Are we living in a better world because women, instead of being dubbed “Ms Oversized Tits” at work, are called by their actual names? Is 2024 a better place to live since younger generations feel like it’s their right to leave work on time? In 2024, is it wrong to say we’re happy to be getting married when marriage isn’t supposed to represent the epitome of life’s joys? Is this 21st century a more understanding place to be if one feels pressured by a colleague’s “we’re counting on you” comment?
These are some of the questions raised by Extremely Inappropriate!, the latest collaboration between renowned screenwriter Kudo Kankuro (Netflix’s Let’s Get Divorced and TBS’s Saving My Stupid Youth) and director Kaneko Fuminori (who, besides his work with Kudo, also directed TBS’s An Incurable Case of Love and The Full-Time Wife Escapist).
The world of the “politically correct” must be a bee in a lot of bonnets in Japan (and worldwide). After all, Extremely Inappropriate! stayed in Netflix Japan’s Top 10 list for a mindblowing 11 weeks (from January to March) and its domestic ratings reached 8.3% in the Kanto region.
But how come Extremely Inappropriate! has become so successful?
This review is spoiler-free. Enjoy! No time to read the full article? Pin our summary at the bottom!
The Old-Fashioned Universe of Extremely Inappropriate!
A crazy mix of sci-fi, musical, and comedy, Kudo’s 10-episode time-travel adventure follows Ogawa Ichiro (Abe Sadawo), a middle-aged PE teacher in 1986. His everyday life includes chain-smoking everywhere, beating his students with a baseball bat, and shouting at his rebellious teenage daughter, whom he raised himself after his wife passed away. After he accidentally catches a bus that takes him to 2024 (yes, this is a clear reference to Back to the Future), his crude remarks suddenly aren’t welcome, and his behaviour is seen as harassment. The world is now one moved by social media and compliance. As he learns to navigate the Reiwa era (2019-today) while observing it through his Showa era (1926-1989) lenses, Ogawa becomes the catalyst for our own reflections on society.
Extremely Inappropriate! was born from Kudo and Producer Isoyama Aki’s nostalgia for the days of their youth (they are both in their 50s now) and the idea that life nowadays can be more complicated and restricted. The show itself, flooding with disclaimers throughout, is proof of the eggshells we’re treading on. For every crude remark that comes out of Ogawa’s mouth or his fellow 80s citizens’, a huge disclaimer pops onto the screen, clarifying that those comments represent an old-fashioned idea that isn’t accepted anymore.
But then, if we need to tell people that those comments are inadmissible, doesn’t that mean that society still hasn’t learnt its lesson?
Pinpointing the Flaws in Both the Past and the Present
As Ogawa spends time in 2024, his crass speech not only highlights the changes that society has been through in the last 40 years, but it also starts to deconstruct the fragile facade that our politically correct policies have created. Yes, society has become more inclusive and diverse โ but was it because we truly understood what was wrong before and took active steps to correct it? Or are we just hiding prejudice under nice names?
In Extremely Inappropriate!, it’s a relief in the modern day to see that when an old man judges a young girl for wearing a short skirt, he’ll be criticised for it. It’s a relief to see that (some) companies are willing to help single working mothers take care of their babies. But seeing a producer micro-manage every single word his talent says for fear of causing offence is suffocating. And it’s agonising to see when a woman, who is already working hard to balance her motherhood and career, is chastised because she is trying to help a fellow female colleague start a family. When you don’t think things could become more infuriating, the colleague is placed as a “victim” and given carte blanche to troll her supervisor online.
Soโฆ who decided what “politically correct” means and why? Extremely Inappropriate! posits that a uniformised policy fails to take into consideration a concept that has always been estranged from Japanese culture: individualism. Ogawa points the finger at guidelines that try to include everyone while forgetting that each of us has different desires, goals, and backgrounds. And yet, as he lives alongside Millennials and Gen Z, he begins to see that some of these rules are trying to promote the respect and awareness that his generation failed to perceive. And that, despite their contradictions, some of them are very much needed.
