恋は勘違いから始まる

Autumn Wardrobe Swap and Best Voice Discussion

The episode opened with small talk between host Okubo Kayoko and writer Takemura (竹村). On swapping out autumn clothes, Okubo was breezy: "I just move things from the hangers in my closet down to the clear storage boxes underneath — I'm going back and forth about one metre."

A listener e-mail from "Kokoé-san" asking "Who has the best voice?" kicked off a longer riff. The listener cited actor Narita Ryo (成田亮) and Takemura himself. Okubo put forward Yanagira Yuya, who appears in *Kujo no Taizai* (九条の大罪), praising his "slightly cloudy, gentle voice." On morning and midday TV hosts, she singled out three: Ishii announcer of *Gogo Sma* for a delivery that "never grazes the ear," Kato Koji of *Sukkiri* (at the time) for his "unaffected, rough voice," and Shitara Osamu of *Nonstop* for a voice "laced with both sensuality and madness." Of Shitara she added, "He could go for bigger laughs and really dig in, but he holds back — and that restraint is exactly right for a morning show."

Consultation 1: For the 32-Year-Old Worn Out by Dating Apps

An anonymous 32-year-old woman wrote in: she lacks confidence in her looks, is shy, has a blunt way of speaking, and doesn't appeal to everyone. She used to not mind putting effort into romance, but now even scheduling a meet-up makes her feel low. What she wants is not heart-pounding excitement but someone who will care for her without asking her to perform.

Okubo empathised immediately. "In my early twenties I was driven by pure feeling — pretty reckless, honestly. I get why, as you get older, the fear of being disliked or hurt gets louder." On the "blunt speech," she drew a distinction: if it's the kind of bluntness where you say *meshi* instead of *gohan*, that's just personality — only relentless negativity crosses a line.

Her advice: "Pushing yourself to appeal to everyone leads nowhere sustainable. Taking the risk of showing who you are and getting rejected actually raises your odds of meeting someone who truly fits. The pool shrinks, yes — but it's the right pool." She closed with a reframe: "You can already see yourself clearly — that's a real strength. Think of it as: I'm going to find the person with enough taste to enjoy exactly who I am."

Consultation 2: The 41-Year-Old Crushed on Her First Date with a "Man-Child"

Yadokari-san (ヤドカリさん), 41, divorced, reported on her first meeting with a 35-year-old man she had chatted with on social media for six months. He had seemed fine in messages, but even before the date he kept flagging his immaturity: "I'm told I act like a kid," "they asked me for ID," "the shop lady called me *boku*."

In person he arrived dressed like a middle-schooler. The date consisted of buying a convenience-store drink in blazing heat and wandering through a neighbourhood with nothing to do. A café suggestion was declined because he "can't relax in those places"; a dinner proposal was met with "I eat at home" before he left. She learned he had not been on a proper date since entering the workforce, and he repeated "I'm childish, right?" throughout.

Okubo was unsparing: "You're not being narrow-minded." She theorised he had been indulged by his mother and learned that leaning on older women gets him accepted — but noted that wandering in the heat isn't something even a middle-schooler would call a date. Takemura pictured him pedalling away on his bicycle with a *tata-ta-ta* after turning down dinner.

Consultation 3: Too Afraid to Say Her Partner's Touch Hurts

A listener writing as Zengi Kotaro (善義小太郎, female) described a partner who skips foreplay entirely; when he does touch her, it is fingers rubbing at high speed or Dyson-level suction applied without pause — painful every time. Not wanting to seem like she was faking reactions, she had endured in silence.

She tried hinting by demonstrating the gentleness she preferred — "like touching silken tofu" — but he said he felt nothing and stopped. He then concluded from her silence that she wasn't enjoying herself and dropped all foreplay. He also boasts that his ex "writhed until the room fell apart" every time.

Okubo suspected the ex may also have been crying out in pain. "Not saying something at the start is what really hurts you here. If words are too hard in the moment, arching away instinctively or a vague brushing gesture can signal something. You could also play him this podcast — though there's a chance he won't realise it's about him."

Is There Love There?: The 22-Year-Old Who Couldn't Speak for Six Years

The regular corner "Soko ni Ai wa Aru no ka" (そこに愛はあるのか), a collaboration with Taiful (タイフル), received a letter from Kakumei Teisha (格益停車), a 22-year-old male university student.

Since the first year of high school he has been drawn to the same woman — they called each other by first name, shared their vulnerabilities, and the relationship felt on the verge of becoming something more. He never said the words, distance grew, and she found a boyfriend. Now he is in Tokyo and she is in Kansai; they meet only at the annual reunion, address each other by family name, and yet in the few minutes they walk side by side he feels "like I've gone back to first year of high school." At one reunion she reached over from within a circle of friends and tapped his foot — once, twice — without a word.

"I don't know if I want to date her, just be close the way we used to be, or simply not ruin what we have," he wrote. "All I know is that every time I see her I think: I should have talked to her more." No verdict was reached within the episode's 30-minute window.