DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS JAPANESE CRIME MYSTERY HORROR DRAMA
jdramas have been hit or miss for me in terms of production value, story, and acting, but gannibals (2022) is a sleeper hit. with only 2 reviews at the time i am writing this (2/3/23), i am praying it gets renewed for a second season following the ending because I NEED ANSWERS!!!story:
police officer agawa daigo and his family relocate to an isolated countryside town to fill a recent vacancy in the police force following a sudden resignation. they are greeted warmly by the town's people but coldly from the members of the strange and secretive goto family. after digging into the mysterious cirumstamces of the previous cop's disappearance, daigo discovers that he was last seen on the goto's family premises accusing them of cannibalism. while the agawa's hoped to start over in this small town and heal their non-speaking daughter's trauma, daigo is not someone to let go of things easily, so they are quickly swept into this small town mystery that is way bigger than them.
production/acting/everything else:
as mentioned previously, jdrama's that i have seen have been lacking in the production department. this is not an issue here. the cast and crew is impressive. the screenwriter is oe takamasa who was nominated for an oscar in 2021 for the best adapted screenplay for drive my car. yagira yuyu as agawa daigo gives a great performance, best known for his other role in nobody knows (2004) where he was the youngest winner of the best actor award at cannes.
i cannot recommend this drama enough. the pacing was great as the story slowly unveils itself. i was hooked from beginning to end. i also have never seen an jdrama that utilized a festival / folklore setting.
Was this review helpful to you?
Dark Elegance: Gannibal
Gannibal has a riveting story that takes us on an unexpected journey into the dark corners of human nature.. From start to finish, this series is a masterclass in storytelling, story development.. The plot of Gannibal is hauntingly intriguing with a gripping narrative.. The cinematography has a sinister edge with muted tones that perfectly complements the drama’s dark undertones.. Creating a striking contrast between the serene beauty of the village and the unsettling darkness hiding behind it... Yagira Yuya was hauntingly brilliant.. I absolutely loved his performance here..Gannibal is a drama that doesnt rely on cheap thrills.. Its less about jump scares and more about an atmosphere of dread, misdirection and the slow unraveling of truth.. The horror of what's happening creeps up on you, something that leaves a psychological mark..
The only disappointing fact is that the second season hasn't been released yet.. The delay is something unacceptable considering how they ended the first season..
Was this review helpful to you?
Very underrated Jdrama!
I strongly recommend this drama to anyone who is into suspense, psychological, character driven, and thrilling drama. The story starts with Agawa Daigo, a police officer who got re-stationed as a substation police officer in a rural and isolated village where he is greeted with a powerful Goto family and its mysterious villagers. Rumors that cannibalism is being practiced in this village reaches Daigo which leads him to go against the Goto family to uncover the hidden secrets.The main character, Daigo is not your typical nice guy main character which makes this drama more interesting to watch. His adrenaline chasing and super righteous mindset makes him become the target of the the village who wishes to hide certain secrets and enforce their traditional way of living. I am extremely impressed with both Yagira Yuya who plays Daigo and Kasamatsu Sho who plays Keisuke. Every single character in the drama did a splendid job portraying the pain they are dealing with and the high stakes that await their choices.
This drama is based on the manga with the same title, Gannibal. I am highly impressed with the production value, the acting, the costumes, and the music of this drama. I have watched a handful of anime and manga live action but there always seem to be a disconnect between actors and the characters and the actors comes across as overacting. This is not the case with Gannibal! No awkward wigs or caricature acting can be found here. Every episode transports you to the village where it feels you are alongside Daigo wanting to uncover the secrets of the village.
This is also a good introductory japanese drama for anyone who is willing to try out some Jdrama! Here is to hoping season 2 is coming!
Was this review helpful to you?
Convincing acting, some bloody and gruesome scenes
Lots of suspense in the drama and this would make you want to binge watch. Plus it was only 7 episodes.Everyone, except the male lead and his family, in the village seemed to be hiding something, villagers who appeared friendly turned out to be weird in the end. Even the male lead's boss and colleagues in the police station looked suspicious one point in time.
