HomeScreen Alchemist

I feel that Abema has been trying to "out-wow" WOWOW in terms of production quality & content with their latest dramas, like Miss King and this one. Both Scandal Eve & Miss King can work as "a pair" because they both touch the shadowy darkness within the mainstream showbiz / entertainment industry especially in the talent agency system (check out my review of Miss King).
https://kisskh.at/796860-miss-king/reviews

Miss King uses Shogi as an allegory, but Scandal Eve seems to dive explicitly into the actual darkness. An exposé. It may be too dark for some, but I think it's needed so that many young & naive talents (normally start from the "idol" scene or teen models) may not get lured so easily into exploitation just because they did not read the fine prints of their contracts.

Miss King is a solid drama. I promised myself to write a review of it, and did that finally. Basically to make my point why it deserves a high rating. Please check that out.
https://kisskh.at/796860-miss-king/reviews

Since early episodes, I had a feeling that this is a kind of drama that will not be everyone's cup of tea, because it does not follow the same program/pattern being pushed in the mainstream entertainment industry by countless other movies & serial-dramas. In the review I made a connection between shogi and the mainstream entertainment/showbiz industry, because I found that whoever came up with the story of Miss King, seems to use shogi as an allegory.

I wrote this in my review: This is a positive drama about courage to face and overcome seemingly impossible challenges. The description of "revenge" here is more about "taking the power back" or "reclaiming what was once lost", and certainly not the "bring everyone who put me down into the pit of hell" type of revenge.

Abema TV has another "dark-type drama" airing on Netflix right after Miss King ends. It's called "Scandal Eve". I'm keeping an eye on this, because the stories might have been "inspired by" real scandals in Japanese mainstream entertainment industry.

[updated 5 December 2025]
I've made comparison between this and Miss King because they both touch the shadowy darkness within the mainstream showbiz / entertainment industry especially in the talent agency system (check out my review of Miss King where I address the allegorical meaning of the story).

Miss King uses Shogi as an allegory, but Scandal Eve seems to dive explicitly into the actual darkness within the industry itself, and it dives beyond the "reported scandals" in the gossip magazines. An exposé if you will. I'd say it is a very good and intriguing drama.

[updated 22 December 2025]
I just posted the review of Scandal Eve, check it out [no spoiler]:
https://kisskh.at/profile/HomeScreenAlchemist/review/521994

I'd like to see more direct interactions & conversations between the characters played by Yui Narumi and Anna Yamada here, or even in the next drama or movie where they can play together. They both have strong screen presence and "inner attractiveness". I really like Yui's acting in "After The Quake" (first time watching her in that), and then also in "Miss King" with Non. I can feel a dash of sadness or melancholy in her eyes, that could fit to play a character with complex personality, someone who would hide her true feelings (not always have to be a dark/depressive one). I'd like to see Yui being picked up to play larger roles, even a main one in the future.
https://kisskh.at/photos/81Ol62_3

Yes indeed. She still looks stunningly youthful and cute at 32. But to be honest I miss her natural innocent look in "Amachan" (she was 19 at that time). https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_MRGDWUCjJg

Actually things like that is possible with a talent, hard-work & determination. Maybe not in 2 weeks (Asuka had some years of shogi training when she was little, from before her father left the family & then before her mother was sick). The story of Miss King is very realistic, dramatization yes, but not an exaggeration.

In the real world, we don't actually need to look further, just see the one playing the main character Asuka: Nounen "Non" Rena. She's now a well-respected actor (or actress) who has won numerous awards in Japan, but also a fashion model, musician & singer, painter, visual artist, fashion designer & movie director. She never went to any film school, nor any art college. She moved to Tokyo alone after finishing junior-high/middle-school & first became a teen fashion model. Her achievements are based on her gifted talent, hard-work, dedication & determination. Everything is self-learning. She had never been "groomed" by the showbiz industry, but in her very first movie where she played a more prominent supporting role (By Rule of Crow's Thumb in 2012), she gave a 100% solid act (to me, even surpassing her much more well-known "senior" Ishihara Satomi who played in the same movie) and won a "newcomer award".

Kisaragi Station with a huge dose of Exit 8 vibe. 😂
But, however, the story is actually much better than the original one. I'm enjoying it.
Miyu Honda's acting has improved a lot now since the original, although it's still a bit far behind Yuri in terms of expression & delivery. But it's getting more balanced.
It's more a drama-thriller than horror, with cheap CG & post-production.

The point of this entire movie is for us to find the esoteric meaning behind all the clues hidden in plain sight. It's simply mind-blown to me, I can't help but to write the review. Feel free to read: https://kisskh.at/profile/HomeScreenAlchemist/reviews

Ohh.. I ended up writing the review for this. It's so good I can't help but to do it.
Feel free to read my review:
https://kisskh.at/profile/HomeScreenAlchemist/reviews

Perfect movie! Lots of esoteric symbolism. Everything in this movie has a meaning.
I became an instant fan of the "walking man", Kochi Yamato. He's a really exceptional actor! He can act mechanically without emotion, but yet his "meltdown" scene also shows the most raw human emotion! Mind blown!
10/10

You're welcome! BTW, she's currently on a drama Miss King. Really good one (from 3 episodes so far). It's on Netflix, easy to watch.
https://kisskh.at/796860-miss-king

I can feel that this drama is going to be much more than "typical" BL drama out there, it's more on addressing issues about "what is family" and all the legal stuff especially the situation with under-aged individuals. I wonder if you have watched "Rojo no Ruka" / "Kyrie no Uta", or the movie "Wandering" (which Tamaki-chan also starred there). They both also address the similar issue.

