Quick Review #65: Sensei wo kesu houteishiki - Autumn 2020

Title: Sensei wo kesu houteishiki / 先生を消す方程式

Rating: 3 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are fans of Suzuki Osamu's style of writing, are fine with far-fetched and overly dramatic stories OR want to see very different performances from Tanaka Kei and Yamada Yuuki

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!

Liked:

- The first three episodes of this drama were quite interesting in the sense that it was not a very typical school drama. While there were some traits in Yoshitsune (Tanaka) which resembled other unconventional teachers in various school dramas, his behaviour stood out for its creepiness and hinted at a grand back story to match the suspense built up. The drama was also easy to watch as each episode lasted less than half of a typical episode's airtime and there were only 8 episodes - that amounted to about 4 full episodes of 45 mins. If you are short on time and want something which isn't too "serious", this can be an interesting pick for you.

- The drama was like an arena for the cast to fight it out in terms of pushing the craziness of their characters to the max. Tanaka was clearly the star in the first arc while Yamada took centrestage in the second arc. As such, if you are fans of them, I think that you would be in for a treat as you watch them "unleash their madness" on screen which is quite unlike what you would have seen from them thus far.

I've not watched a lot of Takahashi Fumiya's works but his acting this time was also very different and stood out among the main student characters in this drama. This is still worth checking out even if you aren't a fan or know much about him.

Disliked: 

- Prior to watching this drama, I was unaware of the scriptwriter for this story. That was probably why I didn't associate this with Suzuki Osamu at all when I watched the first three episodes of this drama. If you have watched his dramas especially those in recent years made by TV Asahi, you would get the drift and be able to manage expectations accordingly.

To be honest, the beginning of the drama did start pretty promisingly as I noted above. However, things simply went haywire from the second arc and I couldn't help but think that if it had been bad from start to end, I would not be so disappointed. 

The main problem was, the drama lost its direction and tried to incorporate a little of everything to the extent that it was neither a school drama, suspense story or horror flick. The dead coming back to life as zombies due to a lightning strike which always hit precisely where it should? A teacher being able to manipulate the students into becoming bullies so easily while being undetected by the school management and colleagues? Perhaps there were some pieces of the story which were not presented or explained explicitly so it felt like there were many parts which couldn't be explained properly or make much sense. As such, this further aggravated the "nonsense" factor of this drama to the point that unless you are willing to close one eye or even both eyes, it would be hard not to roll eyes at the ludicrous plot. This was such a pity because the two lead actors really went all out but I wonder if they felt that their efforts were in vain and let down by this story.

The 120th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2024) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Anti Hero
3) Tsubame wa kaettekonai

Voters Ranking Top 5

1) Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki

2) Tokyo Tower

3) Anti Hero

4) Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~

5) Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Anti Hero
3) Kyuugou 95
4) Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~

5) Kanzo wo ubawareta tsuma

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki

2) Anti Hero

3) Tsubame wa kaettekonai

4) Kisetsu no nai machi

5) Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

Source: The Television

The 120th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2024) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Hasegawa Hiroki - Anti Hero

2) Kimura Takuya - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

3) Nagase Ren - Tokyo Tower

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Nagase Ren - Tokyo Tower
2) Hasegawa Hiroki - Anti Hero
3) Kimura Takuya - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -
4) Yamashita Tomohisa - Blue Moment
5) Kyomoto Taiga - Omukae Shibuya-kun

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Hasegawa Hiroki - Anti Hero
2) Takahashi Kaito - Kyuugou 95
3) Nagase Ren - Tokyo Tower
4) Yoshida Kotaro - Oi Handsome!! 2

5) Kimura Takuya - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Hasegawa Hiroki - Anti Hero
2) Kimura Takuya - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

3) Nomaguchi Tooru - VR Ojisan no hatsukoi

4) Kurokawa Souya - Karakai jouzu no Takagi-san

5) Ikematsu Sousuke - Kisetsu no nai machi

Source: The Television

The 120th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2024) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Sugisaki Hana - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Nukumi Meru - Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~
3) Ishibashi Shizuka - Tsubame wa kaettekonai

