Shimura posting, part 3 part 2 (Even Though We’re Adults/Otona ni Natte mo)

According to my library, I requested all ten volumes of this series on January 4th, checked out the first four volumes on January 13th, and had all ten volumes in hand on January 23rd. This book blog special feature does feel like playing with a shiny new toy, where the "toy" is "my stubborn commitment to not using any images to review a manga, a visual form of storytelling." This part will address the live action drama, return to the It's Complicated Girls, and a selection of bullet points, mostly pertaining to the first half of the manga. The next part will cover the ending and the remaining bullet points. I'm crying on the inside…

In a blog post, Shimura mentions that there have been offers to adapt her works into a live action series before, but things always fell through. Shimura's series are surprisingly tricky to adapt: one part of it is the that her early series use nudity often and explore sexuality in depth; the other part is Shimura's high fidelity to character psychology and her love of pathetic people. (I'm thinking of you, Mame, and your twenty year crush. Sorry!) Her characters can often accurately-ish state their dilemma and observe their actions and the effects of their actions, but they can't stop themselves. They'd feel even worse if they tried.

Anyway, if any series would make it to the screen, it'd probably be this one. The 2025 production of Even Though We're Adults stars Kuriyama Chiaki as Akari and Yamamoto Mizuki as Ayano. Special shout out to Hama Shogo as Wataru, who puts in a great performance as a composed Wataru than the constantly stressed and pushed about by his mother Wataru in the manga. Kuriyama nails Akari's casual mannerisms and expressive, needy nature. Every scene where Akari's saying five things at a time and trying desperately to fix her last statement, then turns around and mutters, "Stupid stupid stupid!!!" at herself is perfect. On the other hand, I can't tell if Yamamoto is miscast as Ayano or if the show's direction didn't know how to do a woman who's sweet, dependable, and buttoned up in most aspects of her life, but also constantly lying to herself until it blows up in her face. Yamamoto plays Ayano as meek and subdued to the point of dullness. She somehow comes off as super straight, too?! Whereas I feel like in the manga, part of Ayano's charm is that she's often surprising herself and others with her boldness.

The most challenging aspect to adapt in Even Though We're Adults is, by far, the friendship drama between the It's Complicated girls (Ikka, Yuka, and Mana). The child actors are doing their best, but Shimura gives the It's Complicated girls the standard Shimura child character treatment—that's to say, they, too, have backstories, family lives, and routines that exist separately from Ayano and Akari. Side characters in a Shimura series have functional roles for the narrative, yes, but they're never fully absorbed into its machinery. One thing that makes her series feel unruly is that it becomes quickly obvious each character exists in their own sphere, and each sphere intersects with other spheres only briefly. (You can read 100 Views of Awajima, an anthology series, and the less unruly Runaway Girl to see her going full throttle with this mode.) The live action kids have clearly been directed to be Ideal Children. They cry beautifully, for sure, but it's not the right choice for this series.

Mediocre-to-bad adaptation time over! Let's talk more about the It's Complicated girls.

( yes there's going to be a part 3 later )