Hibana Spark

Hibana Spark is the second Japanese netflix show after the horrible Underwear. I couldn't even finish the first episode of Underwear because it smelled like a crappy prime time Japanese dorama show. Hibana Spark smells different. Thats because its a philosophical movie about the nature of comedy wrapped up in a story about  a struggling manzai duo Sparks.

Also central to the story is Tokunaga's (one half of Sparks) relationship with Kamiya (one half of Ahodora), a senpai who he respects with a skewed sense of humour. Together, they are like monks living a life dedicated to making people laugh while musing about the nature of their occupation. They find in each other the ideal audience for their jokes but the question is whether they can find enough of an audience out there for their acts?

I have however, one problem with Hibana Spark and that is I didn't find it funny. Not the manzai jokes about curry or nabe or even the dry humour like the scene where Sparks are watching their appearance on tv and Tokunaga's partner Masato asks his girlfriend if she recorded the thing. I know why its suppose to be funny but it just didn't work for me.

I think people who enjoy manzai would like Hibana Spark but I found it too dry and didn't really enjoy watching any of the characters. Actually, the character I was most interested in was kamiya's girlfriend, Maki because I was interested to know what she though of all this.

Its surprising Netflix chose Hibana Spark to do because I don't think it plays well to a foreign audience except for the underdog trying to make it in a difficult industry part. I like that its not your usual jdorama but I sort of get what its trying to say but I don't feel it. Hibana Sparks gets a meh from me.