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Sugisaki Hana - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Nukumi Meru - Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~

3) Imada Mio - Hanasaki Mai ga damattenai

4) Kawaguchi Haruna - 9 Border

5) Ishihara Satomi - Destiny

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Sugisaki Hana - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Nukumi Meru - Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~
3) Ishihara Satomi - Destiny

4) Ihara Rikka - Kanzo wo ubawareta tsuma

5) Kawaguchi Haruna - 9 Border

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Sugisaki Hana - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki

2) Ishibashi Shizuka - Tsubame wa kaettekonai

3) Nukumi Meru - Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~

4) Tsukishima Rui - Karakai jouzu no Takagi-san

5) Imada Mio - Hanasaki Mai ga damattenai

Source: The Television

The 120th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2024) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Wakaba Ryuuya - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki

2) Nomura Mansai - Anti Hero

3) Kitamura Takumi - Anti Hero

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Wakaba Ryuuya - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Matsuda Genta - Tokyo Tower
3) Seto Koji - Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~
4) Tanaka Juri - Akuma Game
5) Takeuchi Ryoma - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Wakaba Ryuuya - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Chiba Yuudai - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
3) Matsuda Genta - Tokyo Tower
4) Seto Koji - Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~
5) Nomura Mansai - Anti Hero

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Wakaba Ryuuya - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
2) Nomura Mansai - Anti Hero

3) Okayama Amane - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki

4) Takeuchi Ryoma - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

5) Kitamura Takumi - Anti Hero

Source: The Television

The 120th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2024) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Hotta Mayu - Anti Hero

2) Igeta Hiroe - VR Ojisan no hatsukoi
3) Amami Yuki - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Itaya Yuka - Tokyo Tower
2) Kichise Michiko - Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki
3) Amami Yuki - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -
4) Hotta Mayu - Anti Hero
5) MEGUMI - Tokyo Tower

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Hotta Mayu - Anti Hero
2) MEGUMI - Tokyo Tower

3) Itaya Yuka - Tokyo Tower
4) Amami Yuki - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -
5) Uchida Yuki - Tsubame wa kaettekonai

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Hotta Mayu - Anti Hero
2) Igeta Hiroe - VR Ojisan no hatsukoi

3) Miura Touko - Kisetsu no nai machi

4) Kurasawa Anna - VR Ojisan no hatsukoi

5) Amami Yuki - Believe - Kimi ni kakeru hashi -

Source: The Television

The 120th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2024) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Ai ni iku no ni by Aimyon (Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki)

2) hanabata by milet (Anti Hero)

3) I wonder by Da-iCE (Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) halfmoon by King & Prince (Tokyo Tower)
2) Ai ni iku no ni by Aimyon (Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki)
3) I wonder by Da-iCE (Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~)
4) hanabata by milet (Anti Hero)
5) Sweetest Tune by Travis Japan (Tokyo Tower)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Ai ni iku no ni by Aimyon (Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki)

2) hanabata by milet (Anti Hero)

3) I wonder by Da-iCE (Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~)
4) Ningen toshite by Shiina Ringo (Destiny)
5) moooove!! by King & Prince (Kyuugou 95)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Ai ni iku no ni by Aimyon (Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki)

2) hanabata by milet (Anti Hero)

3) I wonder by Da-iCE (Kururi ~ Dare ga watashi to koi wo shita? ~)

4) Heartbeat by C & K (VR Ojisan no hatsukoi)

5) 366 nichi (Official Duet Version) by HY (366 nichi)

Source: The Television

Quick Review #64: Dakara korosenakatta - Winter 2022

Title: Dakara korosenakatta / だから殺せなかった

Rating: 7.5 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to watch a journalism-themed suspense story with solid acting from the cast and/or are fans of Tamaki Hiroshi and Matsuda Genta

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!

