Bloke impressed me in Nare no Hate Bokura. Perhaps his first relevant work to date, albeit being not the main character and the show itself is packed by great performances from relatively lesser-known actors. Will keep an eye on him.
why did they make it less violent?? like in episode 3 they were supposed to be literally crushing the girl's hand…
Didn't read the original material, but I reckon the show might've been more interesting with more Mikio-Yamaguchi combo lingering longer than what it's shown here. Great chemistry and dynamics, albeit brief, between the actors too. Can imagine the duo trolling and putting even more pressure on the rest of the class during the ordeal, where the latter acts in opportunistic manner.
Trivia: both actors of these characters appeared together in Kimi ni Todoke with radically different roles and interaction (see my comment below).
There is no doubt that Inukai-kun is the man of a thousand faces. hard to believe that just a few weeks ago Inukai-kun's…
Just a few months ago I saw Inukai and Riho (the one playing the bullied girl) playing a gentle dude and a feisty girl who had a childhood crush for him, respectively, in light-hearted Netflix' Kimi ni Todoke. Here they play much more primal roles and both do it superbly.
She is so beautiful and talented. I have watched her in Kimi no Te ga Sasayaite Iru and Uchi no Musume wa, Kareshi…
Itoshi Kimi e, Kiina, Hataraki Man, Sakuran, Dolls, Koi ga Shitai, and if you can get to watch it, 100 Tales of Horror. Basically 90% of her projects in the past.
The newgen's Miike Takashi. Have guts to tackle unusual scripts (although like Miike, sometimes can be hit-and-miss) and utilize overlooked and unconventional actors almost all of his contemporaries would never even bat an eye at.
Despite his occasional hiccups, I hope Japan will produce more directors/screenwriters who can push boundaries, take risks, and dare to do something unconventional like him.
For those who watched the first 2 episodes: any good?
EDITED: watched them, wow this is intense. Definitely not the thing that would be shown in prime time slots. Although I had concerns with the inexperienced JE dude in the lead, it quickly dissipates as the general acting level so far is also pretty good - I checked the director and saw Jojo Hideo (from Alps Stand no Hashi no Hou movie, whom I think is an exceptionally well-directed show) at the helm, which explains it.
Agreed with a comment below me though, the cinematography could've been better.
About Rinkuma's role as Yano, I think the omission of her yankii-ness is due to the time setting of the series. In the original material (set in early 2000s) and movie (2010), the yankii subculture was still relatively a big thing. However, this version assumes the whole thing to happen in the present time (2020s) and hence it's no longer make sense to write the character that way.
Would be super awesome if they make a sequel, featuring more run-down inns farther away from the Kanto area featured in the 12 episodes of the installment.
2 
Trivia: both actors of these characters appeared together in Kimi ni Todoke with radically different roles and interaction (see my comment below).
Hat tip: @Lynn
Despite his occasional hiccups, I hope Japan will produce more directors/screenwriters who can push boundaries, take risks, and dare to do something unconventional like him.
EDITED: watched them, wow this is intense. Definitely not the thing that would be shown in prime time slots. Although I had concerns with the inexperienced JE dude in the lead, it quickly dissipates as the general acting level so far is also pretty good - I checked the director and saw Jojo Hideo (from Alps Stand no Hashi no Hou movie, whom I think is an exceptionally well-directed show) at the helm, which explains it.
Agreed with a comment below me though, the cinematography could've been better.