If you stumbled upon this drama but don't (just like me) find the Medical, Politics and Business genres too appealing,, then believe me it is much more and much better than that. With a brilliant plot and characters, The Great White Tower is truly great. A must watch in my opinion.
I know I am gonna repeat the same thing on another Jdrama comment section but- NAMInoYUKUSAKI by THE RICECOOKERS(https://youtu.be/CBSBdY4rAWA) was one of the best OP/ED. And the different variations and remixes made it much better.
Keeping the plot aside (ehem, the last episode), I am yet to find an older Japanese drama which disappoints in the OST department. All the songs and the bgms were perfectly used and suited the mood and vibes of the show. Kaede by Spitz (https://youtu.be/YapsFDcGe_s) was my fave.
I think even the makers were confused about what they actually wanted to portray and instead they included a lot. Every ep, the show went in a completely new direction.
Some relevant points were said with a few interesting characters but overall it was a mess.
Though I am kinda happy that because of Netflix I can see some really pretty and aesthetic Japanese dramas with crazy high production value but they seem to be missing the very rawness and depth which actually attracted me to J-dramas and made them special for me. As everyone mentioned already, this show has some really good cinematography (what was the deal with the numerous Tokyo Tower shots in each episode though) and they used like every colour available on the planet but what was the point of it all? I liked some of the themes and topics they added but that's all.
I often read people comparing this to Twin Peaks, and right after the first episode I could really point out a number of similarities. Definitely a wackier and more surreal version of the American series.
Honestly I couldn't recommend this show more. Love Miki Satoshi's quirky style? Watch it. Fan of any of the cast member, especially Odagiri Joe? Watch it. Want to watch something with overall weirdness and surrealism? Watch it. Like symbolism and reading more into everything? Watch it. And as I mentioned above, couldn't get over Twin Peaks and want more investigation, just watch Atami no Sousakan.
The drama created the perfect atmosphere for the viewers. The older-noir vibes, the great visuals along with the jazz music in the background makes it more intriguing and compliments the somewhat average storyline. Watch it for the vibes.
Hyun Jin's dream sequences were the best (especially the ones with grown-up Glue Stick xD). And shout-out to the dads too, who made the show more hilarious and interesting.
I think the low budget factor worked in the favour of the show and went well with its humour and absurdity. Like those paper monsters, the weird costume villains and especially those blurred and pixelated strings xDDD CGI could never compete with it.
And no worries if you are not into RPGs, even if you are a little familiar with them you can go ahead with this.
With a brilliant plot and characters, The Great White Tower is truly great. A must watch in my opinion.
NAMInoYUKUSAKI by THE RICECOOKERS(https://youtu.be/CBSBdY4rAWA) was one of the best OP/ED. And the different variations and remixes made it much better.
You are right about Takenouchi Yutaka though. Even with just a picture, all my attention shifted towards him XDD
I don't think he can be added as it was just a picture of him and not the actual actor himself
All the songs and the bgms were perfectly used and suited the mood and vibes of the show.
Kaede by Spitz (https://youtu.be/YapsFDcGe_s) was my fave.
Some relevant points were said with a few interesting characters but overall it was a mess.
As everyone mentioned already, this show has some really good cinematography (what was the deal with the numerous Tokyo Tower shots in each episode though) and they used like every colour available on the planet but what was the point of it all? I liked some of the themes and topics they added but that's all.
Honestly I couldn't recommend this show more.
Love Miki Satoshi's quirky style? Watch it.
Fan of any of the cast member, especially Odagiri Joe? Watch it.
Want to watch something with overall weirdness and surrealism? Watch it.
Like symbolism and reading more into everything? Watch it.
And as I mentioned above, couldn't get over Twin Peaks and want more investigation, just watch Atami no Sousakan.
Watch it for the vibes.
And shout-out to the dads too, who made the show more hilarious and interesting.
And btw, what's the deal with Sakamoto Yuji and really cool drama eds?
Been waiting for this one.
Like those paper monsters, the weird costume villains and especially those blurred and pixelated strings xDDD
CGI could never compete with it.
And no worries if you are not into RPGs, even if you are a little familiar with them you can go ahead with this.