Self-harm related post: Trigger warning
I only started watching JDramas in late ‘21 so I have been slowly learning about the actors who I like and their work. In other words, there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge. I wanted something light and came upon this workplace comedy called. “Last Cinderella”. Despite a number of dodgy bits, LC is animated by Shinohara Ryoko’s charming performance as Sakura, a hair stylist who doesn’t like being glammed up in her day to day life but is surrounded by clients who want the very same thing which she avoids. Her character is unpretentious, loyal, honest and ends up falling for a much younger man, Hiroto, who initially lies about liking her but then grows to appreciate, support and love her. This is where the sadness came in (for me) as I only discovered yesterday – after finishing it that the actor who played Hiroto, Miura Haruma took his own life in 2020. MH was a child actor who grew up to be a prolific and successful actor with a reputation for being a decent human being. The cause was said to be depression and anxiety. I found it incredibly sad and wished that he had managed to feel better and keep living.
Beanies, please seek help if you are struggling with mental health issues and talk to a counsellor at a helpline if it is hard to talk to your loved ones. It may seem like you’re alone but you’re not. Aim for living for each day and don’t be ensnared by your thoughts. Each day can be a better day.

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    Miura Haruma was best friends with Satoh Takeru — it was very tragic, i don’t think anyone knew he was in such a deep state of depression… he was very talented, such a huge loss.

    celebriety comes with such a huge price… i worry for all the young actors and idols, especially the asian countries. the netizen vocalizations/pressures seem to be inordinately extreme for them. too many young lives have been lost recently…

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      He seemed so natural and likeable on screen. Such a loss. I will look up Satoh Takeru. I read in an article that one of his other friends, Shirota Yu, had to perform just after he heard the news and did it with red, swollen eyes. How awful it must have been. Every suicide is such a profound loss for the loved ones in any context.
      And, I agree. Also, some might have been struggling with being forced to hide aspects of their true selves like sexuality, etc which makes their losses even more poignant.

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    A lot of people do not want to seek help specifically because they know exactly what they would hear from a counsellor.
    There is a ginormous misunderstanding when it comes to suicide. It’s not necessarily that you are struggling with YOUR life but more with life in general. It appears pointless because it is, and when a lot of helpline talks are about making the other person feel heard or cared for, this is missing the bigger point. They don’t care about feeling cared for anymore. They just don’t buy into the masquerade of life.

    Unfortunately, contrary to common belief, while this is described as depression, it’s also a heightened sense of realism rather than pessimism.
    No, I don’t want to pretend that life can be great because, right now, I am bored of it. Not my life. Life in general. It is a small point of difference but one that speaks volumes. When a person gets into that mindset, they do not experience it as suffering from mental health issue. They are not sad. They are just bored of pretending that things should matter when, essentially, things only matters as much as we can be bothered to make them. And, as the saying goes, they ran out of f to give… I often wonder how well helpline teams are trained for handling that.

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      I would agree here. I also found during my own years of depression that people around me weren’t equipped to deal with it – I reached out, I asked for help, but no one knew what to do. No one even understood.

      And I’ve seen this happen with others. Someone who tried to take her own life. Thinking back now. She definitely reached out to people. She also reached out to me. And despite having previously been in similar shoes, I still missed the signs.

      So all in all, agreed. The messaging to seek help is the right one, but we also need to do better teaching as to how to help.

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        I’m really sorry. I understand from personal experience and empathise with you. And, I agree with you. I know what I wrote was brief and appeared superficial but I didn’t want to send the brutal message that it is pointless to reach out to others for help when one feels so alone. You’re absolutely right that both professionals and loved ones should be taught better and be equipped to help people with severe depression and suicidal ideations.

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    Satoh Takeru (mentioned here in discussion) and Miura Haruma are two of my most favorite actors from Japan. I’ve watched a lot of their work.

    High School Samurai? Might be my favorite of Miura Harumas works. I was very sad when the news came out that he’d passed away.

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      Thanks for sharing. It is really gut-wrenching for me to think of anyone in so much pain.
      I wish I could find more of Miura Haruma’s work. I haven’t seen “High School Samurai” but would really like to. I hope more of his work will be streamed in my region. If you have time and think of others, I’d love to know.

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