The drama ended abruptly, so definitely looking forward to season two, but I expect more gruesome scenes (to be expected when we are talking about humans eating raw flesh of other human beings) in season two as more secrets will be revealed.
By the way, the male lead, Yuya Yagira, seemed to have a nice body :D I guess he had to be if he were to handle all those fighting scenes against the cannibals in the drama.
All in all, I would recommend this drama. Generally, the Japanese do well in suspense and mystery dramas, but watch bearing in mind that it is about cannibals so expect some rather bloody and gruesome scenes.
Was this review helpful to you?
Gripping, Raw Terror.
Do not mind the ratings ever for a Japanese Drama on MDL. JDramas have less viewers as compared to other countries and often users don't rate them on face value. So, give this one a shot... if you can stomach this.I wonder what sort of insanity got into me that I decided to binge this series in a single go for 5 hours straight. The number of watchers and the positive comments made me quite curious
Agawa Daigo, a diligent policeman with an uncontrollable temper, moves with his wife and daughter into a new village "Kuge", after his predecessor resigns before mysteriously vanishing. Within the very first day, he is called in after the Goto family finds the body of their Grandmother in the woods in a rather bizarre condition. However, Daigo's suspicions pique after realising that the Gotos are desperately trying to hide something from him... or someone.
Warning: Cannibalism is a really strong backbone of this story. So, please be prepared for the worst. Some scenes can be traumatizing.
Right from the very opening scene, we know what was discovered by Mr. Kano, the previous officer stationed at Kuge. The series follows Daigo-san as he decides to get into the bottom of Mr. Kano's disappearance and the reason that finally lead him to that point.
I have to say, every single cast member played their roles excellently well. I don't think I would appreciate Daigo as much as I did had the role been performed by a weak actor. Daigo was certainly the character that I wanted to simultaneously cheer for, as well punch due to his extremely impulsive nature.
The villagers were plain creepy in the very first glimpse that we get of them.
The little kid Mashiro was someone who kept me on the edge of my seat till the final episode, but her character seems to have been underutilized. [There is a certain scene where I wondered why no one questioned her. Yes, she couldn't talk, but she seems to signal and respond well to emotions.]
The one character who intrigued me the most was Keisuke. He was indeed different.
If I could point out any 'letdowns', then it might be the predictability of the plot - this could also be because I distrusted every single person on screen and concocted various scenarios, so nothing came as a surprise.
The ending was expected, yet unexpected. Though, I do believe that a second season is necessary to tie up all the loose threads, the post-credits scene and the words of a character pretty much makes the future imaginable.
It was a knowledgeable, yet a gripping watch for fans of horror and mystery. 8/10 from me. (Deducted points due to some predictable bits.]
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
An Unnerving, Intense, And Suspenseful Drama
Gannibal was an unnerving, intense, and suspenseful drama. Every episode had me on edge and made me tense. There were shocking unpredictable twists and turns. The twists and turns were actually good. They weren't bad twists and turns. There were gruesome, macabre, and repulsive moments in the drama. Some moments in the drama made me squirm and disgusted me.There were some repulsive and evil characters in the drama that infuriated me. On the other hand, there were some good characters in the dramas. I really like the main protagonist Agawa Daigo. He was a tough cookie.
The season finale (the last episode) ended on a cliffhanger, which caught me a little off guard. I wasn't expecting it to end on a bad note. I thought it would end on a bittersweet note. I thought the protagonist Agawa Daigo was going to save the day, but unfortunately, he didn't. Sorry for spoiling it for you guys. Anyways, I think there is a possibility there will be a second season. I hope there will be a second season. Overall, I like the drama. I thought the drama was intriguing.
Was this review helpful to you?
