This review may contain spoilers
Did I watch the same drama as everyone??
In all my years of watching dramas, I've never posted a public review, but after watching this one and seeing all the reviews online, I finally pulled the trigger and created an MDL account because I feel insane and I need someone to hear me out.
To preface, I have not read the original manga or watched the anime and movie, so I can't speak to how well this works as an adaptation - maybe I would have been more forgiving if I knew how this stacked up. Also, a disclaimer that if you enjoyed it, I'm happy for you! But I want to offer a different perspective.
The TL;DR is that I would personally recommend this drama ONLY IF you want to see Itagaki Rihito and Nakajima Yuto interact. If you are looking for ANYTHING else - romance, police procedural, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, BL - I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. Even if you just want to watch any of the actors on this cast, I think there are many options you should choose before you consider this one.
But first, some positives. I think the best part of this drama is the cinematography. The scenes have a nice atmosphere to them that fits the unsettling vibe and some of the stylistic choices were cool. I also really like the opening and ending themes and that one electronicky background track they used during tense moments. The acting is serviceable - I appreciated that it was a very different role for Rihito than what I'm used to and he did an okay job, although I think he is still a bit too young and fresh to really pull off the charisma of a character like Maki. From what I've seen of the manga, though, he definitely looks the part at least.
The first two episodes are also fairly decent. Even if the MRI stuff is a bit hokey, it's an interesting enough premise, and the way it was used in Ep 1 to catch the criminal was kinda clever. The twist at the end of Ep 1 into Ep 2 got me intrigued, too.
However, in my opinion, the number one reason this drama quickly tanked is the introduction of Aoki.
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To be more precise, I think Suzuki was killed off too early. He dies in the first half of Ep 2 when barely anything was known about his character and his relationship to the others, so Maki and Yukiko being so tormented by his death for the remaining run time ends up feeling hollow and overdramatic. Sure, we're told he has deep, strong bonds with them and catch some glimpses of the dynamic, but we basically just have to accept at face value how much he meant to them by seeing how intensely Yukiko and especially Maki are traumatized by it, when the viewers, on the other hand, have barely had time to feel any sort of emotions for him.
Then, because Suzuki was killed so early, when Aoki comes along, we don't have enough information to be able to distinguish Suzuki from Aoki, so Aoki loses his own individuality as a character and is just Suzuki with glasses and different hair, which distorts his dynamic with Maki and Yukiko. Like, do they really like Aoki for Aoki, or do they like him because he reminds them of Suzuki? It's hard to tell because we got almost no characterization of Suzuki, so we don't know how the two are different!!!
This leads into my other big issue with the drama - the romance between Aoki and Yukiko was so WEIRD. It really felt like it came out of nowhere. I can understand that maybe because Suzuki's thoughts/feelings transferred over to Aoki when he saw Suzuki's memories that Aoki would feel attracted to Yukiko, but Yukiko...girl....why are you getting involved with a man who looks EXACTLY like your dead boyfriend? That's just one coping mechanism too far! And then the reveal at the end that she was actually in love with Maki???? You got involved with TWO MEN WHO LOOK THE SAME but you had feelings for SOMEONE ELSE ENTIRELY????
And with Maki and Aoki, there's nothing wrong with shipping them (even tho I personally think they don't have that much chemistry) and I have a suspicion that they are the reason the drama's MDL rating is so high, but in my opinion, the drama doesn't even give shippers a lot to work with. I wouldn't necessarily say it's queerbaiting, but all of their "romantic" interactions are purely subtextual - even the "confession" at the end is a cop out with him saying "Everyone likes you!!" which is why I say this drama is just for people who want to see Rihito and Yuto exist on screen together and hug a couple of times, and honestly, I think that's all the writer wanted to see too because plot???? I don't know her!
It's pretty hard to make the cases interesting when you can basically see everything that happened through the MRI and indeed, the investigation aspect feels more like an afterthought. Everything is so random and disjointed and poorly paced. The twist at the end is very unearned - they suddenly throw all this backstory at us and expect us to care??? I really do believe everything was set up just so Maki could fall into despair and be all tortured every episode and have Aoki swoop in and comfort him.
I like to consider myself someone with a high tolerance for silly dramas, and I can usually find enjoyment somewhere in a mess, but this drama is decidedly not silly and takes itself way too seriously, so it had me groaning with exasperation and took watching at 3x speed to even get through it. It was a grueling experience, but most of all, it was an extremely disappointing experience. Normally, I would just drop a drama when I realize it's not for me, but I kept watching with the hope that it would somehow get really good towards the end and I would understand what all the hype was about, but that moment never came.
