Unsatisfying as the marriage depicted, Let’s Get Divorced had a promising premise but its approach to its themes betray its message. The couple, actress Kurosawa Yui (Naka Riisa) and incompetent political heir Shoji Taishi (Matsuzaka Tori), wants to split, much to the disapproval of Kurosawa’s agent and Shoji’s mother. At its most interesting, the show attempts to critique Japan’s attitudes towards divorce and the expectations surrounding famous couples, but it mostly shies away from the root of these views. However, what doesn’t help is how uninterested the show is in making us root for either character. Shoji is so incompetent that it’s downright infuriating. But it’s mostly the show’s treatment of Kurosawa that makes this comedy deeply unfunny. Gags about her (actually reasonable) anger reveal an underlying misogyny rooted in the show’s approach.
Synopsis
A mediatised married couple who no longer love each other is highly optimistic about getting a divorce. However, external circumstances will get in their way and they will have no other choice but to work hand in hand to reach their ultimate goal: getting a divorce.
Storyline
An actress and a third-generation politician desperately want to have a divorce, but circumstances surrounding their work don’t allow them to.
TLDR
The show is unsatisfying, but the biggest disappointment is what the show could’ve been.
What stands out
While the jokes and length distract from the themes of the show, Let’s Get Divorced’s premise is one worth talking about. Power couples, even without the dysfunctional aspects of Shoji and Kurosawa’s marriage, have an inherent falseness in their relationship, because they actively present themselves as an ideal in order to further their goals. The show accurately depicts this, identifying the ideals the couple presents and the consequences that happen if they don’t live up to them. There’s also an interesting comparison between Shoji’s love for Ehime and his love for Kurosawa that could have been explored more deeply, but again, the show’s approach makes his character too infuriating. If the show actively sided with one of the couples, or at least, removed the cheating storylines, Let’s Get Divorced might have had more time to dive into its themes if it had the guts to do so.
