Its about the history of television in Japan with Kuroyanagi Tetsuko being the main character. She is still hosting the longest running talk show in Japan and was there for the very beginning.
WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT?
Its got Mitsushima Hikari in the main role and she's not playing a talking t-shirt along with a great cast including Mimura. Plus, the historical part of it is interesting along with why some songs you hear at snacks all over Japan got famous.
Sadly, no.
WHY?
Its got that annoying asadora narrator thing along with fourth wall breaking stuff. Sometimes it feels like I'm watching a History Channel show where the narrator is telling me historical facts and then we have actors acting them out instead of letting the audience be in the moment. So many times I'm shouting in my head at the show to stop telling me stuff and show it to me instead.
SO, IT'S NOT WORTH WATCHING?
Not at all. The acting is so good that there are great moments especially episodes 4 and the last 3 episodes about her relationship with certain main characters but I feel that it would have been a must watch if they had gotten rid of the narration and made it more of a dorama.
I think its a watchable show that could have been a classic. Being thanks to carameltz for subbing and providing all the extra information. I couldn't have understood the whole thing without the subs.
I wan't too thrilled about Totto Terebi because most NHK shows about history I've watched are too sentimental, whitewashing and break the cardinal rule of writing.
ReplyDeleteI think it's the time constraints of each episode that force the production team to use narrator. We as younger generation will have no idea what's going on without it. Some said it would be better if it is an asadora but I think a regular 40+mins 11-ep series would be enough to well cover Japan Television History & the legend of Kuroyanagi Tetsuko.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time to see Mitsushima shows off as an all-round character instead of a crying 101 guide. Just Wow. Academy awards can go f**k themselves.
Besides,Mimura really deserves a best supporting actress award for her perfect rendering of Mukoda Kuniko. I was tempted to buy and read her prose just because of her performance.
Cyberwave: I think it would have been better to let the audience slowly work out who the characters were and what was going on through the dialogue. For example, skip the childhood part in episode 1, remove the narrator and Tetsuko's background can be revealed through dialogue as she goes through the auditions. I can picture in my head a more POV style episode 1 where the audience goes on the journey with her rather than tell and show.
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