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sneek-m · 2 years ago

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Favorite Japanese Dramas 2022

I watched even more Japanese dramas this year. Here’s what I liked:

Waru ~ Hataraku No Ga Kakko Waruitte Dare Ga Itta? ~ (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.; Nippon TV)

What a powerful vehicle this drama was for Mio Imada, who delivered if not the year’s best comedy performance as Maririn, then one of the year’s most physical. Her character’s role as part-village idiot of the story called for the actress to practically be a cartoon character come to life, but she transcended the status of the central class clown by sheer committal to the act. Her performance is absolutely to the show’s benefit when the show’s actual politics isn’t as progressive as it thinks it is: it reveals the sad state of things, and how behind the conversation is, if the writers think we the audience should be applauding them for merely bringing up the existence of the glass ceiling and gender inequality in the workplace in 2022. Maririn seemed as though she was written as the modern Japanese Forest Gump, naively navigating the country’s workforce culture, but Imada turned it into a whole lot more.

Shizukachan To Papa (Sundays, 10 p.m.; NHK)

The chemistry between Tsurube Shofukutei and Riho Yoshioka as the titular father and daughter was incredible — I can watch them yell at each hour every week for months — but I also have to bring up the unforgettable Keiichi played by Hey! Say! JUMP’s Yuto Nakajima. An exaggeration of a character to deliver the point of communication, sure, but his whimsy is something I missed once I tuned into the actor’s following project, Junjou Dissonance, whose character was so tonally opposite, it completely turned me off.

First Penguin! (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.; Nippon TV)

Nao is another actress I’ve seen as a side character in past dramas, and so it was exhilarating to watch her take the wheel of First Penguin! as basically her star-making vehicle. A big hand to the source material for providing her the foundation of an already-strong character for her to further flesh out: First Penguin! is inspired by the real story of Chika Tsubouchi, who, like Nao’s Nodoka, rallied together fishermen, though not without conflict, to create the direct-delivery business in the form of what they call the “fish box” in the drama. While the actual politicking is questionable as real accounts, a true story from the Tsubouchi’s history does get expanded into one memorable episode: in order to win their favor and trust in the business, Nodoka treats out her fishermen to a Michelin-star French restaurant managed by a client in order for them to actually taste the fruits of their labor. Fact or fiction, the victory is priceless.

Tsukuritai Onna To Tabetai Onna (Weekdays, 10:45 p.m.; NHK)

Fifteen minutes feel way too short for the amount of sweetness each episode contains, though the length makes the story tidy, not slight. The drama presents enough without being expanded into a feature-length rom-com a la Kinou Nani Tabeta? I partly suspect the source material has yet to build the story and its lead characters to warrant such a length for an adaptation, but also the size of its conversations more properly fit in scale within a miniature, slice-of-life story such as this. The title gives away the simplicity anyway: while there are definitely moments of questioning — of sexuality, relationship dynamics, among others — it leaves the two feeling content to be just that: a woman who likes to cook and a woman who likes to eat.

Mahou No Rinobe (Mondays, 10 p.m.; Fuji TV)

As if I didn’t name Remo Love my favorite drama of 2020, Haru once again surprised me how great she is in a comedy. She appears so cool on the surface as Koume, and I also perceive her as a rather soft-spoken celebrity, so it’s a sight whenever she absolutely cracks in response to the dumb mistakes made by the series of pathetic men among her line of work. (You know who’s the dark horse among the men in the main cast? Taizo Harada of, yes, comedy trio Neptune.) I see this drama more in line with a buddy-cop comedy in the suits of a home renovation marketing firm than workplace romance, though not that it bothers to have some inevitable office love.

Hatsukoi No Akuma (Saturdays, 10 p.m.; Nippon TV)

Three of the main four leads are so idiosyncratic as characters that I worry they may present a barrier of entry for this show. But like the best shows written by Yuji Sakamoto — Quartet, Omameda Towako — it nurtures a one-of-a-kind relationship among them, enough to convince these oddballs deserve each other as companions. The actual mystery component to the story is fine, but it’s really about getting to know these characters and each of their dark histories. Or, more like how you can only know a version of them as they present themselves to you.

Tsuma, Shougakusei Ni Naru (Fridays, 10 p.m.; TBS)

Even with a wacky premise — a dead wife returns to the family in the body of a third grader — the least convincing part of the whole story is Misato Morita’s Yoshimi being attracted to Shinichi Tsutsumi’s Keisuke, who is at least 20 years senior as her co-worker. It helps the drama is self-aware of its absurdity, making for great, if expected comedic moments, like the constant reality check given to Keisuke of who he’s actually hanging out with whenever he’s out catching up with his “wife.” Get through that initial obstacle, and the drama reveals a poignant story about death, grief and how to ultimately make peace.

