Quick Review #69: Warau Matoryoushika - Summer 2024

Title: Warau Matoryoushika / 笑うマトリョーシカ

Rating: 9 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who like a good suspense drama which will keep you guessing right till the end and are fans of the cast especially Mizukawa Asami and Sakurai Sho

WARNING: Potential spoilers ahead!

Liked:

- It's been a while since I encountered a drama where time flew by so fast -  each episode ended in no time because it was so engaging and there was so much to see and think about. The one-week wait for the next episode was so "painful" but this is precisely what a drama series should be able to achieve or else people wouldn't return for the next episode. In this sense, credit goes to the scriptwriter and/or the original novelist who were really skillful at maintaining the viewers' interest and kept people coming back for more. 

While I have not read the original novel, it appears that there were some parts which differed slightly from the novel based on social media posts. And since those who had read the novel seemed largely positive about this drama, it seems to suggest that the crew and cast did a good job with this adaptation.

- Some parts of the story touched on pretty touchy and controversial issues like discrimination, sidelining of underprivileged groups or the minority, psychological control and manipulation of supposedly weak-minded people which would typically be seen in dramas from WOWOW or Netflix. As such, for TBS to do this was somewhat unusual but a pleasant surprise for me. Since the story didn't try too hard to preach or take an obvious side, there was room for viewers to consider the issues and form their own views on these topics.

- While Sakurai Sho did not have a lot of airtime in the middle of the story (perhaps linked to his on-site reporting of the Paris Olympics for NTV?), he really delivered a fantastic performance as Seike Ichiro. The true self hidden behind that smiling face sent shivers down my spine and you definitely have to check out the two showdown/confrontation scenes he had with Suzuki Toshiya (Tamayama Tetsuji) slightly past the midway mark and Michiue Kanae (Mizukawa) in the finale which were especially brilliant. 

From the beginning, I had the theory that Seike could not have been manipulated by the people around him and would do a total reversal by the end because that would be the most exciting outcome contrary to everything happening as expected. This was despite the story leading everyone into believing that he was being controlled by the people closest to him with ill intentions. As such, the final revelation wasn't a surprise to me at all but the way he talked about his planned revenge on all those who tried to manipulate was so chilling as if he was totally detached from the situation and looking it from outside.

For those who have doubts about Sakurai's acting, I have to admit that the level of satisfaction I get from watching him can vary and that's coming from a longtime Arashi fan who you may think would be biased towards him to begin with. Even so, I still cannot say that every performance he had put up over the years was top-notch. Personally, I've always thought that he excelled at playing roles with dual personalities or with a slightly more serious touch especially the kind/good persona hiding the dark self so it's not surprising that my top 3 favourites of his roles to date would be "Tengoku ni ichiban chikai otoko", "Kazoku Game" and now, this drama. 

While I don't think that Sakurai can't do other genres at all, there are indeed some limitations which do prevent people from thinking of him as a versatile actor and his image gets in the way at times. Nonetheless, I thought that "Daibyouin Senkyo" was a welcome change and a good attempt to do something different since it allowed him to do some action scenes despite his lack of an athletic image to date (you would known why if you had watched "VS Arashi"). Unfortunately, the second series was kinda disappointing because the novelty from the first series couldn't be replicated in the sequel. This time though, I'm glad to say that Sakurai managed to hit jackpot with Seike so he should really consider doing more serious roles in future, if possible or at least those which doesn't make him try too hard to fit the role. And not always having to take on the lead role would be a good direction to take as seen from this example.

- Mizukawa really carried the story well as Michiue on both the professional and personal fronts. While I do feel that Michiue's actions at times were too reckless and put people around her at risk unnecessarily, I can also see her character's conviction to seeking the truth and justice. Likewise, she also managed to show Michiue's struggle of how to balance work with family commitments in a convincing manner.

The chemistry she had with Sakurai was also evident here since they played a married couple before in the "Pikanchi" movies. There was this unmistakable tension between their characters which had some suggestion of romantic sparks at times (deliberate misleading in the plot though). However, the multi-level complexity displayed in the story reflected the complicated relationship between Seike and Michiue in the story because it was hard to set a clear definition for them - neither friends nor enemies. As such, it was such a joy to watch their onscreen interaction in this drama.

Disliked: 

- One thing I didn't quite like was how quick and short the Seike backstory was presented. It was like over in no time in the final episode which consisted mainly of a monologue by Seike to explain how he came to realise that everyone was using him for their selfish goals and he plotted to turn the tables on them. I would have wanted to see more of him showing how he felt and the conflicting emotions he had as he wondered why he was doing this and what kind of outcome was he ultimately after. A bit too little and too late.

- Getting Takaoka Saki to play Sakurai Sho's mother was something of a double-edged sword. In reality, Takaoka is just 10 years older than Sakurai so for her to play his mother did bother me a little as compared to those who may not know this fact. Then again, the story depicted Hiroko as a woman who looked very beautiful and youthful despite being in her 60s so in that sense, Takaoka definitely fits the bill in terms of appearance. Just that fact gets into the way of fiction in this case.

- Although the storyline shifted to 5 years later at the end, there was hardly any noticeable difference especially when it comes to the appearance of the characters. Perhaps more needs to be done to make the distinction more apparent?