Papadol! Ep 07 Review

Things were finally looking up for Nishikido Ryo-kun in episode six of Papadol! (パパドル!), as the tension with his agency was reduced and his struggle to gain acceptance from his new wife’s three kids was finally complete, with Mei (Kawashima Umika) apparently caving in.

In fact, it looked like he had no more barriers in his way (unless that paparazzi guy found out what was going on and leaked it – which I’m sure will eventually get an episode or two). Then this fellow walked in:

As we found out at the end of the previous episode, that’s Haruka’s (Yuka) former husband and the biological father to the three children. Now this, I wasn’t expecting. I suppose I should have thought of it (I’m a writer – I should be able to come up with plots like this), but the possibility slipped my mind.

Papadol! Ep 06 Review

Papadol! (パパドル!) is a drama in which Nishikido Ryo of Kanjani8 plays himself as an idol who falls in love with a divorced woman with three children.

He struggles to gain acceptance from the children while simultaneously facing an ultimatum from his agency to either divorce or retire. In the previous episode, though, it seemed as if the agency/Kanjani 8 side of the conflict was resolved, but I’m still not happy with how that episode went. Nishikido-kun has two of the three children on his side now . . .

. . . so the only conflict left for the series to focus on, until something new develops, is his relationship with the eldest daughter, Mei (Kawashima Umika).

Papadol! Ep 05 Review

This episode begins exactly as we expected it would after episode four – with Yasuda Shota-kun insisting that Nishikido-kun should come clean about his marriage. So now, Nishikido-kun not only has to gain acceptance from his new children and find a way to convince his cold-hearted boss that he should stay an idol, but he also has to worry about the group members who have been his comrades for much of his life.

First, he has to tell the rest of Kanjani8 about his marriage. Even though he’s had a long time to prepare, the moment isn’t any easier:

How will the members take it? It’s a bit weird to have to dance around a spoiler before we’re five minutes in, but this is a proper surprise, so if you don’t mind, I’ll tip-toe around it. In any case, there isn’t really a simple answer. As usual, though, Nishikido-kun (the character) seems oblivious to the subtleties of the situation at every turn and the possibility that people won’t necessarily be honest about how they feel.

Papadol! Ep 04 Review

Papadol! (パパドル!) is a comedy in which Nishikido Ryo of Kanjani8 plays himself as an idol who falls in love with a divorced woman with three children. He is struggling to gain acceptance from her children while simultaneously facing an ultimatum from his agency to either divorce or retire.

At the end of episode 3, we saw fellow Kanjani8 member Yasuda Shota-kun overhearing that Nishikido-kun was married, suggesting a new conflict for Nishikido-kun in this episode: between him and his group.

The opening gives us every reason to think that Kanjani8 will be at the center of this episode, but it isn’t. That potential conflict doesn’t really materialize yet, though Yasuda-kun returns at times through the episode, and it looks like we’ll get the Kanjani8 in the next episode.

Papadol! Ep 03 Review

Papadol! (パパドル!) is a comedy in which Nishikido Ryo of Kanjani8 plays himself as an idol who falls in love with a divorced woman with three children. He is struggling to gain acceptance from her children while simultaneously facing an ultimatum from his agency to either divorce or retire.

When we last left our hero, his new family had discovered a magazine article with a photograph of him apparently being kissed by his co-star (i.e. not the mother he’s marrying – Haruka). Haruka (played by Yuka) apparently ignores the article, knowing Nishikido-kun and accepting his explanation, but this can’t help him with the skeptical eldest daughter Mei (played by Kawashima Umika).

At the same time, his agency is hardly thrilled about the article, either – they’ve already shown a desire to tightly control the image of their idols. Was this incident just a one-off thing, or will there be more opportunities for the paparazzi to catch Nishikido-kun with the woman? It sure seems like there’s something brewing: