Ironically it's always this 'sci-fi' drama/movie that requires viewers to put their brain outside the door to be palatable. Nonetheless the first episode flows quite comfortably pacing-wise and information delivery-wise, one of the most enjoyable first episode among this season's doramas imo. Thanks to subie06 at d-addict for subbing the show!
It captures that childish, naive yet also pure and undiluted passion and spirit of youth that teen movies nowadays rarely even attempt to portray. It's romanticised, yes, as teenagehood is not all sunshine and rainbow, but also, isn't that what nostalgia is all about. Would prefer if it sticks to "saying 'I love you' without saying it" motto it hints at the beginning, but overall, it was still a pleasant watch.
Not quite a gothic romance ala Del Toro's Crimson Peak that I expected it to be, but still a fascinating tale about karma and retribution regardless, sprinkled with supernatural elements and populated with twisted humans. Personally I'd prefer if not every 'karma' manifested as literal ghost, but I guess it's a 'kaidan' after all. Thanks to HPriest for subbing the drama~
The conflicts aren't that high-stake but still they're interesting and surprisingly grounded (esp in contrast to how unrealistic Yukimaru's character and the surrounding characters' reaction to her are) and managed to highlight the inner-working of the profession/industry with so much hearts. Populated with characters who can be moved by doe eyed power of sincerity, it doesn't make the most logically sound plot though ultimately a feel good one. Would definitely love a second season!
By the end of the show I was left wondering did we ever know the real Ritsuko? The Ritsuko we're shown to seems to be a mixture of the 'skin' she wore to conform to what her exes/people around wanted her to be, and their own projections of her since we only learn what Ritsuko was like around them through their recollection and words alone. When Kouhei said that she's someone who's like a sun, I genuinely wondered when did she ever?? Because the Ritsuko that we've shown to is anything but, even if that's what she was to him. But I guess that's the tragedy, that the one whom she could've been a 'sun' around is the one whom she couldn't be together with. And this leads me to wonder what is it really that makes it tragic? Is it because they love each other but they're siblings so they can't be together as a man and a woman? Or is it because they're siblings but they love each other romantically so they couldn't stay together as family?
I just find it interesting that the movie started with a fairly common family unit consisted of mother-daughter pair, then as the movie goes on it sort of 'expands' and transforms to a rather unusual and complicated family tree thanks to the father's philanderer nature lol. Overall the movie has your usual tearjerker premise but I think it shines in its details more.
I appreciate that above all the show chose to save its characters. Despite what they went through, while their situation and the system itself didn't necessarily get better by the end of the show, the main character actually comes out a better person, others retain their idealism, while some others regain theirs.
Genius oddball stumbles upon murder cases one after another and unwittingly solves them while lecturing people along the way regardless their age and status, this type of show is nothing new, thankfully the cases here are fun to follow, they're rather simple but layered thanks to how colorful the characters involved in each case and how well-acted they are. Ep 7 is the strongest so far, looking forward to the remaining 3 episodes. Thanks to blitzfansub for subbing the show!
I watched ep 7 thinking how Odagiri Joe is the perfect actor to recite Sakamoto Yuji's dialogs, which can sound like irrelevant ramblings at first before arriving to the points and then you realize the 'ramblings' prior was arranged methodically with specific intention. This style of script can feel roundabout at times, or even unnecessarily confusing and annoyingly indirect, but OdaJoe delivers his dialogs in a way that captures your attention and interest even before we understand what it is ultimately that he is trying to convey. I put him on the same level as Takahashi Issei and Mitsushima Hikari in term of how good they are at delivering Sakamoto's dialogs, he really should be in more Sakamoto's drama/movie.
Finished it in one go. That was some of the most stressful hours I've ever had in my 10 years of drama-watching career lol. It appears to be based on Moritomo Gakuen scandal that happened under previous PM's administration (don't look it up if you don't want spoiler obv), I think a season 2 that follows recent development of the scandal would be neat.
The novelty from the first season has worn off, also the ending in this season actually left me with more unsure feeling than the previous season ending. They introduce many new elements in this season, and just like before they still give no satisfying resolution to any of them, but somehow the ending didn't leave me convinced and assured that the characters are fine with their life imperfectness like the s1 ending did. Or maybe I'm just in a different state of mind compare to when I watched S1. Alas, it's still enjoyable, the characters and the narrator are still as endearingly flawed and fun to watch, and I feel like I grow more attached to Momoe in this season. Would definitely love a season 3. Thanks to HPriest for subbing the show!
I'd say the synopsis is not that spoilery, it only covers the first episode and describes the premise of the show/novel which is a grieving father who hunts down his daughter's killer while he himself is on the run from the cops, the hook is whether he'll succeed or will the cops get to him/his target first. There's blood, gruesome scenes, and suspense, but the show doesn't rely that much on those devices to grab the audience's attention. It actually has an almost meditative quality to it, and is more interested in exploring the characters humanness and their internal conflicts in relate to their position on the situation at hand, and through them shows the blurry line between law vs justice, moral vs duty, revenge vs redemption, among other things.
Presenting serious and complex issue in a fun and easily accessible way without oversimpliflying it is the strength of dark comedy genre which this show showcased so well. Definitely one of best 2021 dramas!
The last scene hit me real hard. If only there was really someone like that in Mizuho's life, who related to her and made her feel 'normal' with her struggles, that she was doing just fine as a mother... If only the world was a kinder and empathic place...
Some scenes are executed/directed like a stage play, with the drama leaning toward psychological so a lot of conversations and 'scenes' happened nowhere else but in Jinnai's head. The scene in ep 6 where the family is watching Kaito's baseball match however is probably done to get around budgetary issues but was amusingly festive and quite a unique drama watching experience. At its heart the drama is about Jinnai's redemption story, but the downside is the drama's POV is strictly from Jinnai's so we really only learn about every other character from their interaction with him and his thoughts about them which result in some confusing actions or seemingly shallow motivations for other characters despite them probably going through interesting struggles themselves. Alas, thanks to keroro4 at d-addict for subbing the drama!
https://open.spotify.com/track/2gUZMWbJCCVsJFxPbQFFDN
ED - "Hyoui Ishizaki"/"Hyoui-san" by Tempalay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSrAK2LkdM8