Liked:

- Unlike many suspense stories which would only talk about the lead character's past or back story towards the end, this drama was unconventional in showing Ippongi Tooru's (Tamaki Hiroshi) painful past right from the first episode. It took a lot of guesswork out of the plot and allowed the viewers to concentrate fully on the current case which I would say was a pretty daring approach since they wouldn't be able to depend on dangling his back story as a bait to keep viewers hanging on till the end. However, his back story wasn't just an afterthought but rather a key piece of the puzzle which led to the resolution of the current case. In terms of story planning, I felt that this drama had a very different but interesting approach which was quite refreshing.

- The current case was presented in an engaging way that provided enough twists and turns to mess with the minds of the viewers. However, since the drama was only 5 episodes long, the good thing with this was that this state of confusion only lasted for 2.5 episodes at most since the clues started being dropped from episode 3. This approach also allowed viewers to have enough time to do some detective guesswork on their own rather than have the truth and resolution shoved into the face in a rushed manner towards the end.

- Fans of Tamaki Hiroshi would be in for a treat because he looked really good with the moustache and gruffy image as Ippongi Tooru. Hard to believe that this same guy played Chiaki-senpai in "Nodame Cantabile" so this was a great reflection of his acting versatility. This was definitely one of the better performances which I enjoyed from him.

Another surprise package came in the form of Matsuda Genta. This was probably the first time I saw his acting (the snippets from "Tokyo Tower" wouldn't count though) and I was impressed with how he handled the transition of his character Yoichiro over the course of the story. Again, this was a bit hard to reconcile with the somewhat "wild" impression I had of him through the "Tokyo Tower" clips. This guy does look pretty promising if he could play Yoichiro like this at the age of 22 or 23. I wonder if I am the only one though - I feel that he has a similar vibe like Kikuchi Fuuma who usually has a cheeky and funny image but turns out very differently when he's acting?

Disliked: 

- While the story largely made sense and the motive of the culprit was understandable, I couldn't help but feel that some things happened too coincidentally that it didn't feel logical. And there were so many irregularities and things which shouldn't have happened such as touching evidence with bare hands (where are the gloves?!), almost the whole newsroom crowding around one copy of the culprit's letter (you do know that you can make photocopies, right?) or that there seemed to be no repercussions for reporters who write articles or the media which issues reports that turn out to be based on untruths or a misunderstanding. Then again, if you can keep in mind that this is fiction in dramaland, this might be a lot more palatable if you can "close one eye" to such things.

- The drama's length is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it helped to keep the pace of the story at a speedy level without being too draggy but it also limited the impact and depth of the emotional scenes. For example, the showdown between the culprit and Ippongi felt like a hurried confession from the culprit with hardly any emotions. While I understood this to be the culprit having accepted his fate and that he knew he would be arrested soon, the earlier part of his confession felt so bland until he got to the emotional part. 

Likewise, when Ippongi went to see the son he never knew he had, I felt like I had just gotten into his emotional state and before you knew it, the scene ended abruptly. For important scenes like this, it would have been better if the scene lingered on a bit longer so viewers to feel what the characters were going through rather than disrupt the emotions so quickly. That, I felt was a pity because it would have made the viewers empathise more with the characters and lead to a deeper reflection of the issues and questions posed to us through this story.

- The significance of the title - while I appreciate it being explained, the answer may not go down well with everyone. I was expecting this to be more related to Ippongi but it was actually from the culprit's perspective. It did feel somewhat anti-climatic when I saw this and I wondered if that was all to it. However, if you look at it from a different perspective, an answer is still better than being kept in the dark till the end and beyond. Whether you like or accept the answer is another question though.

