Animals (2022)

Commediola infantile con aspirazioni sociali

Breve commediola romantica nipponica apparentemente destinata ad un pubblico di giovanissimi, ma con qualche considerazione morale a condire una pasta altrimenti insipida e completamente senza sugo.

La prima considerazione da farsi è che la locandina del drama è completamente fuorviante: gli abiti e la scena rappresentata non si ritrovano in alcun momento della serie e non potrebbero essere più diversi da quelli che sono i due protagonisti.

Shikamori Umi è una giovane impiegata che lavora ad un talk show e viene sfruttata in turni di lavoro massacranti dal suo capo, al punto da non dormire per giorni di fila. La situazione cambia quando lascia il lavoro e viene assunta alla Animal Beauty, una società che si occupa di trucco e bellezza: si tratta di un ambiente molto più friendly (in modo poco plausibile), giovane, fresco, innovativo e frequentato da un sacco di bella gente. Un fotografo, il presidente della società e, per certi versi, anche il suo vicepresidente e diversi altri personaggi, paiono tutti gravitare intorno a Umi e, in un modo o nell’altro, a interessarsi a lei.

Sarebbe però sbagliato pensare a questa serie in termini di solo romanticismo. Si affronta un tema molto attuale in Giappone: quello degli eccessivi carichi lavorativi scaricati sui dipendenti, che sono spesso costretti a fare più ore dell’orologio, rinunciando alla vita familiare e sociale, al punto da arrivare ad ammalarsi e, in casi estremi, anche a morire. La nostra Umi affronta quindi un percorso di riflessione, autoanalisi e crescita, che la porta a comprendere se stessa e quello che vuole dalla vita. Nel frattempo, troverà anche l’amore.

Ora, non posso dire che questa serie mi abbia soddisfatto. La recitazione è spesso eccessiva, i dialoghi a volte forzati, la gestualità esagerata, e non sono rari i momenti di imbarazzo di seconda mano per quello che accade sullo schermo. Le ragazze, e specialmente la protagonista, sono descritte in modo molto infantile: Suzuki Airi viene fatta agitare e strillare come un’oca e corricchia spesso qua e là come una gallina senza testa. Altre volte, invece, la sceneggiatura la porta a correre come una pazza per mezza città per arrivare a destinazione. I taxi, questi sconosciuti…

Per quanto il lavoro al talk show sia mostrato in modo abbastanza verosimile, quando l’ambientazione si sposta alla Animal Beauty le cose diventano molto meno plausibili: più che una società sembra una gabbia di matti. Ho avuto spesso l’impressione di guardare un anime interpretato dal vero.

Per carità, il tutto è ancora abbastanza godibile, a patto di accettare le cose così come ci vengono mostrate, senza assolutamente porsi domande sulla logica di ciò che accade e sorvolando sull’estremo infantilismo delle vicende. Bisogna anche superare lo scoglio degli ultimi due episodi, terribilmente rarefatti e noiosi, almeno fino al finale che, in buona tradizione Dramaland, dipana negli ultimi minuti tutte le matasse e ci elargisce tre coppie in un botto solo, regalandoci nel contempo anche un sottilissimo profumo di BL.

Al netto delle particolarità della recitazione della protagonista Suzuki Airi, che abbiamo già detto costretta a performance da macchietta, in realtà questa ragazza, quando non le viene imposto altrimenti, è molto brava, sia nei momenti allegri che in quelli più drammatici. Anche Honda Kyoya, che interpreta il fotografo, è una spanna sopra gli altri, e Izuka Kenta, il burbero vice, se la cava benissimo ed è molto piacevole. Al contrario, il CEO Jin Shirasu è piuttosto piatto e poco coinvolgente: non pervenuto. Il cast secondario agisce come mero contorno, e fa semplicemente il suo lavoro.

Una particolarità di questo drama è che ci sono alcune situazioni pregnanti in cui cessa qualsiasi sottofondo musicale, lasciando la scena completamente muta, e la cosa è abbastanza originale da essere notata. Purtroppo, però, si nota anche una certa mancanza di affiatamento di coppia in quella principale, che dovrebbe essere uno dei punti fermi della serie, e non coinvolge affatto.

Un commento musicale generalmente abbastanza anonimo, costumi vari ma decisamente lontani dai nostri gusti e una cinematografia semplice completano la disamina di questo drama, che vanta anche un minuscolo sequel, intitolato Animals: Kikoku-hen.

