A jdorama being a discourse about an interesting issue alone does not make an interesting story. A story is nothing without characters and Kaso Girei has a lot of interesting characters. From Shumei who claims to see spirits but has a Madonna complex to Asako who was brainwashed by Eho Sanrinkai and is looking for a place to belong. I really like the line that Hiroe says in the screenshot; the people are the most important part and I really want to see our small band of original Seisen Shinpokai by happy.
Kaso Girei works because Kiryu Ekai is a good guy at heart. Seisen Shinpokai is a sham religion started by two religious otaku for money but Kiryu Ekai has created a place where people can belong. He is a good guy doing a bad thing which produces good results for people.
Makoto is kind of the enigma character of Kaso Girei because the audience is not really sure about his true motives but episode 8 was sad and beautiful. The final two lines by Kiryu Ekai to Makoto's revelation are absolutely beautiful. All the arguments and discourses about religion can be summed up beautifully by those two lines. I can imagine the writers/producers reading the novel and thinking these are the two magic lines we need to put on tv.
Kaso Girei explores the relationship between religion and politics. Politicians need the manpower and votes from religion and recognition from politicians gives a religion legitimacy aka the former Unification Church scandal. Japan has a very low voting rate, 51% at 2021. That means that politicians don't need to appeal to the average joe who doesn't vote and can just rely on votes from certain hardcore or religious groups to stay in power.
SUMMARY
Two more episodes to go. Can't wait. Happy to declare Kaso Girei must watch and I will join Seisen Shinpokai if the last two episodes are good! Maybe.
4 comments:
Have you started a backup of this blog on another website?
I only comment as the other appears to have only 2024 posts.
Thanks for reviewing this. I've been on the fence about this drama, and I hadn't yet begun watching. I was intrigued with it because of the presence of Iriyama Noriko, who I guess is only in the first episode. Peeking at one of her scenes, she has a completely different vibe compared to "Yukionna to Kani wo Kuu". I guess that that's what actors and actresses do: they play different roles in different dramas and come across differently.
That said, your review of these first episodes is likely to make me give it a try. I wasn't sure that if I would find the made-up religion theme appealing.
I originally passed on this drama because the poster for it and various reviews at MyDramaList gave me the impression that it was some kind of buddy comedy -- not my thing. However the high ranking for this in the 2023 awards here prompted me to check it out and I'm so glad I did -- it was excellent and riveting to the end and deserving of that #1 position. Thanks as always for your great reviews.
Just to add a clarification for anyone interested in watching this: that impression was wrong, for the most part.
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