Once upon a time when I was a wee lad, natural disaster movies were all the rage. Always some kooky scientist who discovers the imminent disaster and politicians who refused to believe him etc. I didn't watch the movie that came out some years ago but seeing as this is out on Netflix, I decided to do my bit for the jdorama industry and pay for a month to watch this.
Japan Sinks is not really about the sinking of Japan but about the role scientist, politicians and the media play when we are faced with an unusual emergency. How do you determine what facts to trust and which scientist to believe and how do you decide between saving lives and saving the economy? This are questions that we have come to know well in the last two years.
Japan Sinks has an excellent cast from Oguri Shun and Matsuyama Kenichi to Hachigatsu wa Yoru no Batting Centre as the Japanese Prime Minister. The directing and acting and be campy and pedestrian.
I had two thoughts when watching Japan Sinks. Firstly I wished WOWOW had done this instead of TBS because they would make it look more like a movie and secondly I was wondering where all the Netflix money was? I really enjoyed Alice in Borderland because it had the budget that normal jdoramas action don't have and I wanted to see spectacular stuff on my screen.
To be fair, the movie was shot during the pandemic and it doesn't look like their budget that exceeded that of a getsu 9 jdorama. On second thought, it does have a fair bit of CG which we don't normally see much in jdoramas.
I enjoyed the politics side of Japan Sinks with various parties wanting to protect their own interests and especially in the second half when it was about international politics.
Japan Sinks is a watchable show. Its fun and campy but its not what I would recommend for people who don't normally watch jdoramas. Please support jdoramas and watch Japan Sinks and Alice in Borderland on Netflix.
4 comments:
"Where all the netflix money?" Well this is not netflix original series, they only have the broadcasting right so the quality is just the usual tbs sunday drama.
@Anonymous: That's unfortunate because it could have been a much better show if it had more money.
Since when did we start relying solely on WOWOW (and maybe NHK) to make 'serious' dramas? A decade ago Fumo Chitai and Shiroi Kyoto were on Fuji TV, heck Unmei no Hito was on TBS and had the same screenwriter+director combo as Japan Sinks!
@Anonymous: Good question. You just listed 3 must watch jdoramas which I would classify as WOWOW-like because mostly only WOWOW and NHK can do shows with such quality now.
Did not know that Unmei no Hito and Japan Sinks! had the same people!
Post a Comment