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Mini drama di 8 puntate, con una storia direi banale, di cui l'essenza è sistema di lavoro giapponese, in cui devi per forza riuscire nel lavoro, seza tener conto delle ore lavorate giornaliere o delle notti insonni passate in ufficio, o corse a perdifiato in giro per risolvere problemi o cercare di accontentare il superiore per farsi accettare. Storia inizia bene scorrevole e piacerle, per poi affievirsi e diventare a tratti noiosa, con una protagonista esasperata nel ruolo, diventato una martorizzata e insopportabile, il cast interessante nel complesso, musiche buone. La locandina mostra i po' rotagonisti ma poi non ha niente a che vedere con il film. Il finale super ristretto, Lascia i soddisfatti.

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Romantic and Inspirational

Story:

It's nothing new, but it's told in a way that feels so fresh! It deals with the relatable struggles of work life, going with the flow vs. challenging yourself and following your dreams. It seems obvious, but it's actually really hard to take the first step into living a life for yourself instead of living it to fulfill other's expectations.

At the starting point, Umi is overworked and unhappy and doesn't like the person she's become. After meeting Kazao by chance, she begins to want to change herself, and she starts a journey into becoming a person she loves, growing up in the process. There's actually real growth for all characters involved. The story and the dialogues are so well written that the drama progresses very naturally. And, even though the theme may be serious, it has a lot of funny and warm moments.

A few of the most memorable scenes for me were the reccurent after work ramen, gyoza and beer scenes, that created an intimate environment where the main characters were allowed to unwind - these scenes were truly precious and cathartic (and the ramen shop owner was sublime even with almost zero lines haha).

Side note: Don't be fooled by the drama poster into thinking this is another superficial and silly sexyromcom, this is a drama about adults being adults, it has a meaningful message and is filled with the nutritious kind of sweetness. The poster is actually the only thing I didn't like about the drama, because it doesn't fit at all.

Acting/Cast:

This is my first time seeing Suzuki Airi and Honda Kyoya and I loved them as Umi and Kazao, they really became their characters. Suzuki Airi's range was particularly impressive, acing the comedy and making us feel the pain along with her. Honda Kyoya is incredibly charming in a nonchalant way and made me fall head over heels in love with Kazao, breaking all ML stereotypes out there.

I also need to mention Shirasu Jin and Izuka Kenta and their entertaining and heartwarming bromance, as Keisuke and Satoru. I hadn't seen them in this kind of role before and they delivered. Kudos to them.

Music:

There is silence when there needs to be, and there's also music beautifully woven into the scenes, making them even more impactful and emotional. It's really done right.

I have "Gloomy Day" by Lozareena playing on a loop for weeks, now. It's a really great song, and it really fits with the drama.

"Just face forward, run, run until I can run
That's what I thought I should do
I kept fooling myself and losing my confidence
Even though I'm the hero of my own story
I got my mind made up
Run, run and run"

Rewatch Value:

I've already rewatched it, so... ^^
Definitely a drama to (re)watch when you're losing confidence in yourself, when you're feeling hopeless or when you just want to watch the sweetest romance. It will lift your spirits, give you courage and warm your heart.

Overall:
10/10 for me.

On a very personal note, this drama came just at the right time! I finally mustered up the courage to leave my job of 11 years... Oof. On the morning I finally made the decision, I was walking to work screaming inside my head the lyrics to "Gloomy Day" ("HASHIRE HASHIRE HASHIRE!").

I don't know what the future holds, but you only live once, and only you have the power to try to change yourself and chase after your dreams. Ganbatte!

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Too Short but Enjoyable - Cover Poster doesn't match the drama

Completed - 8/18/2022

When I saw the cover poster of this drama and read the synopsis, I was expecting a mature and sexy show with a focus on our female lead's romance and career change. After watching this, I feel like I got cheated. This is a simple, fun and light watch which focuses not only on our female lead's career but actually her personal growth. I am not saying this is a bad drama, but it's not what I expected.

Umi is an overworked employee at a TV talk show. We follow her journey of switching careers, finding love and especially finding herself. Although romance is a part of the drama, it is not the main focus. This is a story about Umi. I enjoy getting to know Umi and following her journey. I appreciate that she's not the typical, quiet, naive female lead. In fact, she is a ball of energy and not afraid to go all out to get the work done. It is quite refreshing in a way. She's easy to root for, though she could be quite loud especially when she was screaming/screeching when snowboarding. Actually, there are many loud women in this drama, though none of them is annoying. Everyone is sweet and supportive of each other. It's quite nice to see that.