Changing Alongside Ogawa
As the audience, we’re taken through a transformative journey alongside Ogawa. During the first episode, which mostly unravels in 1986, we’re shocked to see the differences in behaviour. If you’re young, you might wonder how society could ever be that way. If you’re older, you might feel a bit of consolation that a lot of that sexism and prejudice has been, somehow, dealt with (not completely, of course; we still have a long way to go). Up until episode 4, the approach is almost (if not fully) cringeworthy. From episode 5, the show finds its rhythm, the characters find their personality, and the theme is settled. Bit by bit, the series explores the hypocrisies behind our current policies while also discussing antiquated ways of thinking.
In the end, 1986 and 2024 seem to be two extremes of the same problem. In 1986, harassment was part of the societal fabric, and it was deemed normal. While in 2024, everything could be considered harassment and therefore needs to be stopped. None of them is correct โ exaggeration towards either extreme doesn’t solve the problem. After 10 episodes, Ogawa embodies what would be the optimal solution: being authentic but empathetic. He’s still outspoken, honest, and flawed. But now, he’s willing to learn. He starts to understand different perspectives and defend the right that we all should have to be ourselves. He now sees the problems in 1986 and starts swimming against the current. Of course, the final musical number, obviously promoting tolerance, is a straightforward “lesson” to the audience, but I feel that Ogawa’s character arc drives this point home much more subtly and successfully.
Extremely Inappropriate!: A Tale of How We Are Eternally Growing Up
Narratively, Extremely Inappropriate! weaves an engaging plot that avoids overcomplicated scientific explanations and instead chooses to focus on a more human story. Extremely Inappropriate! is Ogawa’s path towards a more respectful and tolerant self, but it’s also Junko’s (Ogawa’s daughter, played marvellously by Kawai Yuumi) coming-of-age tale. Beyond discussing whether the current system of “compliance” is correct or not, this is a show about growing up and maturing, about finding yourself โ and most importantly, allowing others to find themselves too.
In both 1986 and 2024, human beings are too quick to comment on what we believe isn’t right or normal, to opine on lives that we know nothing about. But we’re growing. We’re trying to create a more equitable society, and what Ogawa teaches us is to question in order to fully understand where the prejudice and the criticism come from. And, from a place of understanding of all sides involved, we can create solutions that help everybody.
Even though the musical numbers feel a bit out of place at the start, they slowly become integral to this narrative, adding to the comedy and delivering the show’s message without being too patronising. Halfway through the story, you realise that it’s this mix of comedy and music that prevents the show from being a preach-fest.
The Characters That Go Against the Grain
While Ogawa’s and Junko’s character arcs are very well done, and some of the supporting characters (Naka Riisa’s Nagisa and Isomura Hayato’s Mutsumi/Masahito) are really entertaining to watch, other important roles are caricatured (when they shouldn’t be). For instance, the feminist sociologist Sakisaka Sakae (Yoshida Yo), who travels back from 2024 to 1986, could’ve been used as a counterbalance to Ogawa. However, her idea of feminism seems to be misunderstood, which becomes strikingly evident when she starts a courtship with one of the high school teachers in the 80s. She does feel like a female character written by a male writer who doesn’t grasp the concept of feminism.
Or teenage boys, weirdly enough. Her son, Kiyoshi (Sakamoto Manato), also seems to be a clichรฉd adolescent โ he lacks personality and his single-minded pursuit of boobs throughout 10 episodes is only temporarily interrupted by his dedication to connecting with an absentee boy. Both Sakae and Kiyoshi are underdeveloped and played for jokes more than for any solid plotline. A shame, really, considering the strength of both actors and the potential of their characters.
And So? Should I Watch Extremely Inappropriate!?
Extremely Inappropriate! starts as a jarring, awkward tale of two completely different generations. If you accept this challenge and open up to Ogawa, you’ll be in for a thought-provoking, captivating story that bridges these differences, reflecting much of what we’ve already overcome and warning us that there’s still much left to do. Solid performances from an excellent cast help us connect with a miscellaneous group of characters while both the script and the production design portray a curious history of contemporary Japan. Even though the show isn’t perfect in any way, Extremely Inappropriate! takes an audacious, liberating approach to a truly modern comedy.
You can watch Extremely Inappropriate! on:
Here’s our spoiler-free summary. Click it to pin it!
Extremely Inappropriate! was so successful that Korea’s Basestory has bought the rights to create a Korean remake. That’s going to be interesting! Meanwhile, why don’t you give the original Japanese version a shot and let me know in the comments what you think of it!
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