Quick Review #76: Angel Flight Kokusai reikyuu soukanshi - Spring 2023

Title: Angel Flight Kokusai reikyuu soukanshi / エンジェルフライト 国際霊柩送還士

Rating: 8 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to watch moving stories about life and death issues but not with a heavy touch or draggy pace and want to see some great acting from the cast

* Currently showing on Amazon Prime Video (subject to geographical restrictions)

Liked:

- While stories about those working in the funeral industry aren't new, this drama had a different angle by expanding the scale beyond borders since the staff in Angel Hearse handled the transportation and treatment of the deceased who had either passed away overseas or foreigners who died in Japan. Despite the short length of the drama with just 6 episodes, the story was still comprehensive and had a sound structure with a good pace and not being too draggy. While the theme is about life and death, the good thing was that the drama had a light touch at times but was still packed lots of emotions. 

- The acting from the cast was both entertaining and memorable at the same time but it would have been better if the supporting cast got a bit more airtime. Special mention goes to Yonekura Ryoko and Matsumoto Honoka who were especially brilliant in their emotional scenes and had a nice onscreen chemistry to watch. While Yonekura usually took on roles which had strong characters or were very confident, she managed to show a more vulnerable side this time which gave her acting a softer touch. On the other hand, Matsumoto's acting displayed a form of resilience and silent strength underneath the gentle façade that her character projected.

Disliked: 

- The drama's length also turned out to be its biggest weak point because there was just not enough time to cover the background stories of everyone in Angel Hearse other than for Nami (Yonekura) and Rinko (Matsumoto). From the little hints dropped in the drama, it looks like there is a lot of room to explore. And since the big question of what happened to Nami's ex-boyfriend Yukito was not answered, it seems to suggest that there should be a sequel coming up in future. What this means though is that the drama feels unfinished so the satisfaction derived from watching this was somewhat reduced.