Ossan's Love: In the Sky (Japanese Series)

I wanted to take a break before I started to watch the next in series of Ossan's Love and I am glad I waited. The eventual premise is still pretty much the same, but I have to say that I enjoyed this series lot more than the original one and its movie sequel. The OTT acting is slightly toned down here (don't get me wrong, its still very much here, but controlled) and the characters here get more depth, meaning and its somehow a feel good show. It's not comedy just for the sake of it. The interactions, love stories and everything is there for a reason and sends some good message while making you laugh and keeping you entertained. 

The story here is slightly more complicated. Haruta is a flight attendant starting his new job at Tenku Peach Airlines. Currently in his mid-thirties, he was recruited into this airline by his old school friend Hina. Before we realize Hina has a crush on Haruta. Kurosawa is a senior pilot who realizes that he has a massive crush on Haruta. He gets jealous when other coworkers show an interest in him. Although Haruta does not reciprocate these feelings, Kurosawa gets the wrong idea about how his subordinate feels. He keeps believing that Haruta is playing hard to get. Kurosawa is mentoring Naruse, a young playboy pilot, who isn't very popular at work but overtime Naruse learns to be more approachable thanks to Haruta’s influence. And finally we have Shino, a senior technician and a good friend of Haruta. Shino is friendly, easygoing, and kind to Haruta. Plus, he’s a great chef and loves to cook for everyone in the airline dormitory. Shino has a massive crush on Haruta but he knows that his best friend Hina also likes him , so ne never approaches him. As Haruta navigates his day-to-day life at the airline, he becomes the subject of affection from multiple coworkers at the same time. We soon a miss mash of people falling on love. Hina is Kurosawa's daughter and both father and daughter like same guy. Soon Shino asks him out on a date. Narute is the only one who doesn't love Haruta but sure enough Haruta falls for him. Meanwhile Narute takes a liking for Shino. Things get slightly complicated when a new executive of the airlines join the group.

As I mentioned before, the series felt a bit more mature than its predecessor, when compared to the multiple love angles, plot twists and over acting. Yes, it was still a bit OTT, but much more manageable and something that you can easily swallow. There was no unnecessary drama. Shino was a very endearing character. I was personally rooting for him, but I hated the way he snubs Narute completely when he professes his love for Shino. That was not good of him. In Kurosawa and Hina, they balanced nicely their responsibilities and love for each other and for Haruta. Yes, initially Kurosawa shows all the silliness that's expected of his character but the character eventually grows. I also enjoyed the various competition Kurosawa does to bring the boys together and talk it out, like the wrestling, the tennis etc. Haruta's character was that of a fussy but lovable guy who likes to please everyone and keep them happy. He really needs to learn to say No. The story has a nice ending where hart requests Kurosawa to be part of his life as a mentor and a friend. I think this was a much better ending . The series would have been better had it focussed between the messy love triangle between Naute, Haruta and Shino but you can't have Ossan's love without Ossan. The only problem with the show is that in anticipating so many love angles and romances, neither story arc is really explored in depth and you feel the characters are a bit shallow who move on from one person to another relatively quickly. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed this part as well and got plenty of opportunities to laugh out loud with Haruta's antics, reactions and over the top faces. (7/10)