Saretagawa no Blue (2021)

✿ サレタガワのブルー ✿

I started watching this drama because of Miona Hori and I'm glad I did.This drama is about a couple Noburu and Aiko. Noburu is a handsome designer who draws a high salary and has a good marriage with Aiko. Though Aiko has a secret relationship with her boss at her company and she keeps an affair from Noburu. Noburu finds out and he follows her, takes all evidence and goes crazy. He wants to take a divorce but still has feelings for her. Aiko is a witch and she has double personality, in front of Noburu she is an angel and when she meets the affair she acts like a devil. This drama was worth watching, I wish it had more episodes :

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A Predictable and Disappointing Waste of Potential

I don't usually write reviews with spoilers but this is more of a rant than a review, so here we go.

I went into this drama with a lot of optimism. And, I'll be honest, I waited with bated breath for the release of each new episode. The result: a complete waste of time. Several parts of the show were quite predictable, with two notable exceptions: the portrayal of villainy and the delivery on setup and payoff. One was fantastic, the other was abysmal. And in the end, the show suffered for it.

Though there were a few nuances to the downfall of this drama, my main gripes come down to two crucial points. Firstly, the show did an unreasonably good job at making antagonists who you really hate. I mean like deep, infernal, blood boiling hate to the point of nausea when one even appears on screen. Excellent (or perhaps just effective) acting by the villains backed up by malicious intent in the narrative produced characters I'm sure everyone who's laid eyes on has collectively despised. This contrasted with admittedly bland but overall good protagonists created an epic imbalance of good vs. evil just begging to be unleashed.

And there's your problem. The conflict is never properly resolved. There is no payoff for the enormous setup. The reason the excellent characterization actually plays against the show is because the characters are never put to good use, beyond meaningless drama and a lackluster, repetitive series of reveals with practically no consequences. The very LEAST I could have hoped for, even amidst a show devoid of general catharsis, was some romantic development amongst the main characters. Spoiler alert: that doesn't happen. Nor does any sort of high-stakes dramatic showdown or series of revenge-filled moments to ease the palpable tension built to that point. To fully and completely spoil the ending: they get a lawyer and divorce, the good guy goes back to being single and his ex-wife goes off to manipulate another sucker. Hooray.

Now, listen. I'm sure you want to point out the fact that not all shows have to end in rainbows and unicorns, and that's certainly true. Dark endings have their appeal in several cases (e.g. Rogue One). What sets this show apart is it's complete reliance on the tension of the villainy displayed versus the efforts of our heroes; a reliance to push the story, to maintain engagement, to keep us all watching to the end. And then it's never delivered. You have to deliver. This is no longer a gritty story which ends gritty, it's a story which threatens you with Chekhov's gun but never fires it. And maybe I'm being a little harsh, discrediting a whole show for one major flaw, but what is a show really supposed to do? It's supposed to be fun. To pass the time. To provide an escape from your life into a new one. And for however overly neat and tidy the world of fiction can be, I'd rather spend my time there than hopping from one disappointing reality to another. I do not recommend this show.

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Atsuhiro Inukai Deserved Better

I mean, it's not like this show was incredibly bad. It's just there could have been more to it, it had lots of potential.

I was really expecting an amazing revenge for Noburu and the other victim (I can't even remember her name) because they deserved so much better. The wife's revenge was sort of satisfying but I wish she slapped him in the face because that's what I'd do for sure.

I think if this drama focused more on the plotting of revenge more than Aiko and that horrific man's 'events' every time they met up then:

a) I'd be more comfortable watching
b) It'd be more interesting

I have to say though, Aiko's actor did an amazing job. Aiko infuriated me with every single action she did. I felt nothing but pure rage everytime she was on screen, I don't think I've ever hated someone more and she's not even real.

I watched for Atsuhiro Inukai and I stayed for Atsuhiro Inukai. If he wasn't there, I'd have hopped into my phone screen and pushed Aiko off the rooftop myself and then immediately stopped watching.

Do I recommend this? I hate to say it but no, this was mid.

