The first episode of the drama series "Good Things and Bad Things" (NTV, Saturdays at 9 PM), starring actors Mamiya Shotaro and Araki Yuko, aired on October 11th. In the episode, Takagi Masaru (Mamiya) and other former members of Class 6-1 dig up a time capsule, which leads to the suspicious death of a classmate. Later, a scene is depicted in which Takagi's classmate Saruhashi Sonoko (Araki) appears before him and talks about past bullying, sparking a stir on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
The first episode tells the story of Takagi, a 34-year-old man who runs a small painting company in the suburbs of Tokyo. In elementary school, he was known as the "King" of his class and was the leader of his class. However, he has now mellowed out and is a father who takes over the family business in his hometown and supports his wife Kana (Tokunaga Eri), who is two years older than him, and their fourth-grade daughter Kanon (Miyazaki Ririsa). Takagi has long since forgotten about the time capsule he buried in the schoolyard 22 years ago...
The former members of Class 6-1 gather at their alma mater for the first time in 22 years to dig up the promised time capsule. They include Takagi's close friend Takeda Toshiki (Mizukawa Katamari), housewife Tsuchiya Yuki (Ayame Goriki), hairdresser Toyokawa Kengo (Inaba Yu), izakaya owner Sakurai Kanta (Kudo Asuka), and former class representative Kobayashi Saki (Fujima Sawako).
Her former homeroom teacher, Ms. Otani (Akama Mariko), is now the principal. Sonoko is also a beautiful journalist who has made a name for herself on TV and in magazines, and Takeda and Sakurai are excited about her, asking, "Do you remember me?"
The time capsule they unearthed contained a drawing of "everyone's dream" drawn 22 years ago. Sakurai drew a "firefighter" and Takeda drew "flying in the sky." Each of them looked at their own drawing and reminisced. When asked, "What did you draw, Takagi-kun?", Takagi hurriedly hid the drawing.
Inside the time capsule was a yearbook, but whoever put it there was a mystery. Takagi and the others were stunned when they saw the page for Class 6-1. The faces of six students, including Takagi, had been cruelly blacked out. "Why these six?" everyone wondered, but Takagi was the only one who had a hunch that the six students had something in common. Takagi and the others had bullied Sonoko in the past. Then, at night, Takeda was suddenly attacked by someone, fell from the upper floors of an apartment building and lost his life... and so the story unfolds.
The next day, while Takagi is visiting Sakurai's store, Sonoko appears in front of him, claiming to be there for an interview. Surprised, Takagi blurts out "Which girl..." - Sonoko's old nickname. When Sonoko asks Sakurai what the six people whose photos in the yearbook have in common are, Sakurai replies that they were just a close group of friends, but Sonoko turns to Takagi and says, "You just called me 'Which girl'. So you remember... bullying me."
Sonoko continues by telling the two that she hasn't forgotten about being bullied by Takagi and the others, and when Sakurai tries to calm the situation by saying, "It was so long ago, it's too late now...", Sonoko rambles on, "Now? That naughty kid who bullied others as a child has now grown into a fine adult, working, married, and raising children. You've completely forgotten that you were a naughty kid and are living your life as if you've always been a good kid, so you don't think you should bring up things like that now?" Furthermore, when Sakurai is at a loss for words, Sonoko declares, "The ones who were bullied can never forget."
On social media, Sonoko's words, who was bullied in the past, became a hot topic. Comments such as "That really hit home," "It's too late for the bullied," "The victim will remember it vividly," and "The fact that she bullied others is scum, but it's terrible that she doesn't remember" were posted, and the comments were gaining attention.
