There is always this saying that LOVE
is not about binding a person by your side. Setting him free is also a kind of love.
Often, the question buzzing around everybody
is how come Naoki chooses Kotoko in the end (though audiences already guessed it long ago)
when initially, he treated her so badly and seemingly detested her. Even towards the end,
Reiko is the one who links her arm through his and also knows practically everything in
his household. Not to mention that he tends to Reiko immediately when both girls hurt
their fingers simultaneously. So many years of being together, is it possible that Naoki
never fell for Reiko at any point in time?
Well, the answer could be that all long, Reiko
is always in Naoki's circle but Kotoko's intrusion just about turns his life upside down.
In the manga, a certain character said the reason Naoki is so mean to Kotoko is that he
notices her too much. This point is quite relevant as Naoki's indifference towards
his surroundings (including Reiko) is one of the major themes in the drama.
I quote from the manga, "The 90% that
I can do, Kotoko can't do. However, the 10% that I can't do, she can do."
(Naoki).
And Naoki is not
entirely oblivious to Kotoko's feelings too. Check out the emotional glances targeted at
Kotoko at various points in the drama below:
Fig (a) >>> Naoki: Your house burnt
down, wasn't it?
Fig (b) >>> When Kotoko reveals the long
list of people she had asked
Fig (c) >>> When Kotoko looks devastated
upon finding out that Naoki & Reiko will be studying together again
Fig (d) >>> When Kotoko is extremely
upset by Reiko's gloating
And Naoki is NOT always mean
towards Kotoko...  (21/11/01)
>>> It may seem like so, but it is
only in front of her. Whenever she's not around, Naoki can be quite nice towards her.
Obvious ones like carrying her home in Race of Love & Tears and rushing her
to the hospital in Bring me to Todai are needless to say. The sweetest part of all is how he tries to protect Kotoko in his own subtle way.
 No matter how much Kotoko can annoy Naoki sometimes, he knows
that she is basically a cute and innocent girl with no bad intentions at all. It can be
seen that he always defences Kotoko and does not allow anyone to defame
her.
There are many examples to prove this.
The first one would be when Reiko and others
accused Kotoko of stealing money from his house. While he was listening to them talk bad
about Kotoko, he got kind of angry and told them on the spot that she did not take
anything. He also gave Reiko a cold look, knowing that she had set Kotoko up. Later, he
even walked into 'F' classroom (which is the second time he did for Kotoko. The first time
was to get back his lunchbox from her) just to clarify the matter for her.
 Subsequent times:
In Episode 3, when everybody blamed Kotoko
relentlessly for causing his arm to be injured. But he himself did not complain about
anything.
In Episode 4, when Reiko asked Naoki out for a
date. She made snide remarks about Kotoko and Naoki told her not to drag her in.
In Episode 4 again, after the photo of Reiko
kissing Naoki was pinned on the tabiold board. He told her not to do it again and the
underlying intention could be knowing that Kotoko was deeply hurt by it.
In Episode 5, Reiko paid a visit to Irie
family. Again, she accused Kotoko of pestering Naoki but the latter made it clear that
she's not.
In Episode 5, when Naoki wanted to move out on
his own, Yuki pushed the fault to Kotoko again. However, Naoki said that it did not
concern her.
In the last episode, though Kotoko was in
trouble with the 'A' class again for causing him to miss his entrance exams to Todai, he
told her it's not her fault as he had already found his ambition.
Naoki's different responses
towards Kotoko & Reiko: (21/11/01)
 In the show, Reiko is Kotoko's biggest (and most powerful) love rival. She's
rich, beautiful and smart. But just how much Naoki pays attention to her?
1. In the beginning part, she
is like almost invisible. We just see her following Naoki wherever he goes but seldom does
the guy turn back to take a good look at her.
2. She needs to plant a kiss on
Naoki herself in Episode 4 (See When a Heart is broken) and beg for one in
Episode 5. Notice that Naoki looks very reluctant on both occasions.
But for Kotoko, he initiated the 1st kiss and
accepted her kiss in Episode 5 quite willingly. (see Cold & Hot Kiss)
3. Even when she expresses her
feelings for him in Episode 3, his face remains a stony expression. Compare this to
Kotoko's love declaration in Episode 4, one would see the vast difference in his two
responses quite clearly.
4. Even in the last episode,
though Naoki seems happy with Reiko, remember that this change in him is brought about by
Kotoko. Come to think of it, I'm sure Naoki treats everyone that way now, just that Reiko
has been with him for a much longer time.
Relieved... or... Sad? (21/11/01)
Special thanks to 'M C' for informing me about this scene! ^_^
 >>>In this scene, Kotoko's father has asked Naoki to his restaurant
for a small chat. He apologises for all the trouble Kotoko has brought to him, but Naoki
replied that it's okay.
The highlight of this scene is that when Aihara
reveals that he and Kotoko will be moving out soon, Naoki suddenly drops his uninterested
look and becomes very alert (See pictures below). There are two possibilities for
this:
1. He's relieved that Kotoko will be moving out soon.
2. He is taken aback by the news as he has already grown
accustomed to her.
No matter what, there should be some kind of
struggle/confusion in him upon hearing the unexpected news. My personal viewpoint is that
the precise reason why he's taken by surprise is that he is starting to accept Kotoko in
his household and does not expect her to move out so soon anymore.
  <<<
Earlier look - seems uninterested and not really listening.
When the news is out, suddenly
becomes very alert and attentive >>>
When Kotoko really moved out...
(21/11/01)
 >>> Naoki then starts to miss
her and realise that she had indeed left many lovely
memories for the Irie family.
For interests' sake: in the pic
on the left, Naoki is reminscing the time he had tutored Kotoko in her studies. He also
reflects on how hard she had run for the race and at the end, made a blunder by passing
the sash to him instead of Kinnosuke. He called her 'baka' then.
|