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Más suspenso y desilusión que romance

Para empezar, en este drama no hay verdadero romance. El matrimonio ideal que Noburu cree tener es una ilusión. Su mujer Aiko es su primer amor desde la muerte de su novia del secundario, está hipnotizado por ella. Aiko parece dulce, tiene la voz aguda y la manera de hablar de un personaje adolescente de animé. A mí me resulta un poco irritante, pero forma un interesante contraste con las cosas descaradas y crueles que llega a decir esa vocecita. La relación adúltera con su jefe tampoco es de amor, es de lujuria y capricho, mezclada quizás con ambición y una cierta perversión.
Noburu y la esposa del jefe forman una especie de alianza que los ayuda a descubrir y enfrentar la realidad del engaño, y planear lo que deben hacer al respecto. No es tan obvio como parecería, ya que el jefe y su mujer tienen un hijo muy pequeño, y Noburu siente que le debe su rehabilitación emocional a Aiko. Los engañados la pasan aún peor, porque los dos adúlteros no tienen ni el más mínimo sentimiento de culpa, son malos, malos, malísimos y hasta podrían llegar a torcer la situación en su favor. La trama se vuelve más entretenida cuando los intereses de los dos infieles divergen y se empiezan a manipular entre sí.
El desenlace es predecible, pero es entretenido el desarrollo. Hay un par de vueltas de tuerca que agregan interés.
La música es más de serie de misterio que romántica.

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Déroulement décevant, mais un casting brillant

De mon point de vue (donc cela ne va engager que moi, téléspectatrice), il existe une chose cruciale dans un drame comme celui-ci : obtenir justice. Pas seulement pour les personnages, mais également pour le téléspectateur. Au fil des épisodes, on nourrit ce besoin de vengeance/justice et on espère y avoir droit quelque part entre deux infidélités. Et bien, cela n'arrive pas. Oh, bon sang, c'était la pire chose à faire. C'était décevant de voir un tel enchainement et une telle conclusion. Je ne vais pas m'étaler pour réduire un maximum les spoilers, mais urg ! Une autre fin avec plus d'impact aurait été tellement meilleure.

Par contre, Inukai Atsuhiro était incroyable dans le rôle de Noburu. S'il ne m'avait pas spécialement marqué dans Zetta BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko, ici, la donne change. Il était stupéfiant. À la fois gaga de sa femme, profondément amoureux pour finir par être perdu avec une pointe de rage grondante. Il ne devient pas vengeur fou comme il ne pardonne pas entièrement, mais il reste gentil et, je dirais que c'est humain. Pourtant, la façon dont il incarne le rôle était prenant. D'une certaine façon, c'était réelle donc ça fonctionne (même si je regrette un peu trop de gentillesse de sa part).

Hori Miona (Aiko) est... J'ai imaginé tant de fois la gifler, je me sens mal à ce sujet, mais c'est la preuve que son personnage m'a mise à mal un paquet de fois. A la fois angélique et diabolique, sa voix mièvre (qui m'a donné envie de la secouer comme un prunier aussi), mais chaque faits et gestes avec un but précis. Calculatrice et juste mauvaise, en fin de compte. Aiko était juste la pire, mais si bien interprétée.
Idem pour Iwaoka Toru dans le rôle de Kazumasa. Il était le portrait type du bel homme convoité par de nombreuses femmes qui veulent croquer un bout. C'est un playboy (pour rester polie), mais encore une fois, ça fonctionne. D'une certaine façon, Kazumasa est juste un homme à femme qui est incapable de voir sa propre épouse et il n'en prendra jamais conscience (ou peut-être dans 30 ans). J'ai aimé son personnage, comme je l'ai détesté.
Quant à Takanashi Rin jouant Kozue, j'ai aimé voir son évolution. D'une femme timide/fébrile, elle s'élève doucement, c'était superbe.

Finalement, si je n'ai pas apprécié le déroulement de l'intrigue et le fait que pour moi il manque cruellement ce sentiment de satisfaction. Comme mentionné par Eric dans son commentaire, tout du long on est sur le principe du fusil de Tchekhov, mais il n'arrive jamais, c'est déroutant, frustrant et tellement dommage. Cependant, performance des acteurs était superbe et sauve le drame à mes yeux.

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Dry Drama

Alrighttt… i stumbled across this drama while scrolling through Dramacool and i cant lie, when i first read the synopsis i was quite interested, the plot was simple yet intriguing . Although i have not yet finished all of it, five episodes in and i’m already disappointed..

Right off the bat the first thing i noticed was the STALE acting which completely threw me off. Especially talking about the boss guy and Aiko. I understand that they both have a few cheesy lines but sadly neither one of them are able to pull it off. Every time they appear on the damn screen everything feels uncomfortably forced… WHERE IS THE EMOTION?!? so far absolutely nothing is being brought to the table.

The drama is moving so fast yet so slow, i’d say about 80% of the 5 episodes i’ve seen has just been Aiko and that darn manager.. As of yet, all i’ve seen is an unrealistic dragged out mess and i’m not impressed. Hopefully the next few episodes will give what it’s supposed to but so far it’s not looking good. I do not suggest watching unless you’re looking for something that is overly predictable and to cringe at (Review to be continued)

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