To preface, I have not read the original manga or watched the anime and movie, so I can't speak to how well this works as an adaptation - maybe I would have been more forgiving if I knew how this stacked up. Also, a disclaimer that if you enjoyed it, I'm happy for you! But I want to offer a different perspective.
The TL;DR is that I would personally recommend this drama ONLY IF you want to see Itagaki Rihito and Nakajima Yuto interact. If you are looking for ANYTHING else - romance, police procedural, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, BL - I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. Even if you just want to watch any of the actors on this cast, I think there are many options you should choose before you consider this one.
But first, some positives. I think the best part of this drama is the cinematography. The scenes have a nice atmosphere to them that fits the unsettling vibe and some of the stylistic choices were cool. I also really like the opening and ending themes and that one electronicky background track they used during tense moments. The acting is serviceable - I appreciated that it was a very different role for Rihito than what I'm used to and he did an okay job, although I think he is still a bit too young and fresh to really pull off the charisma of a character like Maki. From what I've seen of the manga, though, he definitely looks the part at least.
The first two episodes are also fairly decent. Even if the MRI stuff is a bit hokey, it's an interesting enough premise, and the way it was used in Ep 1 to catch the criminal was kinda clever. The twist at the end of Ep 1 into Ep 2 got me intrigued, too.
However, in my opinion, the number one reason this drama quickly tanked is the introduction of Aoki.
**********SPOILERS AHEAD*************
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To be more precise, I think Suzuki was killed off too early. He dies in the first half of Ep 2 when barely anything was known about his character and his relationship to the others, so Maki and Yukiko being so tormented by his death for the remaining run time ends up feeling hollow and overdramatic. Sure, we're told he has deep, strong bonds with them and catch some glimpses of the dynamic, but we basically just have to accept at face value how much he meant to them by seeing how intensely Yukiko and especially Maki are traumatized by it, when the viewers, on the other hand, have barely had time to feel any sort of emotions for him.
Then, because Suzuki was killed so early, when Aoki comes along, we don't have enough information to be able to distinguish Suzuki from Aoki, so Aoki loses his own individuality as a character and is just Suzuki with glasses and different hair, which distorts his dynamic with Maki and Yukiko. Like, do they really like Aoki for Aoki, or do they like him because he reminds them of Suzuki? It's hard to tell because we got almost no characterization of Suzuki, so we don't know how the two are different!!!
This leads into my other big issue with the drama - the romance between Aoki and Yukiko was so WEIRD. It really felt like it came out of nowhere. I can understand that maybe because Suzuki's thoughts/feelings transferred over to Aoki when he saw Suzuki's memories that Aoki would feel attracted to Yukiko, but Yukiko...girl....why are you getting involved with a man who looks EXACTLY like your dead boyfriend? That's just one coping mechanism too far! And then the reveal at the end that she was actually in love with Maki???? You got involved with TWO MEN WHO LOOK THE SAME but you had feelings for SOMEONE ELSE ENTIRELY????
And with Maki and Aoki, there's nothing wrong with shipping them (even tho I personally think they don't have that much chemistry) and I have a suspicion that they are the reason the drama's MDL rating is so high, but in my opinion, the drama doesn't even give shippers a lot to work with. I wouldn't necessarily say it's queerbaiting, but all of their "romantic" interactions are purely subtextual - even the "confession" at the end is a cop out with him saying "Everyone likes you!!" which is why I say this drama is just for people who want to see Rihito and Yuto exist on screen together and hug a couple of times, and honestly, I think that's all the writer wanted to see too because plot???? I don't know her!
It's pretty hard to make the cases interesting when you can basically see everything that happened through the MRI and indeed, the investigation aspect feels more like an afterthought. Everything is so random and disjointed and poorly paced. The twist at the end is very unearned - they suddenly throw all this backstory at us and expect us to care??? I really do believe everything was set up just so Maki could fall into despair and be all tortured every episode and have Aoki swoop in and comfort him.
I like to consider myself someone with a high tolerance for silly dramas, and I can usually find enjoyment somewhere in a mess, but this drama is decidedly not silly and takes itself way too seriously, so it had me groaning with exasperation and took watching at 3x speed to even get through it. It was a grueling experience, but most of all, it was an extremely disappointing experience. Normally, I would just drop a drama when I realize it's not for me, but I kept watching with the hope that it would somehow get really good towards the end and I would understand what all the hype was about, but that moment never came.
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