‘An Encouragement of Love’ Netflix Series Review - An Encouragement to Not Watch It

Kaimei Academy is a school of great repute. It has a rich legacy of nurturing many exceptional students- some even went on to become the Prime Ministers of the country, governors of the Bank of Japan, presidents of major companies and the list is never-ending. Here, the students are taught an art- the art of studying. Entertainment finds no place within its hallowed halls, as the school staunchly believes that students must devote their youth to studying. And above everything else, falling in love is no less than a sin here. Severe punishments and expulsions are the results of students violating the policy of this elite institution. After reading all this, if you are of the view that something is absurd behind this rule, your intuition serves you right. There is indeed, a backdrop behind this policy.

Now you must be wondering, why so much information is provided to you about a school. That is because, in this love story, the school plays the role of the villain. Kaimei Academy has a star student hailed as a brilliant mind it has ever produced - Keisuke Otori. He is also the president of the Kaimei Academy student council because why not? Keisuke is an ardent follower of Professor Ohyama and considers him as his mentor. But one fine day, Professor Ohamaya in his interview says something unexpected-“Love is an ultimate conundrum” and strongly encourages his students to fall in love.

Despite planning to focus on his future to join John Keating University (yes Dead Poets Society fans, you read the name right) Keisuke finds himself captivated by Professor Ohyama's words. He nonetheless decides to pursue his academic interests, or so he and we thought. Destiny, on the other hand, has its own plan. Hence our protagonist experiences love at first sight with Hanako Takada. Stuck between following his heart and his brain, his friend Ryuzaki throughout the show can be seen advising him not to deviate from his goal to join the University. Yet, when did matters of the heart ever bow to the logic of the mind? And thus unfolds the story of Keisuke and his chase of Hanako Takada. But love doesn’t come this easy, does it? There’s more to the life of Hanako which forms a part of the struggle that Keisuke has to fight out.

An encouragement of love is nothing, but an upgraded humanized version of Japanese cartoons. Overacting is at its peak, which begins when the theme song starts to play. The plot is weak and there is no actual storyline. In a bid to make it look comical, characters in the show seem to be pushing their performances to extremes, leading to a cringe-inducing experience. While high school dramas are not new, this particular one fails to bring anything innovative to the table. Not sure if the show aims to encourage you to fall in love, but it can definitely discourage you from watching it further.

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Choudhuri
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times