Zettai Kareshi returned with a two-hour SP last March. Despite the anticlimactic ending, overall I thought the SP was packed with all the stuff that I liked about this drama–Night’s extremely cheesy and hilarious antics, Soshi’s silent suffering and Namikiri-san’s unflinching loyalty to his robot. Of course, a Zettai Kareshi episode won’t be complete without the tearjerker scenes and life lessons. I’ve written a pretty long episode guide so I’ll be posting it in two parts.

The SP revolves around the inevitability of death and learning to move on after a loss. As Soshi’s father puts it:

“Humans inevitably die someday. Since we know death is imminent we do our best to live life to the fullest. When you’re about to die, you want to leave something behind for those around you. Even if you pass away, you want those you leave behind to live happily. I’m able to do my best to live because I thought this way.”

This reflection finally puts an end to Riiko’s dilemma as Night makes the difficult choice between life and death.

Kronos Heaven's robot loversTenjo Night is resurrected

The SP is set three years after the final episode of the drama. Kronos Heaven has been able to produce and market their robot lovers under the helm of the new robot developer, Dr. Ayumi Kamiya. Despite the growth in sales, Dr. Kamiya is unsatisfied and thinks that a perfect robot would have to have feelings like Night. She sneaks inside the warehouse where Night is stored and restores him.

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Meanwhile Riiko and Soshi are back from Paris where Riiko has been studying to become a patissier. The two were tasked to take over Asamoto’s newest branch. Later at the welcome party with their colleagues, Soshi and Riiko announce their engagement.

Soshi and Riiko are engagedNight is back

While walking home, Riiko spots the bench where she gave Night a scarf. While reminiscing, a group of thugs takes interest in her. To Riiko’s utter surprise, Night comes to her rescue.

At home, Riiko’s landlady Tetsuko is happy to see that Night is back. However, Night does not remember her nor Soshi since his memories from three years ago have been swiped clean. Soshi, who’s shocked to see Night, is forced to introduce himself only as Riiko’s boss.

The trio are backOmurice

The next day, Night cooks Riiko her favorite omelet rice for breakfast. She contacts Namikiri and tells him about Night’s return. Namikiri goes to her apartment to see for himself but Night does not recognize him.

Riiko then gets a surprise visit from Dr. Kamiya and her robot assistant Nanase. Namikiri, who has been missing in action from Kronos Heaven, hides inside the comfort room.

01 does not recognize his creatorHand over the chip

Dr. Kamiya and Nanase explain that Night was restored but his memories from three years ago will only be recovered once the main chip in Riiko’s possession is repaired. They convince Riiko to turn over the chip but she hesitates and asks for some time to think it over. Upon hearing this, Namikiri reveals himself and objects to the plan. Once Dr. Kamiya and Nanase are gone, Namikiri tries to go inside Night’s program but fails due to the password change.

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At work, Night follows Riiko around, proclaiming his love for her. Riiko’s colleagues are pleasantly surprised to see Night back and accidentally tells him that Riiko is already engaged.

I love RiikoNight distracts Riiko

While explaining the new products for Asamoto’s new branch, Riiko gets distracted by Night who again shows his affection by writing “I love Riiko” on the window. This does not escape the attention of Soshi’s brother who now doubts Riiko’s ability to open the new shop. We learn that in the last three years Asamoto’s sales has been overtaken by new desert shops, putting more pressure on Soshi and Riiko to succeed in their project. To make things worse for Soshi, he accidentally sees his father’s medical record, indicating that he is at risk for a heart attack.

After work, Riiko runs after Soshi and assures him not to worry about Night. Soshi tells her that he’s distracted about something else. He’s leaving Riiko behind for a while to check on the new store’s construction site.

Soshi's father is sickNanase finds Namikiri

Back at Kronos Heaven, Namikiri successfully recovers the new password for Night but the chief finds him.

Namikiri tries to dissuade him from supporting Dr. Kamiya’s desire to develop a robot with an ego. Nanase finds out about Namikiri and detains him for stealing company information.

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Meanwhile, Dr. Kamiya watches a personal video of her with a guy who looks exactly like her robot assistant Nanase. Each of them wrote a letter containing their dreams and placed them in a time capsule, which they buried under a tree.

At home, Riiko makes her cream puffs for Soshi. She contemplates about turning over Night’s main chip.

During an interview for Asamoto’s new products, the journalist is unimpressed by Riiko, who now starts to lose her confidence as a patissiere. Night sees all of this and tries to cheer her up.

Riiko Night comforts Riiko

Meantime, Soshi suddenly decides to go back to Tokyo upon receiving a call from Riiko. He sees Rikko at the restaurant but steps back when he overhears Rikko talking about her confusion over Night’s return.

While walking, Night sees Soshi and the two talk about Riiko. Soshi tells Night that he has fulfilled his promise, referring to the letter Night left before he died, asking Soshi to take care of Rikko. However, Night does not remember anything about the letter.

Night sees the chipNight and his chip are gone

Night is about to take Riiko home but receives a mission from Dr. Kamiya orders him to find the chip. To distract Rikko while Night searches for the chip, Dr. Kamiya takes her for a ride and once again tries to convince her to hand over the chip. After rummaging through the house, Night sees the chip.

To be continued…

Myla writes news stories for a living and watches K-dramas for leisure. She enjoys doing both for Hallyudorama.

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