Mai Agare! (Weekdays, 8 a.m.; NHK)

Mai Agare! is the first asadora I’ve ever watched, and maybe I’ll find it less unique as I watch more of it in the future. For now, I am enamored by its simple, soap-y wholesomeness. I’m charmed by the innocence in Haruka Fukuhara’s Mai as she embraces her naive dream to become a pilot because she simply finds flying so life-fulfilling. (Meanwhile, her cohorts in pilot school is inspired by more noble reasons, like being the change in a male-dominated field or following the footsteps of his family, but the gap only further establishes Mai’s character.) I suspect it will get darker as the ripples of the 2008 recession has started to make its way into the drama now third of the way in, but I am not worried of it getting any bit of cynical. Call me to easy to please, but sometimes when I get back from a long day of work, I just want a heart-warming story like this one.

Silent (Thursdays, 10 p.m.; Fuji TV)

Here’s a question to those who also watched Silent: Did we need Minato? All I can say is that I sure was happy when he got out of the picture, and the drama finally gave floor for Haruna Kawaguchi’s Tsumugi and Ren Meguro’s Sou to deepen their relationship. The show actually opened up and spotlighted a whole other characters, too, after the first act, with each episode becoming more essay-like as it focused on its character of the week to deliver a point. I initially worried Silent would wear itself thin because it carried itself as a rather low-key slice-of-life, but that very day-to-day ease is what I loved from it, especially as matters between its character grew more complicated.

Other dramas I liked:

Elpis ~Kibou, Arui Wa Wazawai~

Atom No Ko

Jizoku Kanou Na Koi Desuka ~Chichi To Musume No Kekkon Koushinkyoku~

Kimi No Hana Ni Naru

Ishiko To Haneo ~Sonna Koto De Uttaemasu?~

Unicorn Ni Notte

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vanilla-blessing · 7 years ago

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Spirit Companions, Ranked

As I’ve been watching Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, I’ve been thinking a lot about how characters like Ai are represented and used within the franchise. For lack of a better term, these spirit companions show up in each Yu-Gi-Oh! series as a guide for the protagonist, someone they can talk to and confer with in and out of duels. They play a slightly different role than the main character’s group of friends, often sharing a mental or spiritual connection that elevates their relationship to something closer to kin. Ai is one of the most active deuteragonists throughout the franchise, and so I wanted to take a look at all six of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series and talk about how they play into the story and whether their inclusion helps to further the themes of the series.

6. The Crimson Dragon, from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s

The Crimson Dragon is a being made of sacred fire that, along with the six legendary dragons (the titular 5 D’s), fought against the evil Earthbound Immortals and sealed them in the Nazca Lines. He is the source of all the main characters’ powers, which include energy manipulation, psychic powers, and creating miracles. Although he is the reason the cast gathered together and were able to become a team, the Crimson Dragon otherwise only appears when the plot demands it.

When I first started thinking about this list, I wasn’t even sure if 5D’s had a spirit companion of some kind. It’s really downplayed within the series, since all of the main characters have to share parts of the Crimson Dragon, and it doesn’t really play into the series outside of its role as a plot device. Unlike the other characters in this list, the Crimson Dragon doesn’t talk or interact with the cast, acting more like a guardian than a proper character. There’s no personality there and nothing to real talk about, besides it being kind of a lame design for a dragon.

5. Yubel, from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Yubel is sort of a weird case compared to the rest of the characters on this list, since her first appearance is over halfway through the series as an antagonist for Jaden. She was originally a magical guardian meant to protect an individual known as the Supreme King, who wielded the power of Gentle Darkness. Thousands of years after this pact was made, her spirit was placed into a Duel Monsters card, and eventually the card ended up in the hands of Jaden. As it happens, Jaden is a descendant of the Supreme King, and so the spirit within the Yubel card promised to protect Jaden from any and all threats. Unfortunately, Yubel considered any sort of friendship with others as a threat to their relationship, and so everyone who dueled Jaden fell into a coma. In the hopes of helping her find the “power of justice”, Jaden sent the Yubel card into space in a KaibaCorp satellite, but she ended up encountering The Light of Destruction which only corrupted her further. Eventually the satellite crashed back onto Earth and Yubel was freed, allowing her to take revenge against Jaden for betraying her. She does this by torturing all of his friends via Shadow Duels and eventually doing the same to Jaden, equating their shared pain as a sort of love. But, thanks to Jaden’s incredibly large heart, he is able to eventually forgive Yubel and accept her, which allows the two of them to fuse together and free Yubel from The Light of Destruction.

I’ve never really been able to come to terms with Yubel as a spirit companion. She’s an extremely out-of-place element in the otherwise goofy series, to an uncomfortable extent. Between her weird sadomasochism fetish and her overly possessive relationship with Jaden, the whole thing comes off as a strange thing for a kid’s show to do. There’s no real conclusion that effectively explains why Jaden would suddenly forgive her outside of him being such a stand-up dude and destiny-bound to be with her. This is several steps above GX characters talking about “playing solitaire” with their favorite sexy cards from the classic memetic shared video, and I’ve always found it uncomfortable on reflection.