Quick Review #63: Yoake no subete (movie)

Title: Yoake no subete / 夜明けのすべて

Rating: 9 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to see a film without angst and dramatic developments that will make your hearts feel lighter by the end and/or are fans of the leads Kamishiraishi Mone and Matsumura Hokuto

Liked:

- The movie stands out for its use of soft lighting like the warm sunshine in winter and slightly grainy picture quality to create a relaxing vibe despite the slightly emotionally-heavy theme weaved into the story. This is in stark contrast with the trend of going for sharp and clear picture quality and visually-wowing type of visuals these days. In addition, the movie did not use pulsating or extremely dramatic BGM to go with the story developments which flowed like a gentle river so the accompanying music felt a bit like natural atmospheric white noise that was not jarring on the ears. Even the ending credits maintained this style consistently by featuring everyday life at the Kurita Kagaku factory which was a joy to watch.

- Although the movie featured the leads as people with PMS and panic disorder who find it hard to fit in at work because of these ailments, it did not go overboard in portraying them as "sick people". It is true that people with these ailments are having a hard time in society due to the lack of understanding of these conditions by the people around them and the stigma surrounding mental conditions, illnesses that are not apparent from the outside or are related to menstruation (many people especially guys and even some women do not think that menstruation-related issues are considered an illness). However, the film's matter-of-fact approach - get people to have an interest in learning about these issues first before they can empathise with those with these ailments - was really impactful and effective. A lot of times, movies featuring people with medical conditions tend to "preach" that you must be gentle and kind towards them but that often comes without understanding their struggles in the first place. What you don't know, you probably cannot appreciate so it can be difficult to show consideration and kindness on a sustainable and sincere basis.

There was also a line which left a deep impression on me. Kamishiraishi's character Fujisawa wondered aloud that there seemed to be a "ranking" for illnesses based on perceived seriousness when Matsumura's character Yamazoe remarked that her PMS condition didn't seem as serious as his panic disorder. In fact, most people probably also feel the same way about "visible illnesses" vs. "invisible illnesses" - what you can see, you probably can imagine better than something which you can't. 

The movie also tried to strike a balanced view by showing how those who are having struggles due to their ailments, can try to cope better through seeking timely and proper treatment and being a bit more open to sharing their problems with the people around them in order for them to understand better. For example, Yamazoe was angsty at first about how people didn't get his pain and literally set up a wall around him to prevent others from getting close to him. However, once he opened up to Fujisawa and the two developed a comradeship which allowed them to empathise with and support each other in a natural manner, he was definitely happier. Goes to show that understanding and acceptance work both ways and cannot be done in an one-sided manner.

- Those who watched "Come Come Everybody" would be keen to see the reunion of Kamishiraishi and Matsumura. I thought that the relationship between their characters was very engaging and pleasing to watch because you could see how their care and concern for each other while not coming across as something very forced and unnatural, really came across as something that made their lives a lot more bearable. At the same time, since their relationship was a bit hard to define - definitely not romance, not really friendship, a bit more than colleagues -, the difficulty of portraying this fine balance was handled very well. In particular, Kamishiraishi's portrayals of the outbursts and emotional downs caused by PMS were so convincing vs. the usual demure and gentle demeanour of Fujisawa. Those who have been through PMS would likely be nodding their heads in approval at how she managed to nail this so well.

Disliked: 

- Nothing in particular.

Quick Review #62: Shylock no kodomotachi - Autumn 2022

Title: Shylock no kodomotachi /  シャイロックの子供たち

Rating: 8 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to see a quick-paced suspense story and/or are fans of Inohara Yoshihiko

Liked:

- Given that this drama only has 4.5 episodes (Episode 0 ran for half an episode's airtime), the story moved along speedily as it shuttled between the past and present timelines. Despite the amount of information to take in and the number of characters to keep track of, everything was presented very logically so it would be easy to keep track of what's going on. The build-up to the climax was evenly spaced out so you won't feel bored along the way even in Episode 0 which was just an introduction to what was to come.

