EVOL jdorama review

Superhero jdoramas are not common in Japanese entertainment. It is more of an American thing and Japan has tokusatsu shows like Kamen Rider and Rangers shows with 5 people each representing a different colour. A lot of times superpowers are an allegory for going through puberty and the closest jdorama we got was Sono Sion's Minna Esper Da yo! which was more a sex comedy.

EVOL is a dark superhero movie about 3 teenagers who find themselves in a hospital after attempting suicide and finding out they have powers. The only superheroes in this small town are Lightning Bolt and Thunder Girl who protect the town but are actually thugs for hire for the evil mayor played by Yasuda Ken. Our three protagonists find out that having superpowers does not make your life better.

The first noticeable thing is that EVOL is that it is not a kids show. Besides dealing with heavy issues like suicide and abuse, people get killed and there is a lot of violence. The second thing is that the VFX are pretty good. The first DMM dorama I saw was Kenshirou ni Yoroshiku which had no buget so I was expecting the same but the early collapsing bridge seen and hospital escape was better than anything that I had seen in any tokusatsu show!

I thought episode 1 was alright but as I kept watching, it became very noticeable how much better Evol was visually. Evol does not have the budget of a TBS dorama but by the jdorama gods, the director knows how to use shadows very well and dynamic cameras and it looks better than any TBS dorama could. The second half of the show has some very haunting, scary yet beautiful visuals.

There is  the Hayabusa Shobodan 'Japanese countryside is so beautiful to look at' visual beauty but for Evol it is about the visual composition that is a feast for the eyes. Evol is right up there with Kenja no Ai where I am watching and thinking they must have storyboarded the hell out of the story and spent so much time on colour and shadows and light. Evol maximises every single yen of its budget and I am very impressed.

The writing is very good, especially with regards to the 3 main characters and about being teenagers and forming one's identity. The skateboard episode is really good, especially the visual representation of being an outcast. I effing love that two characters get killed at the end. Too many jdoramas are about understanding and forgiveness blah blah blah but people who deserve to get killed should get killed. The only negative thing about the story is that it ends abruptly but I want season 2.

The only question is, is Evol a must watch? I was going to award a must watch but the abrupt ending kind of put me off. The VFX and visual composition is enough to give it a very watchable rating. I think I will leave it at very watchable for now and see what happens in season 2. Great job by the director Yamagishi Santa who did Video Girl Mai. Is he the new Sato Shinsuke? Huge thanks to HPriest for subbing and providing the raws. You won't regret watching Evol!