Ep.20 I Will Do Better Next Life
Written by Cordelia Shan; edited by Grace
In this episode, we are going to talk about a very special late-night TV dorama called "I Will Do Better Next Life" (来世ではちゃんとします).
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Summary
"I Will Do Better Next Life," 来世ではちゃんとします, is a four-panel manga by artist Itsuma-Chan. After being published in 2018 as a one-time-only work in the 5th issue of Grand Jump, which is published by Shueisha, it gained great success and has been serialized in the same magazine since then. This manga discusses liberation and sexual diversity.
The story focuses on Momoe Omori, portrayed by Rio Uchida, who works hard as an employee at a CG company called Studio Delta. Despite her pure and lovely appearance, her private life is actually a bit chaotic. She has five different friends with benefits whom she refers to as A to E. Mr. A is Momoe's favorite, but being together is impossible. Every weekday night, Momoe spends time with one of them, from Monday to Friday. Even though there are many men around her, Momoe still feels distressed and odd as she cannot truly be serious about relationships.
Momoe has four other colleagues with different personalities. One of them is Ken Matsuda, an Ikemen, in other words, super good-looking boy. By the way, here's a funny fact: if you google "Ikemen," the first photo that shows up is RyosukeYamada, the center from Hey! Say! JUMP. Matsuda, just like Momoe, is also popular in various dating markets. Ume Takasugi, an A-zero, loves BL and doesn't understand anything about real-world relationships. Masaru Hayashi, a muscle man, only loves cute inexperienced girls but has no luck in the dating pool. However, he falls in love or enters a weird relationship phase with a trans-girl named Nagi. Their boss, Toworu Hiyama, is also a manga artist on the side and falls in love with a Mis Soap employee named Kokoro-chan, which is doomed to have no result.
So, basically, in this life, all of them are struggling with something, mostly relationships, in the search for love. Can we say they all mess up a bit, but at the same time don't want to do much about the situation? I would agree. In this life, none of them can do it well, so let it be. And I believe that's the reason why they are hoping to be good or better in the next life.
The TV adaptation of the manga was broadcast on TV Tokyo from January 9, 2020. The second season aired on August 12, 2021, and the third season premiered on January 4, 2023. Yes, you heard it right, this TV show already has three seasons. It is that popular! In each season's opening, the five of them dress up as a rock band, play music, and sing songs, which is super cute.
It is a great series, and I personally love it a lot because it discusses liberation and sexual diversity.
In the Search for Love
Some audiences say this TV show is about the topic of searching for love, but in my opinion, it can honestly be about finding out what exactly we want.
The second season is much sharper than the first season.
Ume, who is A-Zero, loves BL and has an interest in listening about other people’s relationships. Very relatable. In the second episode, Ume questions how people accept that they have not been able to live their dream life.
Well, by living, we are moving forward, and growing up. Whatever we have been given, whatever has been taken away. Growing up means knowing and admitting that we are on the path to the ordinary, but still trying our best to get close to what we want.
But that is about life. What about relationships? Relationships are so complicated, or, to be honest, they shouldn't be this complicated. I mean, if we know what we are looking for and what we want, and if our partner is on the same page as us, the relationship should not be hard at all. But, based on Ume-Chan, maybe it is still not easy to achieve because, even if we figure out what we want, sometimes fear stops us from moving forward and getting it.
Ume, who is always an audience to others’ relationships, doesn't have those "love is blind" moments. We can say she is almost always sober. So, she cares more about joy and life.
Another one of their teammates, the leader Hiyama, uses money and gives money to gain love. It's kind of giving without boundaries but getting nothing in return. So he feels extremely isolated even when he’s right beside the person he loves.
For Momoe, indeed, she wants love, true love, a one-on-one relationship, but neither she nor her partners can say no to temporary pleasures, so they are all on the same page!
So for her, even though love is something she hopes for, she leaves it and promises to do better in the next life. Momoe clearly knows that she wants marriage, kids, and a stable life, but to her, the cost and price of love are too high, so she ends up only seeking temporary pleasure. The price of love is the fear of being hurt, which the same for Matsuda.
Matsuda sees a lot of girls, and he is kind of good at managing them all at the same time, but he does complain that some of the girls are not easy to get rid of. Oh well, the same happens to Momoe, doesn't it?
In this functional utopia, everyone has their own troubles. Matsuda and Momoe are eager to love, but because of fear, they just play around, slowly losing the ability to give and receive love. But they still desire to sink with the right person.
In the first season, to Momoe, Matsuda is good at controlling the distance with females, which is what she likes about him. Slowly in the second season, they start talking the day after Momoe left Mr. A, while heading halfway home with pain and tears. She meets Matsuda, and in front of him, Momoe shows her vulnerabilities and confesses her desire to seek a stable, faithful relationship. Matsuda offers and asks her to be together, and they end up dating each other in season 3, which is a super brave move.
As we discussed before in episode 18, love is not just about desire; it is about how to give and what to take. And the first step to love is to love ourselves. When Matsuda and Momoe meet, they start liking themselves more, and here is where the spark or the beginning of their relationship occurs.
And for Hayashi, he is totally experiencing something different from others but also on a similar topic of fears.
About Nagi
If you ask me who my favorite character is among everyone in this show, I would say Nagi-chan. Nagi and Hayashi meet through a dating app. Just to remind the listeners, Hayashi is the muscular man who only loves cute, inexperienced girls but has no luck in the dating pool. He likes inexperienced girls because he is unsure about himself and lacks confidence.
Nagi is super cute, the cutest girl in the whole universe. Interestingly, she is actually Mr. D's sister. So in the second season, Nagi meets Momoe and they become really good friends in season 3.
Hayashi didn't have Nagi's background, but he falls in love with her at first sight. However, weirdly enough, he hopes that Nagi will become a "real" female, which is very disrespectful.
Nagi likes Hayashi a lot. She thinks he is good-looking, tall, hard-working, not very gentle but kind. Hayashi is 100% Nagi's type.
So, Nagi has a plan. Nagi believes in training partners to become someone who suits them. Her ideal lover has to be coached by herself, which is why she gives Hayashi so many chances and even space and time to pursue other people. She doesn't aim to change them completely but to make them adapt more to fit the needs of their other lover.
Despite being the youngest among all the other people in the show, Nagi is the most patient and mature. She is going to train Hayashi, this straight and transphobic man, into the one she wants. Nagi not only creates space for Hayashi to grow but also provides a safe space for Momoe to be open and be herself.
Nagi is an angel. She purifies hearts and brings warmth to many.
Ending
Enjoying the story and the script itself and celebrating the sexual diversities but not judgements will bring a lot of fun to watch this TV Show. There is no way for people to fully understand each other, the wall of the heart and projections are real, but that's why there are independent individuals. But, at least, listening and experiencing will bring more understanding and inclusiveness between people and groups. This can be seen in someone like Nagi, who can provide a safe space no matter where she goes.
By the way, just my personal opinion, I found that Matsuda is very similar to Mr A, in many different ways. Maybe this is the reason why he can walk into Momoe’s heart.
Reference
Links: Season I Website in Japanese: https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/raisechan/
Season II website in Japanese: https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/raisechan2/
Season III website in Japanese: https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/raisechan3/
Special Ep Website in Japanese: https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/raisechan_sp/
Manga in Japanese on Amazon.jp: https://amzn.asia/d/fA2mi6s
Official Manga website in Japanese (Shueisha): http://grandjump.shueisha.co.jp/manga/raise.html
