couples and tries to give a justification for their extramarital affairs. An opening scene with steamy sex and later a party where all the main characters are introduced to us. We immediately realize that the six wives struggle within compromised marriages and are compared to goldfish who try to jumb out of their bowl. Up to this point the series seems promising. An inspired title and a first episode that caught my interest enough to make me complete it within two days.
However, here comes a big BUT... The main concept of this scenario gave a very wrong vibe. Most of the wives accept the abusive and toxic behavior of their husbands as if it is something very common in a 2022 society. What is more disturbing, is the fact that not one of them shows signs that they try to change their situation. In order to be fair, I will recognize that in the case of the main couple, Sakura and Takuya, the husband's psychological and physical abuse has led Sakura to resign completely and give in to his toxic manipulation. Nevertheless, the rest of the wives can easily step out of their misery. They are all young couples and not middle aged ones. This alone should make it easy for them to have a face to face confrontation in order to resolve their issues. Certainly, an affair is an easy way out and sometimes it may even help to save a marriage. But before that, there are many other forms of reaction.
I strongly believe that this series could be much better if this whole concept of psychological and physical abuse had not been treated so lightly. Due to its japanese origin, I had great expectations of this drama. This may also be the reason that I am very strict in my review. Despite my negative critic, I wouldn't vote against it as a watching value. It was very easy to watch and kept my interest till the end.