I like the three main male characters in this drama. This is my first time watching Honda Kyoya. He is quite cute, though he does look young. His acting is OK. It's nice to see Shirashu Jin as President Keisuke. I love him in "I Don't Love You Yet". It's also great to see a different side of Izuka Kenta as the weird and funny Satoru. He's no longer the innocent college student in the "Pornographer" or the cool hotshot in "Rinko Wants to Try". I quite enjoy the friendship between Jin and Kenta, and isn't it interesting that they both were in a BL drama before?

One thing I really like about this drama is the use of silence. There are many significant moments in the drama where there's no background music. The drama lets the actors and their dialogs take center stage, and does not use music to manipulate viewers' emotions. Viewers can really feel the emotions happening on the screen.

My main criticism would be the length and pacing of the drama. I wish the drama is longer. "Animals" is trying to cover our female lead's career change, romance and personal growth, all in less than 8 hours. I would have loved to see her slowly transitioning to her new job. She seems to fit in too easily and transition from a novice on makeup to someone who seems to be an expert within an episode or two. I want to see the romance develop more and have more scenes between Umi and Kazao. We see their cute bickering (which I like), but I want some more romantic scenes to see how they realize their feelings for each other. The romance lover in me is not quite satisfied.

I also realize I know nothing about Japanese fashion. I find most of the outfits that FL and her sister tried on for the interview and date are really ugly. LOL. Of course, this is just me. I am someone who wears just a T-shirt and jeans.😆

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Between finding yourself once again in the workplace, toxic mentalities and office romances

This is a drama that focuses on our main lead finding herself once more after having worked in a toxic TV production and venturing into a beauty company. I watched this in one sweep, and after the ending, i started to contemplate various of the plotpoints that are highlighted. Whilst the premise seems great, with a story surrounding a "cinderella" transformational makeover where FL looks cute and stylish, it left me thinking about some issues.

The most important aspect that is regarded as something positive about the FL is the fact that she is a huge workaholic. She seems to ALWAYS be working even during her off-time (evenings/nights and weekdays) and this is encouraged in both her old workplace as well as the new one. On top of that, she seems to always be driven to try to solve an issue or problem in a one-way direction without even trying to find other solutions. Examples like going to another city to persuade an athlete to accept their offer even if they declined it in a previous meeting or in another instance running on the highway to stop an influencer midway in his journey to give him a beautybox are extreme ways to try to solve these office/company problems.

This is highlighted as merits and successful achievements that everyone supports and meanwhile i'm thinking about how negative this mentality is in most of these instances. Neither FL nor the company sees any flaws in it and whilst we don't really see how the office mentality was before she started working there, I personally felt that she brought with her a very toxic way of working and this also changed how her coworkers had to work as well.

The romance was kinda awkward since the supposed love triangle is nonexistent because she isn't aware that her BOSS is trying to go on dates with her. I did like who FL ends up with romantically at the end tho!

Whilst the story tries to be positive and highlights toxic work mentalities, it is a overall aestetically cute show with a slowburn friends to lovers romance.

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Best romcom office drama of 2022

When the credits of the last episode came, there was only one thought on my mind- I need a Kazao in my life. And I guess everyone deserves their own Kazao in their lives. The story is not just about finding love it is more than that. It is about finding your inspiration through someone. And giving your best to make your dreams come true no matter how hard they are to realise.
I am not exaggerating when I wrote it is THE BEST not one of the best shows. I have seen many office romcom this year. So two things happened first, either I stopped watching it in the middle or found it way too boring to finish it. Second thing, some of them started well but lost the plot in showing their fluffy romcom side. Which I see most often in Cdramas.( Not criticising but they tend to exaggerate certain things that just doesn't feel like real life to me for instance their way too perfect main leads ).
This show yet again proves that Jdramas have their own soul. Much much much ...deeper and inspirational plots.
This drama had everything perfect cast, inspirational storyline, well executed performance, absolutely gorgeous dresses and ofcourse its music.
I find myself relating to the FL so much.
The story is about the girl who is obsessed with her job that she forgets what it's like to live like a normal person. She ends up into the trouble and gets a chance to work in a new place where she finds not Just amazing people but love of her life.
The story had so many moments that just mesmerized me. I am sure the moment when Umi and kazao were eating in the restaurant without talking hiding their emotions will stay in my memory forever. That is the pure essence of art. No music, no dialogues, no overacting. Just eating ramen while hiding tears. I love such scenes more than anything.
I would definitely love to see other work of this director for sure.
If you haven't seen this drama then just GO FOR IT. This show won my heart at so many levels that I can't nitpick. (Leaving overhyped colleagues part aside) ok I am not nitpicking as they were all really cute.hahaha. The best thing is you won't find any jealous type of second lead here. Rather they will win your heart as well. I want to watch more of this kind of shows.

