I was looking for a recently released series on Netflix to dive into and gently stumbled upon the Japanese drama My Husband Won't Fit. The names of the actors weren’t familiar, and the three-line synopsis on the streaming site, too, didn’t reveal much. But, I was intrigued. Hence, I let Netflix decide my fate for the next six hours.
The ten-episode series is unequally divided. The first two episodes run longer than 40 minutes, and then fall into a pit of 30-minute tutorials on what makes a relationship click. The series is deliberately slow-paced and filled with mundane conversations. I’m not sure if all the marriages work this way in Japan, but the ordinariness in the lives of Kumiko (Natsumi Ishibashi) and Kenichi (Aoi Nakamura) seems believable. They don’t go to the edge of the world for each other; their romance isn’t a fairytale that will inspire the coming generations either, but there’s some affability in this kind of unremarkableness, and, that’s exactly what My Husband Won't Fit bountifully offers.
Apparently, the series is based on a true story; however, Google didn’t have many links to direct me to (at the time of writing this column). So, I couldn’t verify the details My Husband Won't Fit threw at me. Anyway, let me cut to the chase.
The two meet as college students who reside in the same building. Their growing camaraderie pushes them closer, and, since they literally live a few feet away from one another, they take the next step without blinking an eye – if it isn’t obvious already, it’s living together. Most of the narrative unfolds through Kumiko’s point of view. Even though, it shifts in the latter half, it won’t matter because Kunichi isn’t going to take you through a new set of demons in his closet. He’ll only put his thoughts and worries in his voice across.
Kumiko follows in Kunichi’s footsteps and becomes a teacher. Despite the long hours she puts in at work, she goes back home and cooks dinner for her husband. Oh, yes, they get married after graduating (he’s a year older than her). Their innumerable attempts at consummation fail as they can’t arrive at an easy solution. They find other ways to keep their chemistry alive, but, somehow, their dissatisfaction plays spoilsport. While Kunichi visits a brothel regularly to put his troubles behind him, Kumiko discovers a website for people who are unhappy with their sex lives.
Much like the Indian parents, the Japanese folks, too, interfere in their children’s marriages. When Kumiko tells her parents that she doesn’t want to have children, her mother yells at her. She thinks that her daughter’s decision might force Kunichi to divorce her. In fact, her parents accompany her to apologize to Kunichi’s dad and mom. And when they realize that it’s not her daughter alone who doesn’t want to welcome kids into this world, the two sets of parents start quarrelling. It’s a hilariously constructed scene because the four of them were seen bowing (as a sign of respect in Japan) just a few minutes ago. And, still, there they are, arguing needlessly on their children’s behalf.
There’s no aspirational quality in the subject of romance in My Husband Won't Fit. In other words, it won’t give you “relationship goals”. But it tells you that when you have the right kind of partner, you can cross any ocean without drowning in it.