I am certainly no stranger to romantic comedies and this one with a super long title, Okinawa de Suki ni Natta Ko ga Hougen Sugite Tsura Sugiru (I Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl but I Just Wish I Knew What She’s Saying) had a pretty interesting premise but it’s one that could be amazing if done right or just plain annoying if it goes the typical route most slice-of-life rom-coms go. Which path did this show take?
Let’s go!
First Episode Synopsis
Teruaki (Teeru for short) moved to Okinawa and fell in love with a girl named Hina Kyan. There’s only one problem… she speaks the old Okinawa language and has such a thick accent that Teruaki cannot understand a single word she’s saying! Thankfully, there is Kana Higa, a girl who is secretly in love with Teruaki who knows both Okinawan and Japanese so she acts as his translator.
The first half of the episode is spent building this premise while the second half sees Teruaki come under a fierce attack by the locals! He hasn’t had a certain Okinawan treat… essentially… donut holes with sugar… so, as custom in Okinawa, everyone in the town must feed him! He receives so much that he doesn’t know what to do. The problem is that Higa wants to give him some, too, but she’s way too shy to do so!
And that’s about it.
Worth Watching?
MAYBE – This is one of those shows which appears cute at first but it seems to blow all of the interesting aspects in its first episode. The premise is going to be a running gag of Hina speaking in Okinawan and Kana acting as his translator. Mix in some Okinawan dialect puns and jokes and you can see where this show is heading for the next eleven episodes.
What gives me some hope is that they switched gears and threw in a little subplot within the intro episode; however, it wasn’t all that interesting or funny. Kana’s embarrassment of giving Teruaki her treats was more entertaining than the actual gag. Why it gives me hope is that there is an attempt here to try and not force the premise in our faces like most other shows with a unique hook try to do. Although, I’m sure it will continue to do that from here on out.
The show needs to surprise me to keep going because with a premise like this, it will either continue with the running gag and get old really fast, saving anything worthwhile until the final two episodes, or it will try and mix things up with more sub-plots. If it’s the latter, those sub-plots need to be interesting and not just do stuff like a beach episode, a cultural festival, or anything like that. That’s a HUGE ask when it comes to shows like this but this has all the “red flags” of just being a standard rom-com with a unique hook that turns out to be something not so unique. That’s why this gets a MAYBE from me.
We’ll see if this show can surprise me and turn out to be something that sets itself apart from other run-of-the-mill rom-coms but given the first episode, I’m not holding my breath.