- Inohara Yoshihiko is probably more remembered and well-known for his "Tokusou 9" series in recent years which has been running since 2006 (predecessor was "Keishichou sousa ikka kyugakari") and has a new installment every year except 2018. As such, for his longtime fans or even those new to his acting, you would probably discover a new side to him beyond what you see in variety shows and the "Tokusou 9" series. He was a perfect fit for the lead character Nishiki who was endearing and well-liked by his colleagues and juniors (not so much by his seniors and superiors) while juggling his own struggles such as family issues and career setbacks due to him trying to do the right thing. I don't know if he fitted the Nishiki in the original novel because I didn't read it. Just based on this drama alone, I think he did really well and fully immersed himself into this character.

Disliked: 

- The drama's short length could also be seen as a factor leading to the somewhat anti-climatic ending which seemed a bit sloppy and hurried in comparison. Given that there was so much effort and time spent to build up to the concluding episode, the "showdown" with the culprit was over in no time and it also felt as if Nishiki didn't get "rewarded" for his efforts in doing the right thing. As such, this is probably an unconventional ending which may not go down well with all viewers although I can understand that this outcome was probably what Nishiki wanted more than to continue being caught in a toxic work environment that was in conflict with his beliefs.

Quick Review #61: Fukurou to yobareta otoko - Spring 2024

Title: Fukurou to yobareta otoko / フクロウと呼ばれた男

Rating: 3 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to see a political suspense drama but will be OK with no conclusion and answers OR are fans of Tanaka Min

Liked:

- This is ultimately Tanaka Min's show. No questions about it. He was brilliant as the fixer who stays in the background with a sharp eye and doesn't draw attention to himself just like the owl in the night. However, the downside to this was that he had such strong screen presence with his subdued charisma that even the supporting cast which can be considered star-studded really paled in comparison to him. And it was so boring in that sense because there was hardly anyone who could give him a run for his money. 

A match is only interesting if both players are of similar standards and keeps the rally going. If it's so one-sided, it's good for the dominant player but it just doesn't seem to elevate the whole production.

Disliked: 

- The concept of featuring the behind-the-scenes fixer rather than the politicians who pull the strings in the country was refreshing and had potential to be a very engaging story. However, execution and presentation were the problems here again and a drama series cannot be considered successful if it fails to "hook" the viewers to have the urge to watch the next episode. It took me way longer than expected to finish the series (just 10 episodes) because after each episode, I would just click the "X" button to close it rather than "next episode" to continue watching it. Each episode never really ended on a cliffhanger or suspenseful point to "lure" me to check out the next episode and it was quite painful from the midpoint to even watch one episode in a single sitting. No doubt things sped up considerably, that was in Ep 10 and it was already too little and too late for me. 

I understood from an interview by Variety with David Shin, the showrunner, that this drama was meant to be a multi-season series like "Alice in Borderland" by Netflix. However, the fundamental question boils down to, if this is the quality of Season 1, why would I bother checking out future seasons? While I can take it that Season 1 may just be the introduction or the beginning to the end (the ending promises better things to come), I don't think I would want to wait for months or even years for the next season to be out since Season 1 was only released in April 2024. By then, I would have clean forgotten about what I watched in Season 1 and certainly have no intention to refresh my memory by re-watching it. 

- As I mentioned above, Tanaka Min's dominance, whether by accident or by design, was a double-edged sword. What cannot be denied though is that his dominance was largely perpetuated by the storyline. While the story was positioned as a political suspense drama, a huge part of the airtime dealt with the fixer's family problems i.e. his children. This was where stereotypes of such rich and influential families were replicated here without much surprise - a father who is too busy with his life outside the family and has frosty or distant relationships with his offspring, the good-for-nothing eldest son who wants to earn the praise and love of the father but keeps fumbling, a capable daughter who probably can't be the leader of her generation because of gender or marriage issues, a second or younger son who turns out to be more like the father but is the rebel in the family or at odds with the father and a youngest child who either is the pet of the father or an outlier compared to the older siblings. And because of this, everything became so predictable and there was hardly any novelty along the way. If you are expecting some classic or very emotionally-charged family clashes like what you see in dramas such as "Karei naru ichizoku", you won't find it here because this family hardly speaks about how they truly feel to one another and emotions are subdued to the point that it feels that everyone cowers in front of the father even though the father doesn't actually do things like shout at them to shut up or threaten to do anything to them. While I don't appreciate grand dramatic outbursts, the non-action and quietness of these family scenes were draggy and sleep-inducing.