Welcome to the circus and the land of cult activity
…where brain cells die with every poor judgement the characters make. It’s an entertaining trainwreck you just cannot look away from.Not one person was normal in this drama, and that’s surprisingly not the issue. The issue was how almost no one had a working brain. I can excuse villagers and the Gote family, because this is what happens when you don’t touch the grass enough, and by touch a grass I mean interact with normal people outside of your little cult circle. Male lead thought? No excuse. I was able to witness the negative black hole brain cell energy in its purest form. He truly did not know when to shut up - each and every time he just spilled all the tea explaining who he suspects, why, of what, and what he will do about it - straight to the suspects faces. Learn how to lie… But no, he had to verbalize every useless thought that showed up in his half empty brain. I had to pause the episodes because I was getting too much second hand embarrassment. And it was so much fun to see him keep getting into trouble, often of his own making.
What’s also annoying about his character was his obsession over being a detective and investigating - annoying, but well written. This is your typical man child with little self esteem who wants to feel important and powerful, and he mostly uses force and intimidation to get it. Zero planning, just straight to the action. Which then led to never ending conflicts with everyone in his surrounding. Not blaming him for being paranoid, but he could be smarter about it.
On the other side we had Agawa Yuki who went into the oblivious side of extreme. With the level of weirdness going on in the town, the fact she still claimed "Maybe we worry too much” was just amazing. The level of denial and wishful thinking is what gets many people dead. Her whole persona reminded me of a horror movie “Speak No Evil” - every time you accept weird behavior not to stir the pot, the boundary gets moved and at some point there are no boundaries left.
Even the innocent and pure kids did not escape the abnormal presentation. Agawa’s daughter was literally the worst judge of the characters, always wanting to befriend the criminals, murderers, and predators.
All that said, I think the scariest part of the whole show was not the Zombie Grandpa, nor the actual shenanigans happening in the village and Goto family, but how everyone tried to control, gaslight and force into obedience Agawa Daigo. The pressure put by the community, the shift of the quality of the interactions - going from attacking, shaming, isolating, to smiling and treating like a part of family. The gaslighting was so strong I also became paranoid and suspected everyone and their mother, cousin, kids and unborn babies of doing shady business and being part of the problem.
As for the Goto family, not stated in the drama, but there must be some inbreeding going on. They are way too closed of a community to have so many young people in the family without some Sweet Home Alabama vibes. Jokes aside, I actually loved watching their scenes. Figuring out their morals, laws, conflicts resolutions, hierarchy, culture and tradition was fascinating, even if scary. On one hand you can sense the ultimate loyalty they have for each other, on the other hand you can see that even considering any type of change would be viewed as betrayal.
I also love how this is basically a spider man meme of all these crazy folks pointing at each other claiming the other ones are the crazy ones. You are all part of the same circus, accept that. At first it was extremely frustrating to see all that happening and no one making rational decisions, even the police outside of the village. It didn't seem realistic, but the longer I thought about it, the more I started to accept it. This would not be so outside of the realm of possibility. I can totally see police just ignoring and not wanting to get involved in whatever is happening in a small village that is more or less isolated from the rest of the world, as long as the crazy does not start to leak into their own town and surrounding area.
On the technical side: really good transitions between shots - often focused on a specific item (apple in episode one) or movement - one character walking away, close up to their back, fade do black, camera moves away and we are following a different character. Small things that just work and make the shift between scenes more smooth. As psychotic as I might sound, I also think the drama was visually stunning. I love the realistic gore, the blood that looked like blood and not cheap Temu red paint, the costumes, set design - all great.
The music was just fire, amazing, perfect, both in timing and the choice. The end of the episode instrumental? Perfection. It’s literally a crime that it's not released anywhere. I am honestly mad.
As for the acting - where to even begin? Yagira Yuya aced the role of the hot-tempered detective with obvious internal issues. The way I wanted to both beat him up back into reality and witness him beating people up just shows the complexity of the character and the great portrayal - made me have conflicting feelings and it made sense. Kasamatsu Show was probably my favorite - up till now I am not fully sure how sane Goto Keisuke was, but I know creating that feeling in viewers was intentional.
