Switched - A Netflix Original
Okay so in the matter of one night I binge watched Switched, and I’ve come on here to tell everyone to watch it NOW. There were so many emotions that I went through while watching the show.
For all characters I had to go through different thought processes, for Koshiro and Kaga it was slightly easier (and honestly there’s a twist in the story for Koshiro’s character that I don’t want to spoil) and I figured what was going to happen in the end, but more on them later.
The character I actually found the hardest to relate to, while simultaneously being the character I related to most, was Umine. Don’t get me wrong, at times when we as viewers were seeing her plan failing and her angered outbursts, instead of always seeing her as a villain, I truly felt that pain of “the perfect girl, despite losing her looks and losing her friends, is still happy while I’m miserable”; however her character frustrated me in this way because I felt so connected to her, and it made me realise where I’ve been wrong.
Yes I am getting deep with a Netflix Original series. Umine truly made me reflect on all the times I’ve been miserable and felt trapped in my own body while enviously looking on to the others, to the prettier girls, the girls that get everything. And with all of the messages Ayumi and Kaga share while Ayumi is struggling Umine’s body of “it doesn’t matter what you look like, it’s what’s on the inside that counts”, I wanted to both reject this like Umine (who was looking on from Ayumi’s body) and accept this.
I think another thing though is people over looking Ayumi in Umine’s body. Ayumi taught me many lessons, and I’m not lying. It takes one person to see you for how you truly are, and it makes you feel free. Here’s where I’m SOBBING because of Kaga. Oh my God, Kaga.
I don’t want to spoil anything or make this post longer than necessary, but Kaga is such a beautiful soul, who did everything possible to make Ayumi comfortable, and was essentially her rock, who then sacrificed everything for the happiness of everyone. He goes on to help Umine feel comfortable in her own body on her first day back in it after the switch. He truly has a heart of gold.
But hey now, I have some stuff to say about Koshiro, as I feel like he isn’t getting the love he needs here (although, please note I am in tears now because I remembered all Kaga did.) We don’t see Koshiro enough to be able to see what he is going through, but I truly believe that had we of gotten more of a look at him while he was working out how to switch Umine and Ayumi back, we all would have loved him more and we would have seen the love triangle there, and probably would have understood Kaga telling Ayumi how much Koshiro had suffered. He HAD to play the villain, to keep himself distanced so that the plans would work out, and he had to be reserved. But he also helped Kaga help Ayumi, which made us also fall in love with Kaga more as he fell in love with her more. (You see how much this has ruined my brain, right?)
If you haven’t already, WATCH THIS SHOW FOR THE SAKE OF MY SANITY. I AM LOSING MY MIND. I want there to be an alternate season of Switched but this time it focusses on Koshiro, rather than Kaga, Umine and Ayumi so we get a better look into how Koshiro. I want to say Koshiro and Umine deserve this alternate season, but I feel like we got a good snapshot into how she was feeling the entire time of the switch, whereas there was an injustice to Koshiro’s character. Having said all of this, Kaga is still precious and has a special place in my heart for making me not feel so down in the dumps.
TL;DR, Umine is relatable and frustratingly so. Ayumi teaches us important lessons about ourselves. Kaga is the most precious bean and deserves so much more than what he was given and Koshiro needs another season to be made so the viewers appreciate him more!!!