I saw somewhere that The Journalist was coming out on Netflix. Decided to give it a go since my Netflix was going to run out soon. In the beginning it seemed like just another corruption cover up story with Yonekura Ryoko as the journalist.
Then details of the cover up started to sound very familiar. Prime minister's wife and a school land buyout? I could not believe my ears. This was based on the Moritomo Gakuen scandal involving former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo!
It got me bloody excited because this does not make The Journalist just a dorama, its a half documentary based on real life events. It also got me really sad because I know what happened to the scandal in real life. I was hoping that they would change a certain event but I knew it was not possible.
The Journalist has 3 other main characters besides Yonekura Ryoko. Yoshioka Hidetaka is the finance bureaucrat who is pressured to forge documents, Ayano Go is the secretary to the PM's wife who gets involved and Yokohama Ryusei is a newspaper delivery university student who never reads newspapers.
While part of my enjoyment was that The Journalist was based on reality, the other half was all the interesting things the series had to say about the attitude of many people not just the young about politics in Japan and how people have turned to the internet for news instead of newspapers and how it has created a situation of apathy and no desire to hold the government accountable.
I remember reading many articles about the Moritomo Gakuen scandal and wondering how anyone could get away with such obvious corruption and watching this series just made me so sad and angry.
The best compliment I can give The Journalist is that I kept looking at the top right of my screen looking for a WOWOW logo. I can't believe we already have a contender for best jdorama of 2022 and I have not even started on my best jdoramas of 2021 list yet!
Must watch. Get Netflix and support jdoramas. After years of pirating I am glad there is a way I can support jdoramas that does not include buying their every expensive dvds.
Started watching this 2 nights ago and I can't stop watching it. Haven't finished watching but the acting and cinematography is top notch. Couldn't believe this is not a WOWOW production too, but that means there are other studios out there churning high quality doramas. Was going to recommend this to you, but you beat me to it. Seconding MUST WATCH.
ReplyDeletePS: Gonna read the Moritomo Gakuen scandal now..
Thanks for this review. I'll definitely watch this one. Apparently there's an earlier movie version, of 2019 - have you seen it?
ReplyDeleteConsidering how recent the scandal is even WOWOW wouldn't dare to touch it lol. After looking into Moritomo gakuen case I wish the drama also shed some light on the school side, it seems to have some interesting thing going on there too (the whole ultra-nationalistic tendency, and the owners actually stand on trials too).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! I will watch this instead of... Naked Director S2 that I was planning on watching.
ReplyDelete@notpenk: Don't read about the scandal after you finished the series!
ReplyDelete@Rick: I managed the get the movie version from dramahd. Will watch sometime in the future.
@suppaf: The Journalist is so much better than Naked Director S2.
While I enjoy the acting.. living in Malaysia has stopped me from appreciating the storyline or feeling empathy to the victims and their reactions to supposedly shocking twists. The plot feels like child's play compared to the everyday shenanigans back home.
ReplyDeleteNetflix/WOWOW should do a 5 season Jdrama based on Malaysian scandals, guaranteed blockbuster.
thanks for the review mike. i actually skipped this one since it starred ryoko.
ReplyDeletequick question, how do you watch this on netflix? i have netflix but dont have this on. do i need a vpn or something?
@dgundam: Its on the Australian netflix and I did not need to use VPN. If it hasn't arrived to your country's netflix then you would need to use a VPN to watch it. Or get it from nyaa.
ReplyDelete@dgundam: I realize that Yonekura Ryoko is not very popular around here, but I think she was very good in Nyokei Kazoku (2005). This is one of my favourite Japanese dramas and I would recommend it highly to anyone who thinks that Ryoko's career is defined by Doctor X.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Doctor X, I find it amusing that Toshiyuki Nishida plays the same character in Doctor X as he played in Shiroi Kyoto (2003): one a trashy comedy and the other the highest form of television art.
Steven in New Zealand