From the supporting cast, the one that I want to praise the most was Yoshihara Mitsuo as Goto Iwao. I’d assume for most Mutsuo was more of a memorable character, but somehow for me the more calculative and methodological Iwao was more frightening - he almost seemed normal, and that underlying sense of danger that was less obvious, but ever-present could not be easy to deliver.
I know for many this drama was gruesome and uncomfortable to watch, but for me it was just a fun even if slightly frustrating watch. Maybe I am desensitized because of all the horror I saw, but I just kept laughing with every new pathological and shocking reveal happening on screen.
Can this drama be viewed as stand alone without watching part 2? No. It’s not the case of most of the plot getting semi-conclusion. You cannot treat it as a drama with an open ending, because it honestly presents no ending. The last scene is a cliffhanger that more or less forces you to watch more if you wish to get any conclusion. Will I watch season 2? For sure, but I need a short break first :)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Frighteningly Disturbing In Parts!
18/01/2023
I am only five episodes in which makes it two left out of seven only the rest is yet to be released over the next 2 weeks.
A police officer, Agawa Daigo, moves into a small village, Kuge, with his wife and daughter replacing the former police officer, Kana, who has disappeared. It seems a well known local family, the Gotos, are dangerous people to mess with not to mention something doesn't feel right with the place at all especially after the body of Goto Gin is discovered in the woods after a "bear attack" and accusations of cannibalism is thrown in for good measure...
The only member of the Goto family that isn't crazy it seems is Keisuke Goto.
There are some really cool scenes like the bear attacking Daigo on the mountain, Mashiro's encounter with "That Man", the finger in the box, all the freakish adrenaline rush moments Daigo has with the Goto family, the car in the tunnel incident, the man with the half eaten face, the bodies and skeletons when discovered...
There a few minor things that irked me a little bit like one police officer taking on 4 to 5 family members with weapons by himself, a little girl wondering off in the middle of the night in a strange place and the directness of the Gotos or how impolite they were even if in a rural environment. For anyone to be so outspoken or to talk about a woman like they did of Daigo's wife so openly in public was distasteful and not something that would commonly occur in Japan where everything is usually quite indirect.
Not the Japan I remember anyhow unless it has changed a lot!
I have to say the Kuge villagers themselves are really weird and episode four has this vibe like: "The Wicker Man" or "The Lottery" coming up soon on Festival Day.
And now that I have seen Episode 5 it seems there might be a slow build up to that festival in which a "human sacrifice" might be the flavour of the day as it has been a tradition for one or two centuries.
The story is gripping until around the end of episode 4, the music is eerie, the thematics are on point, the cast is believable and the cinematography is outstanding, however, more and more it has this Twin Peaks feel or something similar to The Wicker Man, The Lottery and The Ritual.
21/01/2023: Additional Comment-
I reckon this could be turned around a little bit if they added a twist like Agawa's wife being an original villager or something and I'm wondering if they will do something like that - as in add in an unexpected twist.
Back To Original Post: 18/01/2023-
Highly recommended for the gory graphics and adrenaline rush moments, but about half way through, the story itself, loses originality and becomes similar to a number of others.
It doesn't make it terrible or bad to watch - just not original.
04/02/2023-
I have now finished watching it and although there is no real "twist in the tale" the last two episodes aren't too bad.
We find out more about Keisuke Goto and his younger brother and how they tie into the man with the half eaten face, also, a little more about Gin Goto (grandmother) and what she has in common with "That Man".
Just so you know season one ends on a cliff hanger or open ended ending which can be interpreted in two ways:
1) S2 is needed to tie up the cliffhanger in S1.
2) It is up to the audience to decide which way the wind blows when it comes to Agawa Daigo and his family as well as the Gotos and the Kuge Villagers.
Agawa Daigo is left facing "That Man" and his wife and daughter are left in the hands of one of the Gotos that isn't as sane as Keisuke.
The only silver lining in it all is that Agawa Daigo isn't all alone with what he knows about the Gotos and Kuge, however, it doesn't mean what he knows can save him...or will it?!
