‘Why I Dress Up For Love’…A wonderfully nuanced depiction of an influencer, in a warm, radiant rom-com.
Also known in romaji as ‘Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte’.
Spoilers Ahead…
The rise of social media has brought along with it a new character archetype — the influencer. In many ways this archetype can be put in the same category as the ‘actor’ archetype — vain, full of oneself, obsessed with their looks, fashionable, focused, thick-skinned (to counter the negative comments and trolls), misunderstood; yet, I haven’t come across a depiction nuanced enough, to make that statement. There have been some good interpretations (like Yami Gautam’s Pari in Bala), but most (like Emily in Paris) don’t seem to understand what exactly the career/hobby entails.
Hence, the latest from TBS Why I Dress Up for Love earns major points for its very accurate and balanced portrayal of an influencer. In a standard-fare opposite attracts rom-com, this depiction is not only fresh, but also brings forth new conflicts like those between people who are on social media and those who choose not to engage with it.
This is a timely topic and feeling as, this is an aspect, in my opinion, that most of my generation is struggling with — a balance between having a social media presence versus creating and owning actual material memories (cue Aksel’s heart stirring monologue from The Worst Person in the World).
And what’s wonderful about Why I Dress Up for Love, is that it doesn’t pass judgements on behalf of us, nor does it showcase one side as better than the other. Being on and using social media is as much a choice as not being on it. The problem (if any) arises when either side goes a little too extreme.
Mashiba Kurumi (an exceptional Kawaguchi Haruna) is an influencer, soon to hit 100,000 followers. She has been at this game for five years, dedicatedly posting three times a day (accompanied by alarms to remind her). She makes sure that she doesn’t repeat her clothes (often selling them online, after wearing them for a bit), doesn’t step outside her house without makeup, changes her nail colour everyday and always, always carries her phone around to snap and share any moment.
This isn’t her full time job (she works in P.R. for an interior design company, where she also manages the social media accounts and website) but being an influencer sure does seem like it. But Kurumi enjoys every moment of it. She doesn’t see it as a job, but as someone who is just sharing her life online.
In true rom-com fashion, she falls for the polar opposite, Fujino Shun (an excellent Yokohama Ryusei), who not only has no social media accounts but doesn’t even carry a phone. He also only owns two sets of clothes and few essentials and touts himself as a minimalist as he believes in only buying things that he needs, and not living for validation from others (though there is also an emotional reason behind this).
This conflict is brought forward and solved without a need to raise voices or volume (it is just so calming to watch Shun and Kurumi just talk things out and not make a big deal out of everything). A few particular instances that I liked was one, where Kurumi is tired of people perceiving her as shallow or vain, just because she is an influencer; and second is when she and Shun argue over food, where she stresses that food should look attractive, so that more people will post photographs, with her profile gaining more social engagement.
These two instances are magnificently used to highlight Kurumi’s side effects from being an influencer for the past five years, without making it into her only definable trait.
Kurumi does place more value on aesthetics/beauty but that doesn’t mean that she is a shallow person; in fact she is very kind and hardworking, yet subconsciously everything she does has to present a certain acceptable aesthetic.
This mindset is challenged when she is with Shun, who is more easy going and laidback. But again, instead of using Shun’s minimalist lifestyle to critique the influencer culture, the story is more about how they both will make their relationship work with their contradictory beliefs.
Why I Dress Up for Love is extremely positive and comforting and if you are not craving this style of a show, it may feel slow at times. I was not particularly interested in Terai Haruto (Maruyama Ryuhei) and Hase Ayaka’s (Nakamura Anne) storyline, though I did enjoy Mukai Osamu’s Hayama Shogo.
It’s not an influencer story without some cancel culture thrown into it, and after an honest mistake, Kurumi’s career and self confidence is harshly affected. I liked that the writers chose to focus on the effects of the negative comments on Kurumi instead of the comments, itself. She demotes herself to a store job, stops updating her profile and also doubts herself before posting for the company's profile.
Moments such as these are so wonderfully etched, that at times, I wished that the romance (or love triangle, more so) didn’t overshadow these moments.
But Why I Dress Up for Love optimistic force continues and Kurumi’s social media following allows her to quit her job and start her own business when she realises that there is no more growth for her in the company.
This experience (amongst others) teaches her that she doesn’t have to quit social media, as much as regulate it and just take a break from once in a while. And I think that is a pretty good stance, as social media is advantageous in its own right, but we shouldn’t be shackled to it.
