Unmei no Hito runs into a bit of a problem during the court case. That is problem is that we know the fate Yuminari from the first episode and there are no twists and turns during the court case. Basically what the 3 episodes of the court case boil down to is that Yuminari did not want to expose Miki which would have given him a fighting chance.
They tried to make it about the characters but there isn't much to say despite the good acting. Miki agreeing to lie about Yuminari did not deserve so many episodes because there wasn't much to explore. Its basically Yuminari getting screwed by the government without him having any way to fight back.
However, the last episode is kick-ass. Finally we get to something that I as the audience can care about which are the people of Okinawa who were the ones who got screwed by the Japanese government the most. The last episode is an impactful history lesson on how Okinawa was sacrificed for the army bases and the cost it had on the people there.
Furthermore, Yuminari was actually doing something. I can't care about a protagonist if he isn't doing anything useful *cough* Magma *cough* and merely talks a lot. The awesome last episode is almost good enough to make me forget about the long boring trial.
Unmei no Hito starts of with really good first 5 episodes and really slows down the next four before finally talking about something that really matters for the 1 1/2 hours final episode. Regretfully, this excellent production can't be called must watch because of the nature of the story. They should have cut the court case to just one or two episodes. Doramas should never prolong the inevitable unless there are great moments to mine. Very watchable show with a slow second half before it finishes strong.
11 comments:
Stayed up watching soredemo since you keep saying its good, and wow! i stayed up till 2 even though i had work today.
never stop blogging!
Hope ep 8 of Soredemo blew your mind as it did mine. Check out http://hamsapsukebe.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Jdorama%20awards for what I think are the best jdoramas since 2005.
yeah.. it was pretty nerve-racking when he showed up in front of Hiroki's place.
all the actors in this were good here.
My favourite scene is Hiroki's mum long speech at the dining table where she said all that dark stuff and how she felt suicidal when someone told her to be positive. LOL at Hiroki's brother's reaction.
Just finished watching it today. Loved the ending!
~will do!
Yeah, she was so consumed by all that hate that it became her only reason for living but you can say that for Hiroki as well.
think im gna watch shika otoko next!
Shika Otoko takes a long time to get started so the first six episodes (if I remember correctly) can be a bit of a slog.
Yeah i can deal with slow atm as Ive just finished watching some fast paced HK drama and also Beginners (please don't judge!)
If you have any depressing jdramas you would recommend, let me know. Soredemo wasn't dark enough lol
@anonymous: try kono yo no hate (suzuki honami, 1994) then. It is said this dorama was the darkest ever made
@ anonymous do u know where I could watch that online?
Did a review of Kono Yo no Hate here: http://hamsapsukebe.blogspot.com.au/2007/09/kono-yo-no-hate.html
Akiramike -- finally finished watching this and agree entirely with your review. The last episode was particularly powerful -- I was in Japan at the time of the 1995 van rape alluded to in that episode, and emotions were very high (as they might well have been).
This was a very adult dorama, dealing with serious issues, which obviously attract less attention, I guess, from the dorama fan community. But what a total jerk Yuminari was. Man, if I had a wife like Yuriko, I'd be home every night, plus I'd be on my knees thanking the gods for sending me someone like Matsu Takako!
Sorry, I digress -- thanks again for your review and please keep blogging - always a pleasure to read you!
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