Background: Agira Yura (Agawa Daigo)-
The first time I ever saw Agira Yuya was in the film Nobody Knows back in 2004 when he was a beautiful looking boy taking on the role of Akira Fukishima.
Now is my second time ever watching him in a movie or series only at first I didn't recognise him until I thought his face looked familiar at certain angles.
Unfortunately, for Agira Yuya, his whole life changed because of Nobody Knows and not in a good way. He ended up turning to drugs in order to cope and at one point even gained a lot of weight which made him quite unrecognisable. In addition, he married young and had a daughter only months after being wed that became his saving grace.
Since then he has sorted his life out and is still married to the same woman he fell in love with at first sight!
I'm glad he was able to turn his life around and didn't end up wasting away to nothing.
Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting Concept, But Didn't Live Up to the Hype
I went into this drama with high expectations because the comments were praising it so much, but unfortunately, I left feeling disappointed. While the storyline was definitely interesting, the execution just didn't hit the mark for me. It was an "okay" watch, but it never reached that "wow" factor I was looking for.The Atmosphere The village setting is undeniably crazy, and it was interesting to see the mystery of the community evolve. The sense of dread was there, but it wasn't enough to make the drama feel "great" in my eyes.
The Execution & Ending The biggest letdown for me was how it finished. It ended on a cliffhanger that basically demands a second season to get any real answers. I find it frustrating when a show doesn't feel complete on its own, and honestly, I don't think I’ll be tuning in for the next season.
Final Verdict: It’s a decent watch if you like creepy village mysteries, but the pacing and the incomplete ending left me feeling underwhelmed. It had potential, but it didn't live up to the praise I saw online.
Was this review helpful to you?
Half met expectations
The fans of this show oversell it. Yeah, it's a good show but tbh it's nothing ground breaking, scary or masterpiece. Go into it knowing that it's adapted from seinen manga. So it will have both the sense and sensibility of a seinen manga. Though the acting is not anime-esque; a plus in my dictionary.The show does it's atmosphere well. Everything makes you queasy. I especially found the teeth of everyone but the protagonist, his family and the villagers to be disgusting. Even the pdf who claimed to 'love' Mashiro had disgusting teeth.
The setting is a village with open, lush fields but I felt claustrophobic along with the characters. You really do wonder whom to trust. That just tells you that they've done the settings really well.
I also liked that the ML was competent. He's all brawn but not stupid.
There were certain things that left me annoyed though. Like one of the villagers made a comment about ML's wife and he does nothing. He's shown as a family man and yet he let's it go? Erm okay. I guess I could rationalize that. I do like that while Mashiro's traumatized by the pdf incident, she doesn't hate her father. She's kind to a fault but hopefully as we go into season 2, she discovers why her father did what he did and comes to accept it. And that not everyone deserves kindness.
That being said, I'll certainly recommend this to anyone into thriller. The episodes are not long and there aren't many. Plus it is a nice watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Amazing vibes, intriguing story
Japan has got the horror vibes down because I absolutely had to take a break between episodes — it was just so dark and heavy. And yet, by the end of the season, I was surprised at how hopeful the drama made me feel despite how much paranoia and anxiety the show also gave me.Overall, I'm really impressed with how this was written, and how it really gave itself time to develop and set up the story. There are some common horror elements like the main character's backstory, but it still feels really original. I don't know where the plot is going and I'm excited to find out.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This was a weird and wild ride. I didn't really like the series. I guess it was just too weird for me. Too many scenes were disgusting too; very graphic. The cast and acting is great but there is something left to be desired in the writing. Some of the actions by the ML defy logic and I get that he's supposed to he a hothead who acts before he thinks. What foolishness in a new town? Even him and his wife staying in town for their daughter was dumb.
Excellent casting re the young Keiske. I may not watch a 2nd season but the last episode damn sure makes me want to. I'm very confused about the villager's role in the drama as well.
6/19/23
Was this review helpful to you?
