High quality production reminiscent of a Kurosawa Kiyoshi film
This is one of the most well-crafted Japanese TV shows I've ever seen, in a completely different world from the tear-jerking sentimentality, cliched plots, cartoonish overacting, and kitchen-sink production quality that we know and love. This seemed more like a high-quality, award-winning independent movie by Kurosawa Kiyoshi. Not only did you get the same sense of cosmic evil lurking in the mundane lives of regular people, the slowness and whispery quietness, the refined photography and sound design, but you also got the familiar actor Kagawa, who is creepiness personified, both in his acting and in his real life.
The first three episodes were fantastic. You really get to know the characters and empathize with their problems thanks to the excellent acting, writing, and directing. So when tragedy strikes, it hits you hard. However, the last three episodes had weaker characterization and less engaging situations.
The ending also reminds me of a trademark ambiguous Kurosawa ending. It's philosophical and thought-provoking, but emotionally unsatisfying. I think they could have made better use of the airtime by cutting some of the later victims and instead developing the main ideas a little further. Or it could have been re-edited into a tighter movie.
The first three episodes were fantastic. You really get to know the characters and empathize with their problems thanks to the excellent acting, writing, and directing. So when tragedy strikes, it hits you hard. However, the last three episodes had weaker characterization and less engaging situations.
The ending also reminds me of a trademark ambiguous Kurosawa ending. It's philosophical and thought-provoking, but emotionally unsatisfying. I think they could have made better use of the airtime by cutting some of the later victims and instead developing the main ideas a little further. Or it could have been re-edited into a tighter movie.
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