Scandal Eve (2025)

machinery and the mob

9 / 10

Most dramas are made to help us escape for a bit. This one doesn’t let you do that. It doesn’t try to be clever or self-important. It just confronts you. It pulls a system we’re not supposed to see into the open and holds it there. What makes it uncomfortable is that it doesn’t stop at the industry. It makes room for the audience too, for the way attention, demand, and silence keep the whole thing running. This isn’t really entertainment. It’s a reckoning with an industry that only works because people stay quiet and pretend not to know.

The scandal at its core is not rumor or professional misconduct. It is the systematic suppression of rape and sexual assault. We see multiple victims erased through coordinated falsehoods. Of cousre, who knows how many victim stories never make it to the light. We see media manipulation and suppression deployed as a weapon. A culture so practiced in self-preservation that it pushes victims toward isolation, despair, and suicide. The series does not treat this as some sort provocation... it treats it as evidence that the whole thing needs a reboot or to be torn down.

Haruna's (oh how I love Haruna in everything she is in)character is personally implicated and ideologically committed. Her sister is also a victim, and that wound never closes. But she is not driven by solely by revenge. She is driven by belief. She believes truth matters. She believes journalism has an obligation beyond access, profit, and survival. That conviction is what makes her dangerous in a system designed to bury facts rather than surface them.

At first I was a little conflicted by the sister connection, but I think the writers did a good job of introducing it (I am just very wary of any previous connection trope.... but at least this one isn't that someone in the show crossed paths with someone 47 years ago and now everything is magically connected.)

The scenes with her and Ko hit me harder than anything else in the show. This isn’t some moral showdown. It’s two women who understand exactly how much power a narrative can hold and who gets to tell it. They know what silence protects and what truth can destroy, and neither of them looks away. Watching it, I kept holding my breath. Every word and every move matters. It’s tense, it’s exhausting, and it feels completely real.

What makes the drama so damning is that it doesn’t stop with the easy villains. It doesn’t let us blame just the agencies or point fingers at the media and feel clean about it. Yes, they’re guilty. But the show names the last accomplice too, and it’s the audiencee. Abuse keeps happening because attention keeps paying for it. Lies survive because they sell. People want the spectacle, then punish anyone who threatens to ruin it. So everyone quietly agrees to look away as long as the product stays untouched. Watching isn’t neutral. Consumption is participation. Every view, every click, every excuse keeps the machine alive. We are not standing outside of this.

The series really only slips once for me. The Editor-in-Chief, Kenjiro Goda, changes sides a little too smoothly. In a story where telling the truth always comes at a cost, that turn felt a bit rushed. There are a couple of other moments like that too. I get that with only six episodes there was never going to be time to sit with every character, and I don’t think the show is being lazy. I just kept feeling like a few of those shifts needed another scene, another beat, something to make the change feel heavier. When everything else in the show makes growth feel painful, the easier turns stand out.

For me, the ending doesn’t retreat into cynicism. It refuses the easy lie that nothing ever changes. The truth is dragged into the open, publicly and in a way that can’t be taken back. What happens in the final press conference isn’t abstract or symbolic. It closes the loop that was opened in the first episode, and what’s said there felt exactly right to me. Nothing padded. Nothing softened. I didn’t need to see every villain punished on screen to feel the weight of it. Their downfalls are clearly set in motion, and that’s enough.

The fact that everything isn’t wrapped up neatly didn’t feel like a flaw. It felt honest. This story was never about comfort or clean closure. It was about what happens after the truth is finally spoken, and how impossible it is to pretend nothing happened.

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A must watch for those who choose to face the truth (and not to remain ignorant)

There is a rather popular quote by a manga artist and writer Ōima Yoshitoki: “It’s better to be hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.”

I'm writing this review after watching Episode 5 of “Scandal Eve”, in anticipation of the following episode, which is the finale. I think my review will not be affected by the ending of this drama at all. To me, the ending does not really matter much when the main point is the essence of the story itself, what this drama brings within its story, as opposed to the plot or storyline. My point being; it is the content that makes a difference in how I would rate any movie or serial drama, besides the production quality (directing, cinematography, editing, post-production, etc.), which is essential. When it comes to the content, I'd like to see if there's any message delivered in the narrative, or is it just merely a hollow story without any substance? By looking at that, it has become clear to me that “Scandal Eve” carries a critical message which points to everything that is wrong in our system, and it extraordinarily displays it in a way we (as the viewers) can become the judge, the witness, the victims, and even the perpetrators at the same time. In the end, this may compel us to introspect and evaluate our own values in this life. That alone makes “Scandal Eve” a must-watch drama which is perfect to close the year 2025.