I think the problem itself is not about the "age gap" between these 2 couples (the teacher's role is played by a 37 year-old actor, so I believe the age for the role itself isn't that far off, around 30-35 already), but for the 15-year old girl, because she's still under-aged, and living with 2 strangers (legally) for an underage/minor is a problem, unless one of her parents also lives together with her.

I am deeply moved by this movie!
This is one of very few movies that are able to change you once you understand the symbolism & can relate to one or more characters. The only proper way to watch this is by opening our heart.
Glad that I found this.

10/10

I just re-watched the first 3 episodes again, and noticed the pointed warped texts started with one letter only for ep.1, then 2 for ep.2, and so on. I like that everything is being thought-out in this drama down to the very details. And Non's performance (in most of her movies & dramas) typically requires a re-watch, at least 2 times. One to grasp the nuance in her acting & expressions, and secondly to focus on the story. I found that it's easy to miss the details of the storyline when watching Non.

There's a scene in ep.2 in the snack bar where Todo Seigo looked at his phone's email received from someone (likely a private investigator or someone who has access to people's data). A long email with all the details regarding Asuka. Only about 3 - 4 seconds on the phone screen, but we can read pretty clearly if we understood Japanese. That's the scene before he went out and said the classic line: "I'm going to kill the old era". It's understandable that he started to "stalk/follow" Asuka after getting that info.

Yes, and that may also be what makes this worse: using an actual serial drama as part of the promotional tool for the "other project", where it can work as a cheaper alternative to reach directly to the potential audience as well as getting ad revenue (as opposed to paying for ads in the usual way). This is the problem of most of mainstream "showbiz" TV with all this stuff. It's a typical cronyism running within the agency & media industry, and real talents can not get the chance to even prove themselves.
I watched this after watching Miss King and OMG to be honest, it's like watching 2 different worlds.

But yes, I'll keep watching because of Yuri. I put hope in these 2 productions:
1. The movie Vanishing World, with Aju Makita as the main lead. They're both excellent actresses. I still remember back then when I watched Okaeri Mone asadora, they were the ones that impressed me with their character embodiment, surpassing Kaya Kiyohara & Mio Imada.
https://kisskh.at/photos/ABVKY4_3
2. The upcoming 2026 NHK drama Themis no Futashikana Hotei with Yui Narumi (+ list of well-known senior casts). Yui Narumi is the other really excellent actress with the same age as Yuri, and also very underrated as well (but currently gaining momentum).
https://kisskh.at/803220-themis-no-futashikana-hotei

This is the best asadora in many many years. Absolute classic. It's not about idol stuff, much more than that. It's about life exploration of a teen, aspiration, making choices, etc., and also about lifting the morale of people after the 2011 tohoku earthquake/tsunami.
And, Nounen "Non" Rena alone is worth watching. She's one-of-a-kind in Japan. No one else could really play that role perfectly.

NHK just switched to a digital TV brodacast across Japan in 2011, so, I'd say that in 2013 (by the time this asadora was released) they were still airing 720p at most, if not a standard DVD 480p. I don't think there's even a 1080p one available, until the TVer streaming was commenced in 2015 that also caters NHK broadcast.

Just watched ep.1. The story can hopefully be good after a few episodes, but a few things bugged me:
1. cinematography is way too "TV production" and felt shallow/cheap, it spoils the atmosphere. They should learn from WOWOW, Abema TV or DMM.
2. That main male lead's acting is awkward. Not fit for main role at all. There are MANY others that can act better. Is he a famous idol singer in Japan?

I feel bad for Yuri Tsunematsu. She's actually a very capable actress, but it seems her talent has been "spoiled" by a number of not so good dramas/movies & not-so-good roles given to her. I'll continue watch this drama for her.

[update: 20 Oct 2025]
Watched 3 episodes so far. The story is very good, maybe because it follows pretty much the original manga's storyline (I haven't read the original manga version). Yuri's acting is, as expected, really really good (we can sense the 2 personalities right away), but there's noticeable she "dialed down" a little bit to balance the obvious lacking in the male lead's acting (he can't express strong emotions properly). I hope this drama can make her to be noticed for possible future female-lead roles. This is HER drama, she's the center of the story, just like the cover of the manga.

[update: 12 Dec 2025]
Watched 9 episodes so far. The story is very good for a serious-type thriller drama. But unfortunately, the issues above still linger, and too bad that even Yuri's acting has noticeably degraded from the early episodes as well, almost to the point she became "bored" (too many scene re-takes perhaps?). It's frustrating to see. It's like she couldn't get the chemistry with that male-lead. I'd put blame on Amuse agency. Too much hands from their end in dictating the production & casts.