3 Nen A Gumi: Ima kara Mina-san wa, Hitojichi Desu (2019)

SPOILER FREE: This is a must for suspense/psychological drama lovers. The plot is quite intriguing and the acting was really good. Masaki Suda was amazing (again) and the plot is full of twists that keeps the viewer on the edge. This series was highly entertaining and it was easy to watch. The death of Reina is a mystery to all and the viewers try to understand what will happen next. It wasn't perfect, but it was still powerful.


MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
From the beginning, this series shows the effect that social media have on our society. The drama gives us, each episode, a new clue about the main case and as viewers we try to uncover the crime/suicide of Kageyama Reina. The truth is slowly revealed and as a person who watched the show I expected a great conspiracy or something even if the actual reason is something that is shown -one way or another- in the first episodes.
This show was a message to everyone in a society that can't live without social media. Almost everyone has one account -or more- on sm and it takes away a part of our lives.

The ending was brilliantly filmed as Hiiragi talks on the camera, about who the real killers are pointing to everyone who is watching the series and therefore uses social media. A harmful word -intentional or not- can cause great damage to someone even if that person doesn't know us personally. The anonymity of social media gives everyone the opportunity to give their opinion no matter how harmful that can be. I loved the comments that Hiiragi received while he exposed the truth, as it was the most realistic reaction that could happen. It is not only that some can't accept the truth, but the most terrifying thing is the ones who don't understand that they did something wrong. It was great to show that the purpose wasn't to stop what we call cyber bullying, but being able to change even one person. As someone said if we want to change the world, first we must change ourselves.

To everyone who watched this - including myself - this is a great opportunity to double check before posting anything and thinking before talking, because our words can really be the knife on someone's hand.

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If you want to change, now is the time!

Pros

-At its bare minimum, 3-nen is a timely critique of cyber bullying, herd mentality and the damaging nature of false accusations, applicable to not only Japan but to those who inhabit online spaces or social institutions- so, everyone in other words. It demonstrates how on the internet, malicious, often fabricated rumours can spread like wildfire to life-destroying effect, and how the collective can mercilessly oppress the individual until they simply break. It is an important reminder that human-induced tragedies like suicide aren't the responsibility of one person but many; and that remaining complacent towards bullying is tantamount to condoning it. So really, the series itself can be described as a long and important lesson that directly implicates the viewer in its didactic purpose.

-Unlike its awful, conspiracy-based successor 'Nippon Noir', 3-nen succeeds, for the most part, in its twists and turns, creating an urgent, exciting plot that keeps you guessing. From the beginning, the stakes are set high and the moment that Hiraagi announces the doors are locked, you know that this series really isn't fooling around.

-Credit where its due, I like Shogo Muto's decision to make Hiraagi a former Tokusatsu suit actor/ stuntman. Not only did the screenwriter pay homage to prior series Kamen Rider Build (albeit in a rather self-important way), it gave reasonable explanations as to why Hiraagi is a skilled fighter, can handle explosives and is inspired to impart values of justice, empathy and personal change onto his students.

-Casting was a mixed bag, but there were standouts. Suda Masaki delivers, as usual, a compelling performance as the enigmatic Hiraagi. Suda bounces from from playful enthusiasm to merciless rage, and then to heartfelt sincerity with the flexibility of a rubber ball, though bordering on overacting as per usual. Nagano Mei's characterization of the class captain was realistic, especially in her emotions of fear and regret. Tomita Miu was a welcome presence in retrospect, but I do find problems with her inclusion (see cons). And who can hate Mori Nana?

-Liked the opening. The morning dance routine was pretty sweet too.

Cons

Having only watched 3-Nen, NN and KR Build I'm no connoisseur of Shogo Muto's work. But having watched these three and read about his other series, I must say that his writing isn't terribly cerebral, is it?

- For one, hackneyed cliches and plot devices rear their ugly heads. Terminal illness, well-timed fainting, bad boys with soft sides, bedridden mothers, unsympathetic and incompetent cops, misunderstood yet well-intentioned protagonists, unrequited crushes, fat people as comic relief, clinging to the hand of someone falling off a tall building... I could probably think of more on a rewatch. One or two aren't bad per say, the problem is when they start to accumulate.

-And while I mentioned that the series has timely social commentary, I hate how preachy and self-important it is. Hiraagi's long rants, brimming with metaphors about daggers in hearts and intercut with scenes of the students silently crying are insufferably sanctimonious. This forced, contrived melodrama defeats the moments of off-kilter humor and dark comedy that added some levity to the series. And subtlety? Hiraagi must have bagged it at the start or blown it up in the first explosion. Crying, screaming, desk-slamming and oh, I almost forgot that uh- cyberbullying is bad, empathy is good and that we are all pieces of trash. Perhaps Hiiragi didn't say it enough times. To my belief, effective social commentary is woven into a work, not necessarily with complete subtlety but with at least some degree of complexity. 3-nen throws it like an angry, self-righteous punch to the face.

-Some of the acting was awful, particularly from the students. One who comes to mind is the idol fellow who was playing the belligerent dancer who picks a fight with Hiraagi, but this may be because he had an annoyingly large amount of screentime.

-Belief has been suspended. Too many times. Normally this wouldn't be an issue but since this work is intentionally set in the present day and in the real world, its unfeasibility becomes somewhat of a problem. The series falls to bits under the slightest bit of scrutiny, and I don't feel the need to explain its questionable aspects because there are too many.

-I believe this is the third time that I've written this but I really do want to point out this show's hypocrisy. It rambles on about bullying but perpetuates it by making a mockery out of the token 'fat' character. Not cool.

I hate using the word 'overrated' but I hate hiding my convictions even more. 3-nen a gumi, while relevant and entertaining, is overrated. 6.5/10

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