4. Astral, from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal

Astral is an extra-terrestrial from the Astral World, which is a thinly-veiled sci-fi allegory for Heaven. He is initially sent to Earth in order to garner enough power to destroy the Barian World, which is a thinly-veiled sci-fi allegory for Hell, but is intercepted partway and attaches himself to Yuma Tsukumo, a third-rate duelist with big dreams. When he reaches Earth, Astral’s memories scatter in the form of 100 “Number” cards, and now he’ll need to help Yuma learn how to duel so that they can win back all of the Numbers and Astral can complete his mission.

Astral’s just a real weenie, and a pretty boring character overall. His only narrative purpose for a majority of the series is to bail Yuma out when he makes a bad play, and to talk about how weird human customs are compared to his pseudo-angel alien customs. And there was that one time Astral felt so betrayed when Yuma kept a secret from him that he went crazy and almost killed the both of them via a corrupted fusion. It’s nice that he’s part of the show from the beginning so the plot starts right away, but that ends up leading to another problem, thanks to the Number card gimmick. Because only Number cards can destroy other Number cards in a duel, the way that he’s integrated ends up making almost every duel go the exact same way, all the way up to the very end of the series.

3. Yuto, from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V

Yuto is one of three characters from an alternate dimension, called the Xyz Dimension, that shares the same look and build of protagonist Yuya Sakaki, who is from the Standard Dimension. Initially believed to be a villain, the truth is eventually revealed that he comes from a world that was decimated by an army from another alternate dimension, the Fusion Dimension, and he’s come to the Standard Dimension to get his revenge on the Fusion invaders. Although he ends up dying in a duel, his soul fuses with Yuya’s, and so he begins to explain more about this dimensional war to Yuya, in the hopes that Yuya can succeed where he failed in stopping the Fusion forces.

Yuto isn’t the most exciting or memorable companion, but I think he’s ultimately one of the ones that was best integrated within his franchise. From his original role as an uneasy antagonist to his revival as a spirit companion for Yuya, he consistently helped push the story forward and provide background information on the main conflict as it became important, which helped further to expand the world and the narrative as a whole. While I think all of the Yuya clones in Arc-V ultimately contributed to the story, Yuto was the one who solidified how the series was going to develop.

His Phantom Knights deck is also cool as hell.

2. Atem/Pharaoh, from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Atem is the spirit of a pharaoh who ruled in ancient Egypt, remembered for stopping a great catastrophe that threatened the future of the entire world. His soul was sealed away in one of the Millennium Items, a set of ancient artifacts that granted great powers to their wielders, and locked away his memories so that they couldn’t be used to threaten the world ever again. Thousands of years later, after his grandfather excavated the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi Moto completed the puzzle, and the pharaoh’s soul was fused into Yugi’s body. Although their relationship was shaky at the beginning as they learned how to handle their shared body, eventually the two were able to work together to help the pharaoh recover his memories and pass on to the next life.

Atem, the OG companion and (in)arguably a more relevant character than Yugi after the first season. While in some ways he stole the spotlight whenever arcs weren’t directly centered on the pharaoh, his mysterious connection to the game of Duel Monsters and the expansive world of Yu-Gi-Oh! was interesting to watch develop and grow over the series. He definitely has the best rapport with his series’ cast, and I like the way the relationship between Atem and Yugi was built up, all the way to the end. The original series was really well connected, and the bond between Atem and Yugi was a big part of that.

1. Ai, from Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

Ai is an Ignis-class artificial intelligence, meaning that he has free will, and he lived along with other Ignis AIs in a digital world called the Cyverse. After a shadow organization known as the Knights of Hanoi tried to capture the Cyverse and its power, Ignis was able to steal information from the Cyverse and hide its data within his AI body. Since then, he’s been hunted by the Knights of Hanoi, as well as SOL Technologies, a company that had used the Cyverse to power its virtual reality Duel Monsters program, VRAINS. After a widescale attack on VRAINS by the Knights of Hanoi, the hacker protagonist of the series Yusaku Fujiki was able to capture Ai, only knowing that he would act as a trump card during his fights against the Knights of Hanoi. So begins the shaky friendship of Yusaku and Ai.

I guess this is a little unfair since the series isn’t over, and the true nature of this character has yet to be revealed, and he’s an AI, but Ai has been the only source of whimsy in a series that otherwise lacks it. VRAINS is a very self-serious series with some heavy themes and crushing implications within its narrative, and Ai plays an important role to help keep the series fun with his flippant attitude, providing some well-timed bits of comedy. He’s very much the comic to Yusaku’s straight man, creating this fun dynamic between the two of them, both in and out of duels. Ai is definitely the most like a mascot of any character in this list, as a lot of his interaction with the world is through exaggerated reactions and mischief that Yu-Gi-Oh! as a franchise has never really leaned into. I also think even the way he interacts with Yusaku within duels is interesting, since granting Playmaker the ability to pull new cards from raw data storms helps keep the main character’s deck fresh and exciting from duel to duel.

-ChorpSaway, Card Game Tycoon

#Yu-Gi-Oh #Yu-Gi-Oh!#Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters #Yu-Gi-Oh! GX #Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's #Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal #Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V #Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS #Vanilla Blessing #List

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