The second movie is definitely better than the first. My Fujiwara bias prevented me from hating his performance here (which many people do, I heard). Matsuyama is a lot of fun here since L is the only character who is allowed to have any fun.
I really hate those late 90s/early 2000s Japanese thrillers where we are constantly shown posts from netizens (usually in white font over black screen) proclaiming the approaching apocalypse and the appearance of 'kami'. The atmosphere of the looming doom and society's indifference symbolised by the soulless sprawling cities are also a must.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Death Note live-actions are exactly these kind of movies! You see, when I was reading Death Note manga as ongoing it was a cutting edge modern story. 15 years has done their job, I suppose.
Still, I can't begrudge Death Note its genre. Back in the day it was popular to proclaim Fujiwara Tatsuya a terrible actor and both live-actions a failure of an adaptation. Looking at it now, I can only shrug. The movies are stylish and fun. L and Light are suitably charismatic even if L outshines (ha) Light.
Is it just me or everytime the main characters were about to kiss, it seemed as if a heavenly grace were pouring down on them from above (thanks to the lighting and Suda's facial expressions) and completely ruined the mood?
This is a movie Suda Masaki received his best actor academy award for. And he is stunning here. The movie itself, though, is a hymn to an era where toxic masculinity ruled the world. Approach with caution.
The projects where Ayano Gou does not play a cold-blooded murderer or an evil alien used to be quite rare. This is one of his works that brought him recognition as everyday decent (and cute) guy.
This is a light school drama with great pacing and unbelievably charismatic male lead played by Kamiki Ryunosuke. He also have great chemistry with the female lead played by everyone's favourite Hirose Suzu.
Honestly, it's very entertaining and a must for Kamiki's fans.
Suda Masaki lovers can watch to see him play his now trademark 'wild petty antagonist' role. He kicks desks and humiliates people with an aplomb, while the scene where he reacts to a scary threat looks scary only due to his extra acting.
Japanese remakes of Korean dramas always produce characters and conflicts rarely found in other J-dramas. That said, I remain unconvinced by the story and the acting. A lot of details gave me pause. The premise, though, is very interesting so if you can forgive execution, you may get a lot of fun out of it.
This drama is often recommended as a great detective J-drama. But this is a 'closed room' Agatha Christie style mystery show with utterly improbable cases and characters straight from harem ranobe. So I'd not recommend it to classic detective lovers.
On the other hand, if Detective Conan is your cup of tea, you may want to give this a chance.
This is it, the golden classic. It's like the Beatles, you can't go wrong with it.
I'd rated it 10 if I were not horrified by the utterly sexist episode somewhere in the second half. Oh well, it was 90s. I'd still recommend to watch it. This is a lot more entertaining than the anime.
This is another golden hit from Kudo Kankuro. His dramas usually have this flair of sadness but this show is a pure heart-warming joy through and through.
Kamiki, obviously, is amazing here, but the rest of the cast is outstanding in their own right.
This is a typical Kudo Kankuro story and, in fact, it's his second project where Kamiki Ryunosuke plays the leading role (Nagase Tomoya's presence doesn't surprise anyone either).
I always though that Kamiki was famous for his villains (as Kanata Hongo is). But what makes some of Kamiki's villains interesting is his ability to play up their shortcomings in comedic way (see Kazoku Game or Keiji Yugami). You can rely on Kamiki not to shy away from showing his characters' cowardly and hypocritical sides.
And in fact it's Kudo Kankuro's projects where you can see Kamiki playing unadulterated loosers and flexing his comedy timing muscles. So the movie makes for interesting watch even if you came here just for Kamiki in the credits.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Death Note live-actions are exactly these kind of movies! You see, when I was reading Death Note manga as ongoing it was a cutting edge modern story. 15 years has done their job, I suppose.
Still, I can't begrudge Death Note its genre. Back in the day it was popular to proclaim Fujiwara Tatsuya a terrible actor and both live-actions a failure of an adaptation. Looking at it now, I can only shrug. The movies are stylish and fun. L and Light are suitably charismatic even if L outshines (ha) Light.
8.5/10
10/10
Story-wise, though, it's a mess.
7/10
9/10
Joking aside, this homage to Twin Peaks turned out to be too eccentric for my taste (and I couldn't watch Spec so you can recalibrate accordingly).
Honestly, it's very entertaining and a must for Kamiki's fans.
Suda Masaki lovers can watch to see him play his now trademark 'wild petty antagonist' role. He kicks desks and humiliates people with an aplomb, while the scene where he reacts to a scary threat looks scary only due to his extra acting.
Kubota Masataka has a small role typical of his career before his break in 2017-2018.
7/10
On the other hand, if Detective Conan is your cup of tea, you may want to give this a chance.
10/10
I'd rated it 10 if I were not horrified by the utterly sexist episode somewhere in the second half. Oh well, it was 90s. I'd still recommend to watch it. This is a lot more entertaining than the anime.
Kamiki, obviously, is amazing here, but the rest of the cast is outstanding in their own right.
10/10
I always though that Kamiki was famous for his villains (as Kanata Hongo is). But what makes some of Kamiki's villains interesting is his ability to play up their shortcomings in comedic way (see Kazoku Game or Keiji Yugami). You can rely on Kamiki not to shy away from showing his characters' cowardly and hypocritical sides.
And in fact it's Kudo Kankuro's projects where you can see Kamiki playing unadulterated loosers and flexing his comedy timing muscles. So the movie makes for interesting watch even if you came here just for Kamiki in the credits.
8/10