With my fractured attention span these days, I don’t often watch a series to the end. But this Japanese dorama, Extremely Inappropriate, was an exception. Even when I got distracted by Culinary Class Wars, I made sure that I returned to this and finished all episodes.

If truth be told, I didn’t have high hopes for this at first. I watched the first episode, which didn’t enchant me at all. The main character was a middle-aged uncle who traveled through time and arrived in 2024. Having hailed from 1986, he unsurprisingly found that some of the Showa-era principles that were ingrained in his psyche had become hopelessly outdated.

I thought the uncle was whiny, and his rantings were cringe, so I didn’t continue watching it. But a fellow Japanophile recommended this show strongly to me, stating that I would like it. So, I gave it a second chance.

And boy, am I glad I did, because it shattered my expectations of what a dorama should be. The most distinctive feature is that it is a musical in disguise. In navigating present-day Japan, the characters would suddenly break into song and dance, their words containing cutting-edge commentary on the social issues Japan is currently wrestling with. I don’t know about you, but I quite like musicals. Hell, I even enjoyed “High School Musical” and used it to teach my pre-tertiary students.

Watching this dorama enabled me to have greater respect for Japanese professionalism. I imagine the hard work behind the scenes as well as the amount of coordination and collaboration needed to film these songs, all of which enhanced my viewing pleasure. Just loads of fun to watch.

This dorama also had a mother-and-son pair who lived in 2024 but got transported back to 1986. The son then got to know of a hikikomori teenager who refused to attend school. What the son then did touched my educator’s heart. He found out where this hikikomori was living and persistently showed up at his doorstep even though he faced multiple rejections. Eventually, the hikikomori boy opened up the door and his heart to him. School refusals are gradually becoming a social problem in my country. As empathetic as I am, I know I lack the willpower (and time!) to knock, then barge into their hearts.