Switched

Presentation

Analysis

Synopsis

​Ayumi is leading an almost perfect life. She is pretty, has good friends, good parents and has just received a love confession from the boy she loves, Koshiro. On the day of their first date, she receives a call from her classmate Umine, telling her to look up. Umine is standing at the edge of a rooftop. She jumps before Ayumi’s eyes. When she wakes up, Ayumi and Umine have changed bodies because of the Red Moon present that day. 

My Opinion (No Spoilers)

​The first episodes of the drama (there are only 6 episodes) were really interesting. The very beginning really got me and I found myself very eager to discover how Ayumi was going to cope with this situation, in someone else’s body. 

There is suspense and nice twists, especially one I was not expecting, but I also thought that the story was becoming very confusing at the end, especially because of the body switch. 

Some of the characters really got on my nerves, like Umine but characters were written in such a way that we could see all of them were in fact human.  

In overall, very nice drama, with great actors that I have discovered (Johnny’s West idols playing Kaga and Koshiro for instance). The short format is also good because we don’t go round in circles with the intrigue. Some stories could have been analyzed a bit more (like Ukon’s) as well as the ending, that made me expect for something more. 

Despite that, the storyline was innovative and very good at pointing out societal and social problems and the direction was incredible. The theme song “the Suicide Symphony” by Ken Arai is by the way beautiful!

​Analysis (Spoilers Alert)

​Switched highlights the terrible prejudice and criticisms associated with beauty standards. The body switch especially proves in the drama that you don’t need to be pretty outside to make friends or to lead a good life. In reality, it is what you do as a person that matters. The inside, the personality and the behavior in general, are what make you a social person. 

Umine’s (Miu Tomita) behavior personally annoyed me to the point that I thought she was herself responsible for her demise. Not accepting herself, thinking that beauty can arrange everything and make her appreciable until almost the last episode, made me think she had a victim mentality. I understood what she had been through and empathized with her case, because her life has not been easy, but my problem was that she was really using that as justification to hurt other people. Ayumi (Kaya Kiyohara) for example didn’t ask for anything and was even nice to her; yet, Umine rejected her kindness, avenging herself on her instead. I found that situation quite unfair for all the others characters gravitating around Umine and couldn’t stand her insufferable outbursts. I mean at some point, put yourself in question: if Ayumi manages to make friends and be liked with your physique, so can you. Of course, only different point is that Ayumi had Kaga (Daiki Shigeoka) and Umine no one. 

Moreover, something else stayed in the back of my mind all that time and it was even noted at the end of the drama by characters themselves: Ayumi never would’ve had anyone, had she not been Ayumi; meaning that Kaga never would’ve been interested in her, if it had not been her friend. The overall situation at the end is thus kind of hypocritical, when Kaga, Koshiro (Tomohiro Kamiyama) and Ayumi emphasize to Umine the importance to love yourself. 

The main point to actually remember from that complexity of characters is that are deeply human and subject to faults, defaults and errors. I really appreciated to have for once a drama with complex characters, who are not entirely responsible or innocent. 

Other crazy thing that really disturbed me is, how easy characters come to the conclusion that suicide solves everything. I think in the drama each character committed suicide at least 3 times. The ease with which they accept the theory of the Red Moon is frightening. Plus, just a reminder, you have to die to switch bodies, meaning that they died at least 3 times each!

Finally, apart from that message of acceptance of oneself and tolerance for others, Switched shed also light on the school bullying, leading sometimes to suicide, that is really present in Japanese society. Something to question then!

In a nutshell, Switched is an interesting drama, tackling serious and important themes, but pushing a bit too far some parts of the intrigue.

P.S.: What did you think about that drama? Like it or skip it? 

Sorry, I couldn’t find a proper trailer 😦