{ wait wat }

Today I was feeling sad boi hours, and decided to rewatch One Week Friends (2017).

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Something abt good Japanese dramas / movies is dat they aren’t always the best in terms of production value or quality, and the storylines tend to be pretty mid like, 90% of the time. But they compensate wif alot of sentimental value, dat gets ur emotions working.

I read somewhere dat the main difference between J-dramas and other Asian dramas, is their greater focus on inner conflict. Things like not becoming an outcast, making decisions dat comply to societal expectations, and maintaining their honne and tatemae (本音と建前)

Makes for some good media, I must say. Sometimes, I feel like my blog is a silly Japanese drama. Then again, my grandmother was a Japanese 🇯🇵 lady. Maybe it’s in my DNA 🤔

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Anyways, the movie ends wif the FL asking the ML if he cld be her friend, to which the ML accepts wif happy tears. Becos the ML was chasing her throughout, and finally got there in the end 🥹. They shake hands 🤝, as it fades to the credits while the song “Kanade / 奏(かなで) ” by Sukima Switch plays in the background.

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So the song “Kanade” is something I always associate wif dis movie. To me, the kind of song nobody knows abt becos it’s from a movie nobody knows abt…

Dat is wif the context dat J-dramas and J-pop tend to not be very popular over here, especially compared to the Korean counterparts. J-rock’s more popular though (mostly becos of anime).

Dis makes me sometimes forget how mainstream some of the songs I listen to actly are in Japan, and perhaps their neighbouring countries. I tend to have dis false perception of them being “indie” becos nobody around me noes them.

But then I go online and see dis:

Then I think wait wat da hell, why is SKZ’s Lee Know singing dis of all things??

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Then I rmb o rite, dis song’s actly pretty popular in Japan at one point. Probably a classic at dis point, considering it was a hit when it came out in like, 2005.

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Lee Know’s cover itself is pretty nice. While I wld’ve love if he had done it in the original style instead of an acoustic ballad version, I think it’s still great for wat it is.

But I’m still wrapping my head around him singing wat I know as the “Kento Yamazaki one week friends song“. Gotta get it drilled in my head. J-pop hits: niche here, absolutely not niche in East Asia…

17.02.2026