WHAT IS HATSUKOI ZARARI ABOUT?
Hatsukoi Zarari is a feel good boy meets girl jdorama except in this case the girl Arisa played by Ono Karin has mild intellectual disability and autism. In the beginning of the first episode, we see she works as a hostess and is easy manipulated by men for sex. It is also a workplace dorama since they are colleagues.
WHAT IS GOOD?
+ Ono Karin and Kazama Shunsuke are good actors and forever in my good books because of Suzuki sensei and Soredemo Ikite Yuku. They have decent chemistry.
+ Ono Karin is positively adorable and you will want to cheer her on.
+ Wayamura Mayumi as Arisa's mom.
+ It is an absolutely sweet romance dorama.
+ I like the workplace side of teaching people with autism how to work. I saw a news report recently about autistic people being trained to work and I think helping autistic people being able to work is an interest topic. I would like to think you can teach anyone how to do a job as long as they have work hard.
+ Shows the struggle people with autism have in their day to day life and that autism exists on a spectrum.
WHAT IS NOT SO GOOD?
- The main characters have an age gap and with Arisa's low IQ and autism, there is this feeling of is he manipulating Arisa behind the sweet romantic facade that this show has? It doesn't help Ono Karin plays her Arisa like a child. There is a bit too much of a power/mental imbalance that it made me slightly uncomfortable. On the other hand, autism exists on a spectrum and Arisa exists at the top of it and who am I as the audience able to deny a character's feelings just because she has low IQ?
SUMMARY
Really love the casting. Not so sure about the power imbalance in the relationship. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more as a workplace dorama with a bit of romance. If you like the two main actors might be worth checking out. Thanks to kayatoast subs for subbing.