Even though it only has 6 episodes in total, the first two episodes only barely scratch the surface. They are just an introduction, a teaser to much deeper complications. The real story starts at the end of Episode 2. I will not spoil the storyline in my review, so I will just write the general message of what this drama wants to convey, and that's the most important thing. From Episode 3 onward, the story quickly develops with more and more clarity to the entire "situation" and the roles of most of the key characters. It becomes more obvious where the drama is heading, if only we could endure watching it without being triggered by the gripping, intense scenes that keep us holding our breath, gut-wrenching plot, tight editing, dark atmosphere (using dim lighting and blue-ish hue effects in post-production), and the emotional breakdowns played by some of the characters. Be aware that those things can get us caught offguard and trigger our defense mechanism.

“Scandal Eve” is certainly not made just for entertainment purposes. It dives deeply into the darkness of the so-called entertainment industry or "show-biz". I started to watch “Scandal Eve” right after finishing “Miss King”, another Abema original drama aired earlier. Interestingly, both of these dramas can work as "a pair" because they both touch the shadowy darkness within the lucrative mainstream entertainment industry. Check out my review of “Miss King” where I explained how young talents are considered merely as assets, and in many cases they are also being treated and (ab)used as such.

“Miss King” uses Shogi as an allegory, but “Scandal Eve” digs explicitly into the actual shadows in the industry where people can become cruel "monsters" (a specific term spoken often in “Miss King”). Even though they are both considered as dark, and both plots are mostly linear with tight and gripping scenes, “Scandal Eve” is unquestionably heavier. Let me use food as a parable or allegory — “Miss King” is like an appetizer; a somewhat lighter drama with some slight humor thrown, to make us prepare for and anticipate the main course. Then comes the main course, with its "super spicy ingredients" enough to put us in a state of fear, worried whether our stomach would be able to handle it or not. “Scandal Eve” is like that, not in the sense of the food itself that it is disgusting or hard to digest, but because we're not so used to eating the food with such heavy ingredients. We are stepping into uncomfortable territory here.

Among us movie enthusiasts, I can see that some people have already been dropping this drama even from the first one or two episodes because the story really gut-wrenches them, and they could not handle this "tight wrench", so their defenses start to get triggered and then throw some tantrums: "This is too much! I don't want to see this! It ruins my day! I'd rate this 1 out of 10! 🙄" and so on and so forth.... They would not do that if this story was pure fantasy and not "based upon" the actual events that happen every day to real people in the entertainment industry around the world. Many viewers prefer fantasy as an escapism, to deflect from the real problems that exist among us, hidden in plain sight. Most dramas don't hurt our hearts or trigger our emotional and mental defenses. They are meant for entertainment and remain entertainment only. But, however, things that do hurt us are the truth and, so, anything that points to the truth, including what's being presented here in “Scandal Eve.” And this truth also hits us even harder because we like to watch and enjoy these products: all the dramas, movies, songs from idol groups, etc., and take them for granted. Our ethical sensitivity is being provoked.

But, however, for humanity to grow, we have to face the reality we live in right now, no matter how evil, dark, and disgusting it actually is. We need to be able to see the world as it is, in order for us to contribute to healing the world and eventually try to make it a better place to live. Denial is not an option, because denial is one aspect of ignorance and it can hinder our growth. But, of course, a number of people choose to stay ignorant because ignorance is bliss.

So please, keep reading.