In the political arena arc, things were also bland and moved at a snail speed. Suspense was hardly noticeable because the adversary was already out there in the open from Ep 1 and frankly speaking, the villain was no match at all for Tanaka Min in terms of screen presence.

- The excessive nudity in sex scenes seems to be the norm these days in dramas on non-TV station platforms like Netflix and Disney+ where censorship rules is more relaxed. As I mentioned before in an earlier review, if such scenes do not value-add to the story, I find them extremely redundant and unnecessary for the cast to do. Nowadays, not only are actresses baring it all, even the actors go beyond baring their butts. Which makes me wonder, why were they made to do that for no reason? Sacrificing for the arts? Simply baffling!

Quick Review #60: Seishun 18 x 2 Kimi e to tsuzuku michi (movie)

Title: Seishun 18 x 2 Kimi e to tsuzuku michi / 青春18×2 君へと続く道

Rating: 7 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to watch a youthful love story set against the backdrop of beautiful scenery from Japan and Taiwan

Liked:

- The biggest selling point has got to be the breathtaking scenery from both Japan (including Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture and Tadami-machi in Fukushima Prefecture) and Taiwan (mainly Tainan). Given that the two story arcs in both countries were set in different seasons, the contrast between the sights and the weather complemented the different timelines. Back in Tainan when the leads met and fell in love 18 years ago, the rising temperatures and warmth from the people around them reflected the sweltering summer. On the other hand, the current timeline was set in late winter which seemed to reflect the male lead's situation in life - lost his company and job as well as the direction to head towards from now on.

- The acting of and chemistry between the leads Hsu Guanghan and Kiyohara Kaya turned out to be better than expected. Even though the story puts them as 4 years apart in age and Kiyohara's character Ami was supposed to be older, it did bother me a little because Hsu is actually 12 years older than her in real life. Thankfully, his babyface and the imaging in the Tainan arc made him look convincing as a high-schooler. There were also a number of cameos featuring actors from both Taiwan and Japan to look out for so if you haven't done any research on this, you might get some pleasant surprises to see your favourite actors suddenly pop up on screen.

Disliked: 

- The only thing which I didn't quite like was the predictability of the storyline. It was almost a giveaway that there won't be a happy ending after all and that it wasn't due to the lead characters not being on the same page with their feelings. As such, if you are looking for some novelty or surprises in this movie, you may be disappointed.

Quick Review #59: Rurou no tsuki (movie)

Title: Rurou no tsuki / 流浪の月

Rating: 2 / 10

Recommended for: 

NA

Liked:

- While the meaning of the title and the reasons why Fumi (Matsuzaka Toori) and Sarasa (Hirose Suzu) were meant for and suitable for each other were only revealed towards the very end, the good thing was that they turned out to be logical and convincing on the whole. 

Disliked: 

- The excruciatingly slow pace of the movie was a huge dampener even after I turned up the playback speed about one-third into the film. It would really take a lot of patience for the viewers to sit through the slower parts. The uneven pacing made the whole viewing experience feel like a car ride alternating between bouts of speeding and sudden braking - in other words, not smooth at all.

- I haven't read the novel before so I'm not sure whether the movie did convey the essence or the strengths of the original work. Just based on the movie alone, I felt that the build-up of the story was simply too drawn-out and the ending (while convincing and logical as I highlighted above) did feel like it was shoved into the face of the audience last minute without giving the time and space for things to sink in properly.  

