After hearing the news that Komatsu Nana and Suda Masaki will reunite in a new movie this 2020 (titled Ito or Tapestry), my mind immediately went back to when I — and I think a lot of J-drama fans — saw their amazing chemistry: Drowning Love or Oboreru Knife (2016).
This movie is one of the most memorable films I’ve seen at the time, considering that despite it being confusing, there’s a certain draw to it that compelled me to watch it from start to finish. There was beauty in its chaos that isn’t just because of the stellar performance of its two leads, but also because its cinematography and narrative spoke a very intriguing message.
Most of the people who’ve seen this (at least from what I’ve read on the internet) found it alluring despite its vagueness, which compelled me to give it a second watch after hearing about Suda and Komatsu’s reunion. This time, however, instead of just drowning — pun obviously intended — in what the movie feeds me, I figured I’ll give it my best to really look into its themes and understand it “beyond the lens” as Komatsu’s character Natsume have said in one of the dialogues.
The yin and yang of Natsume and Kou
Let’s start with the two leads. The parallelism of Suda Masaki’s Kou and Komatsu Nana’s Natsume portrays more than just aesthetics for this film. Komatsu has always been known for her well-defined features. There’s a boldness and darkness in her physicality, from her fringe to her eyes to her mouth. Suda, on the other hand, with his ethereal platinum blonde hair and soft but striking features complement Nana’s entirely, providing great visual contrast whenever they’re onscreen together.
But aside from these, it also mirrored their characters’ personalities. Kou was portrayed as free-spirited and otherworldly, but is truly tied in his history with the town (his family prestige has been mentioned over and over) to the point that he’s never really free. Meanwhile, Natsume has always been put on a pedestal because of her beauty, to which she is seen shackled by (she liked modelling but not for herself but for attention), but in reality, she has a choice whether to truly pursue it or not. Both characters are being caged either by their circumstance or their own choices. And these translated to their recklessness to even challenge what was rumoured to be a holy place. It showed their wanting to become more than who they are perceived and they found this challenge in each other.
In a trope’s perspective, they are each other’s manic pixie dreams. They fell in love with the idea of this person because that’s who they want to become. One wanted to be fleeting and the other want to find his place in the world.
Love is like the sea
Taking in the title quite literally, water played a huge role in the movie’s narrative without it being too in your face. All of the moments about Natsume and Kou’s love story were mediated by water, whether it be the sea by the Shinto shrine, the stream where they had their first kiss or the rain that was drizzling when Natsume was praying for the ‘right kind of happiness’.
In almost all these instances, water is shown glittering and beautiful on the surface as it reflects the sun, but is truly dark and murky and chaotic in reality. This perfectly mirrors Natsume and Kou, who both see each other mystically to the point that it’s idolatry, without truly understanding the darkness within each other.
They both described each other as kagayaki or kira kira which both mean ‘shining’, similar to the sparkling waves of the sea or the calmness of the streams. When in reality, they are both drowning with people’s expectations, perceptions, and their own consuming emotions that neither recognise because they’re too busy patronising one another. It is definitely an extreme yet relatable take on being so consumed by young or an epic love (not to say it’s healthy though).
The movie also played heavy on the idea of fate and destiny as set by the gods, to the point that it can also be theorised that these two were made to meet — as symbolised by their matching bracelets — because the heavens willed it. And since it was the god of the sea that oversaw their fate, then it was inevitable that water was always present in the most pivotal moments of their relationship. Even Kou said, “So we meet,” when he first saw Natsume by the sea, as if indicating that he was waiting for her to arrive.
To press the metaphor of water further, even the scene where Natsume was assaulted, the role of the elements were ever-present. It was the fire festival, which is the ultimate opposite of water, to which their illusion of bliss was changed forever. Again, water was present when Kou managed to find Natsume, giving us a false sense of hope, only to be shattered when the stalker managed to beat up Kou and go after Natsume. The scene was juxtaposed against the lively fire festival, where both were in tears, helpless and hopeless while others rejoiced at the intensity of the event. It was the moment both of them became disillusioned of this fantasy they’re having, that they were neither strong, nor invincible, nor perfect nor beautiful — but ultimately just human. Still, even after these series of events, they still saw each other as otherworldly, blindly seeing each other through rose-coloured lenses. However, what changed was their perception of self. They no longer see themselves fit to be with this other person that they worship.
The knife, the fire, and the promise
I’d like to point out that I never really liked how Japanese films usually portray rape or assault as an enabler for character development or as a plot device (a similar pattern is also portrayed in Koi Zora and many other J-movies) so it’s one of the downsides of the film that I’d have to nitpick. But I’d have to commend it for portraying the trauma and negative societal expectations that victims go through in a very raw (to the point, painful) manner. It also goes to show a certain truth to the pain of not being able to share a heavy burden with a person who you cherish and love so much, in light of such a tragic incident.
I believe that this is where Kou’s knife comes in. The movie is full of symbols and this one, I think, represents Kou’s burden of not being able to protect Natsume. He ran with dangerous crowds, waving around the knife but never using it, showing both the intent and motivation, but not the actual strength to use it. It was representative of his promise to protect Natsume that didn’t reach its fruition. Natsume found it ridiculous that Kou was carrying such an object around, continuously insisting that she was waiting for him all this time.