I saw some photos posted on social media, showing giant printed wall mural ads of both “Miss King” and “Scandal Eve” placed side-by-side, somewhere in the underground passageways connected to the Tokyo Metro or train stations. Those are certainly not cheap, but why did they do that? Why is in the heart of Tokyo (most likely around Shibuya - Harajuku area, the center of the Japanese entertainment industry) of all places? Also, in particular, judging from the various different locations for the shooting (some are open locations that need the presence of a number of hired extras), many supporting casts, etc., this drama seems to also have a large budget allocated for the production. I don't remember seeing any studio set-up. All shooting locations seemed to be using the actual locations that exist on the map. The production costs are certainly larger than many other "normal" serial dramas. For only 6 episodes, this may also be one of the most costly dramas ever made by Abema. It is safe to assume that Abema has to have a "mission" to spread awareness and an important message to many potential audiences through this drama, almost to the point that it can be viewed as "not-for-profit" or "pro bono". It's crazy to think otherwise. They also screened the first 2 episodes at the 2025 Tokyo International Film Festival, where both Shibasaki Kou and Kawaguchi Haruna, the women who play the two leading roles, gracefully walked the festival's red carpet prior to screening, all dressed in black.

“Scandal Eve” is not your average drama. I believe it is meant for an exposé based on a number of actual stories that are suppressed, re-narrated into a "fictionalized documentary" under the drama setting. I must admit my heart was beating faster while watching the episodes of “Scandal Eve” than while watching horror movies. Some scenes could drive me into tears, because both the cinematography and directing are able to pull the audience directly into feeling the emotions of those young talents who are being exploited by the industry every single day. It may be too dark and "brutal" for some, not brutal in the graphic-violence sense but brutal in how they're presenting all the details in an unhinged, in-your-face approach without any exaggeration.

Talent exploitation in the entertainment industry is considered as a "taboo subject". It is rarely discussed in mainstream media everywhere in the world, not only in Japan. Many of the stories are even being placed under the "conspiracy theory" umbrella term. High-profile scandals within the entertainment industry have never been discussed deeply enough by any news channels. They turn a blind eye even though public interest is actually very high. If you ask me why, well... the answer is also presented in the story of “Scandal Eve”. I highly recommend anyone to watch this drama. The only effective way for this exposé to be addressed to the public is through using what I call a "fictionalized approach" of storytelling as opposed to a featured documentary, because many of them, both the victims and the exploiters or perpetrators, are still active in the industry. In case it's getting too much to bear, just pause and watch relaxing and uplifting dramas (such as “Hirayasumi” — also recommended!), and then when you're feeling okay again, get back to watching this.

To be honest with you, this type of exposé is gravely needed in our society, so that many aspiring young and naive talents who normally start from the "idol bootcamp" or as teen models, may not get lured so easily into the exploitation mill for years (and being "eaten" by those "monsters") with no way out, just because they did not fully-understand the contents and fine-prints of their contracts and did not realize how manipulative and exploitative these talent agencies can become. Thanks to Abema (right now, the only large Japanese entertainment network that is brave enough to ever put this kind of story out and publicize it to a broader audience), this drama may help open the eyes and minds of parents with children aspiring to become entertainers either as models, actors, dancers, or idol singers. Parents or guardians may consider hiring a public lawyer to seek advice for these young talents and assist in negotiations prior to signing the contract.

Regarding the ending scenario of the drama, I understand some of us prefer to watch something that would offer some sort of justice and even hope for any possible revenge. But like I said earlier, this is the kind of film that gives us a glimpse of what actually happens in our society behind closed doors. To be blunt, realistically speaking, there's no satisfying ending at all unless the entire system is being scrutinized and dissolved, and that cannot be done overnight. Giving a movie a non-realistic "happy ending" would never help us grow, because then it would fall into another fantasy as a means of escapism. That would be akin to lying to ourselves, self-sabotage. Every change should start with ourselves, by being well-informed and knowledgeable about what's going on and how much we have been "participating" in it, whether we are aware of it or not. To confront ourselves with the truth. This drama may help, but only to some degree. In the end, it is up to us if we want to be the change and make a difference, even little by little, or else continue living in denial and ignorance and further numbing ourselves down to becoming either hive-minded NPCs or cruel and evil monsters.

9.5/10

Footnote:
When writing this review, I was also watching the 2023 Japanese movie “Scroll”. Although both “Scroll” and “Scandal Eve” seem nothing alike (different genres, different vibes, etc.), there is actually a meaningful connection between the two that is meant for personal reflection, and I am deeply moved by both of them. Here's a quote taken from the movie, which was originally based on the novel by Hashizume Shunki: “This thing called society, is actually me... I finally realized that I can do something for others. It may be small, but it gives life a meaning.”

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