Futtara Doshaburi: When It Rains, It Pours Review- Romance Drenched in Restraint
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Office worker Hagiwara Kazuaki feels suffocated in his relationship with his girlfriend Shinomiya, a nail technician, who inexplicably stops getting intimate with him a few months after they start dating. Meanwhile, Nakarai Sei, another young man, is in a frustrating ‘situationship’ with his childhood friend, Fujisawa Kazuaki, who agrees to live with and be by Nakarai’s side ‘forever’ but refuses to have any kind of physical contact with him. When Hagiwara accidentally sends an email to Nakarai, the two become online friends, finding comfort in each other’s words until they realize they are colleagues. What next? Will they slip back into mundane, customary conversations that colleagues have? Or will their connection get deeper?
Directed by Tomita Miki and Takahashi Natsuki, the Japanese series When It Rains, It Pours is based on the novel of the same name by Ichiho Michi. The seven-episode show stars Muto Jun as the genial, friendly salesman Hagiwara Kazuaki, while Ito Asahi portrays the asocial, aloof Nakarai Sei. This is a slow-burn romance that explores how two lonely individuals become close while exchanging emails. Lack of sexual fulfillment and infidelity are thus the primary themes of the series.
The initial pace of When It Rains, It Pours is challenging, so if you’re looking for a fast-moving story with lots of romance, this show isn’t it. On the other hand, the creators poignantly capture the loneliness of being in a relationship where partners struggle to vocalize what they truly desire. Kitamura Yui plays Hagiwara’s cheery girlfriend Shinomiya, who seems to be genuinely fond of Hagiwara yet nonchalantly keeps rejecting his attempts to initiate lovemaking. “Later” or “maybe some other time” is her usual response. Matsumoto Hiroki plays the enigmatic Fujisawa Kazuaki, a handsome designer living with Nakarai, but the nature of their relationship is unclear. They aren’t boyfriends, but neither is their bond as platonic as friendship.
Both protagonists – Nakarai and Hagiwara – face a similar predicament: they are both living with someone they love deeply, but their physical desires are left unfulfilled. However, their personalities are quite different. Hagiwara Kazuaki avoids directly communicating with his girlfriend, both out of cowardice and concern, as he doesn’t want to fight or make things awkward between them. Nakarai Sei, on the other hand, bashfully demands sex from Fujisawa and yet is blatantly rejected. Constantly pushed away by their partners, the men gravitate toward each other through email, while the episodes also show how they interact as colleagues, unaware that they are emailing each other.
Episode three is where When It Rains, It Pours really picks up intrigue, as the creators cleverly depict the email exchanges between the leads. By splitting the screen in two, they showcase how each character navigates their mundane daily life while confiding in one another about their problems. Flashbacks also reveal the ‘meet-cute’ between Hagiwara and Shinomiya, and how, despite a sweet start, they drift apart. The show steadily keeps up the suspense over the intentions and motives of the partners. We don’t know why Shinomiya and Fujisawa refuse to indulge in physical intimacy until the end. Are they asexual? Are they secretly seeing someone else? Or have they simply lost interest in their partners but are too comfortable to call it quits? It could be anything.
Muto Jun is endearing as Hagiwara, the least grey character in When It Rains, It Pours, someone who is ‘too nice’ for his own good, a trait his girlfriend takes for granted. Ito Asahi’s Nakarai Sei often resembles a lifeless zombie going about his day, the life sucked out of him by unrequited love, compounded by the grief of losing his parents. Matsumoto Hiroki is intriguing as Fujisawa Kazuaki, the most complex character in the tale, with some scenes hinting that he may have sadomasochistic tendencies, perhaps deriving pleasure from tormenting Nakarai. He has the classic look of a ‘bad boy’ – a manipulative charmer who tries to isolate Nakarai to have more control over his life.
There’s no instant attraction between Hagiwara and Nakarai, and the chemistry between them is also lukewarm – which makes sense, because their initial interactions are as colleagues. They are tired, defeated, depressed, lonely working men simply finding solace in the newfound comfort of having someone to listen to them. This bond is meticulously built over the first half of the show, so when the two finally get together in the latter half of the series, you expect some stormy, messy, steamy sex, but instead get Nakarai lying like a corpse while a nervous Hagiwara does all the work. The scene fails to capture either character’s emotional state or the relief of finally expressing pent-up desires. For a series centered around sex, the creators play it too safe in the bedroom, like most Japanese shows in the genre. The 2023 drama End of the World with You is one of the rare titles where creators depict sweaty sensuality between the sheets, and the story didn’t necessarily demand it – unlike the plot of When It Rains, It Pours. Although there are moments of tenderness between Nakarai and Hagiwara, that bring out their eventual attraction, the background score helps the plot by leaps and bounds.
Apart from a great soundtrack, one of the stronger elements in the show is the maturity the characters display in their interactions, even when the subject at hand is unpleasant. A climactic confrontation between Hagiwara and Shinomiya is executed smoothly, with the estranged couple finally spilling the beans on what’s been happening on both sides. Unfortunately, the season finale (episode 7), which ultimately reveals Fujisawa’s frigid, frustrating conduct toward Nakarai, is exceedingly underwhelming. In fact, the final episode is a complete disappointment, even though it gives the protagonists a conclusive ending.
When It Rains, It Pours needed at least another episode, or possibly just a few more minutes, to have a more stable climax. Things feel rushed, and the writing drowns in high-school-level clichés. But despite all its flaws, the show is an entertaining watch, especially for slow-burn romance fans who have a weak spot for morally grey protagonists.
Rating: 7 on 10. Watch the series on GagaOolala.
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