Both of them are trying to cope with the situation in their own manner, where one believes that the best way to heal was to be together, while the other believes that becoming ‘stronger’ was the way to go. When Kou surrenders the knife to Natsume, it was a show of resignation that no matter what he does and what she believes, he could never take away her pain. However, even in this moment, neither of them are still disillusioned of their perceptions of each other. It reaches the peak of how blind and idealistic young love is being portrayed.
After this sequence, it was evident that water no longer connected the two of them. The next time we see them cross paths again was during the fire festival, where things go full circle. The event was representative of their burdens and pains and it was initially unclear whether or not the stalker really reappeared.
What’s interesting to me is that prior to this scene, we see Natsume looking at her bracelet — the one that Kou gave her. But in the sequence where Kou was dancing at the festival, it was very clear that he was wearing it. It was impossible that it was Kou’s (formerly Natsume’s) red bracelet, considering that that one broke during the first fire festival (which again adds to the mysticism of their connection).
In my understanding, the weaving of scenes showed Natsume’s desires for Kou to save her as if to follow the promise that they gave each other when exchanging these bracelets. When it was revealed that Natsume wasn’t dreaming and the stalker was in fact real, we finally see these two characters be consumed by their darkness. Kou was also not actually wearing the bracelet unlike in the scenes Natsume imagines him dancing, showing that this strength and fierceness she sees in Kou is all but in her head.
In the end, neither of them were able to commit to their promise to protect each other, not only because the stalker took his own life but because (1) Natsume wanted to corrupt Kou who she has always admired and idolised because of his mysticism and (2) because Kou wasn’t able to protect Natsume yet again since the stalker died without repentance. Again, they were being grounded over and over — whether it be by a higher power or just their own circumstance — that they are never as perfect as they see each other to be.
When Natsume woke up, Kou was nowhere to be found and only Kana was there to tell her to never see Kou again. The knife, which was tainted with blood and their unfulfilled promise, was lost in the sea forever — the very same where they first met. We never really see what happened with Kou. But with how we see Natsume in the following scene, it was like the knife also severed the ties that bound them together.
In the end, it was seen that Natsume finally found her place. It was unclear whether she finally found true happiness and satisfaction in her craft, but it definitely gave a sense of freedom and finality. The twist in the end was full of wistfulness and hopefulness as we see the water once again. However, the perspective has changed from where they were riding along the sea versus at present when they were riding above it. To me, it shows just how far they’ve come away from that memory. Still, it was full of wishful thinking, ever-present in the idealism that comes with young love. It ends with the sea finally disappearing when they entered the tunnel, a reminder that despite their bittersweet end, they meant something to each other and that they wouldn’t be where they are now if they didn’t meet that day at the sea.
Kana and Otomo
Despite being supporting characters, Kana and Otomo both play symbolic roles in the relationship of Natsume and Kou as well. Otomo represents an easy kind of love, one more fitting for youthfulness and innocence and purity that’s almost naive. Kana, on the other hand, represents growth and maturity and understanding that love, while all-consuming, should not be dark and toxic and unhealthy.
Both characters started out as onlookers to this budding romance. Kana played a more active role at first, pushing the idea that Kou and Natsume should be together. However, ultimately, she also had the last word that marked the end of Kou and Natsume’s relationship.
Meanwhile, Otomo represented choosing your own path — whether it be to stay in their small town or go back to Tokyo; whether Natsume was truly beautiful even beyond her physicality; whether you can recover from a deep love by choosing an easy one.
These two represented the more realistic options that was more for the viewer to recognise than the actual subjects of the narrative. They were the solution to that kind of love. But ultimately, it is only up to the people within the relationship to decide what will become of them — much resonating the realities of those who are deeply and madly in love.
Other interpretations
At the end of the day, these are just my assumptions of the narrative. Many people have also pitched in their ideas in various parts of the internet, where they say Kou is a god corrupted by mortal beauty in the form of Natsume. Others claimed that it’s a story of a cursed love because of their defiance to respect the god of the sea. All are very fascinating interpretations which proves to show how despite its vagueness, it still delivered a narrative worth thinking about.
For me, despite the many metaphors I’ve elaborated and described, I still think that ultimately this is just a portrayal of how reckless and idealistic young love can be. It is dangerous and unhealthy, yes, but it is also an experience that plunges us deep into our emotions. It is a learning process. An experience that teaches. A memory that’s beautiful and meaningful but also must be kept as a thing of the past.
Overall, it reminds us that there is a difference between loving someone for who they are and loving them for who we believe they are.
It is not a film for everybody. But there is a certain beauty and brilliance to it that was tied together by smart cinematography that is as serene or as chaotic as the feelings of its characters. And of course, Suda Masaki and Komatsu Nana were simply compelling to watch. I ain’t expecting another soda scene for Ito (if you’ve watched this, then you know what I’m talking about) but this makes me excited to see them again onscreen soon.
xx, A.
WATCH MY ‘3-NEN A-GUMI’ REVIEW HERE