In addition, the second leads were portrayed in such an one-dimensional way that it felt like they were entirely at fault for causing misery to Fumi and Sarasa but they too deserved sympathy for what Fumi and Sarasa put them through. I would have preferred a more balanced way of showing the key characters' good and bad sides rather than a clear-cut classification of who's at fault and who's a victim. Ultimately, it takes two hands to clap.

And the movie never properly addressed what happened to Sarasa's friend who dumped her daughter on Sarasa and took off for a longer-than-expected holiday with her new boyfriend. That is one unresolved mystery which I thought should have been answered properly.

- Excessive nudity and intimate scenes. This is especially with reference to the bed scenes featuring Yokohama Ryuusei and Hirose Suzu in particular which I felt that they didn't need to go to that extent to show the nature of Ryo and Sarasa's sexual relationship. I felt especially uncomfortable that Hirose had to be touched in that way because there was actually no need for that. 

Likewise, the final revelation of Fumi's issue - although it was not shown in full and clear view, I thought that the shot lingered too long on Matsuzaka and should have been shifted elsewhere after the initial scene for viewers to get the idea. 

Less can be more and unless it's absolutely needed, more care should be taken when filming such scenes for the sake of the cast members.

Quick Review #58: No Side Game - Summer 2019

Title: No Side Game / ノーサイド・ゲーム

Rating: 8 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who like inspirational sport-themed stories mixed with some corporate rivalry and are fans of Ooizumi Yo

Liked:

- Due to the fact that I know little about rugby and have very little or rather no interest in this sport, I wasn't keen to check out this drama when it was first aired despite the cast lineup being quite attractive. It was only when this surfaced on Netflix's recommendation list recently so I decided to give it a shot. While I would say that my interest and knowledge in the sport has not increased dramatically after watching this drama, the story was very successful in illustrating the theme of tackling challenges and difficulties head-on with courage through rugby which requires both physical strength and agility as well as the bravery needed to face off with your opponents despite the high risk of injury. It was indeed as inspirational and passionate as described in the recommendation but the good thing was that it wasn't so cliched nor overly emotional than what would be common in many Japanese dramas of the same genre.

- This being an Ikeido Jun story, there were similarities between this drama and other corporate-style stories being dramatised by TBS in the same Sunday timeslot. For example, the practice of having a showdown in front of the board of directors in a huge meeting room (seems to be the same as the one in Hanzawa Naoki) could be seen here. However, the saving grace was that this drama didn't go too overboard in being overly dramatic so these scenes were still palatable and didn't seem unrealistic.

- Ooizumi Yo was truly fantastic here and really led everyone from start to finish just like the GM in the drama. I also liked his interaction with Matsu Takako as husband-and-wife where their friendly banter helped to liven up the mood and also provided much-needed encouragement to the lead character Kimishima when he was facing setbacks. Even the villain played by Kamikawa Takaya was such a joy to watch. 

Equally impressive, if not more, were the actors who played members of the Astros rugby team. I only found out later that everyone except for one had experience playing rugby and some were even former players from the national team. No wonder the rugby scenes were so realistic and engaging to watch. It's not that actors with no experience couldn't get to this level after some training. However, given that rugby is a team sport and requires great teamwork to execute those scenes in the drama, it would take lots of experience and technique to be able to play at that standard while making sure that the players/actors don't get injured in the process. 

Disliked: 

- Since the drama was heavily skewed towards rugby, the corporate rivalry and infighting part may pale in comparison. If you have watched enough dramas based on Ikeido Jun's novels, there is a somewhat unspoken SOP or flow that you can see so this also reduces the surprise factor in a sense because you probably can guess what's coming next. While I appreciated that this drama did not go to the extreme like "Hanzawa Naoki" in terms of "shouting at each other and making people kneel down to repent", the corporate aspect of the story may seem to be quite lukewarm and half-hearted when compared to the effort put in for the rugby aspect of the story.