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Simple but really enjoyable!

Gosh, I must say that Japan romance/comedy dramas are my favorites nowadays, more than Korean or Chinese ones.

Animals is really a good example of a drama with a simple plot but with good execution. I really don’t have bad things to say about this drama because most of the things were pretty good. The plot is nice, the characters are really fun and even the love triangle didn’t bother me that much, actually it was ok. So if you’re looking for a good Japanese romcom, I really recommend this one!

Umi is a really great character, not the annoying type, I loved her. And she really grew up over the episodes. Kazuo is SO MY TYPE OMG, I think some people might find him annoying but for me even his imperfections were perfect lol Also besides being childish sometimes, I really liked the way he treated Umi. I felt in love with this actor as well. Keisuke was also nice, altough he’s really the second male lead type, always nice and perfect. Hina was also nice. I liked that she didn’t turned out to be a bitchy with Umi. Satoru could have been more annoying but hopefully he wasn’t. I pity him a little because it seems that he liked/likes Keisuke.

The chemistry between the cast was also really good. All characters had good chemistry with each other, although my fav pairings were of course Umi with Kazuo, and Umi with and her sister. Umi and Kazuo had an amazing chemistry together omg, they just matched each other.

I think the only thing I didn’t enjoyed that much was the last episode, I wish we could have seen more scenes of the main couple being together 😭 I just don’t understand why they had to put this thing of Kazuo wanting to live overseas. But well, on the other hand, they gave a little more of development for the character and showed that he also wanted to do something with his life.

PS: The episodes were so short omg, it was so good that I wish it was a little longer :(

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A snoozefest about a Mary Sue and her two wet blanket suitors.

This was a chore to get through. I'll list this as the worst drama of 2022. It felt more like a bad kdrama. All the unique creative dialogue/storylines usually found in jdramas were replaced with gloss and superficiality in Animals. I was nodding off at times out of boredom. Aside from the promising first episode, nothing interesting or engaging happens. Minute by minute details about developing projects within a cheesy beauty company is not what I would consider entertainment.

Some things I hated:

One dimensional characters:
They were happy and smiling all the time to the point that I was surprised they didn't break out in song. Female lead is the quintessential Mary Sue character where she is always nice, always pleasant, good at everything except keeping herself upright and walking in a straight line, average in the looks department but men flock to her anyway. She annoyed the hell out of me! The two male leads that vie for her attention are no better. Both have zero personality and could literally be replaced with cardboard cut outs and none would be the wiser. And how creepy was it that the fl leaves one company where her boss overworked her to the point of collapse and then gets hired by another company where the boss is hitting on her and trying to get a date. Eww. It's seen in this show as romantic when it is anything but..

Also, the styling in this drama is some of the worst I've seen. It's ironic when this show is made out to be hip, sleek, and cool. Women and men look like they haven't washed their hair in weeks due to too many products weighing it down. As a result, every character had greasy lifeless styled hair. Make up was nothing to write home about either and often characters looked sickly and washed out. Wardrobe was atrocious as well especially the clothes for the female lead. She rather as well had been in a potato sack and high heels.

Lastly, the cover poster for this drama is misleading as all get out. Anyone looking at it would think this will be a spicy enjoyable romp of a show for mature audiences and not another run of the mill saccharine sweet office drama. I feel like I've been punked lol.

I rate this a 1.5.

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Change jobs until you find yourself?

I dont know if this is all that inspirational..

I started getting annoyed at the delivery of this "inspirational message" on episode 6, when Umi belittled Kazao for not wanting his name to be on his commercial work. Kazao opened up about how his job at Animal Beauty is a means to pursue what he really loves. This girl then took it upon herself to make it seem like its a selfish thing to do. Not surprising coming from a workaholic who can’t fathom not sacrificing your life to your job. She then goes on to shame his morals further because she admires his commercial shots. Girl who care if you like it, its not about you, he’s telling you it could ruin on his reputation and his dream. In the end she never apologized for what she said, instead Kazao was the one who reached back to her first.

I absolutely hate how the writers did not address this conflict further and call out her distorted relationship with work yet again. I thought this drama would go deeper into that considering it is literally the premise of the story. She started off hating the person she had become after losing herself in her previous job, to overcome that challenge she starts to “change”, to "do things differently" or to “work harder”. How is that self love? That’s not self love. That's blending in. She molded herself to fit right into the new cool workplace . She never acknowledges the root problem of her self hate issues, which is: she’s a workaholic who finds purpose and identity in her job and not within. This drama is not about chasing your dreams, (although for Kazao it was), it was about finding yourself again after getting lost.

And i'm not sure they did that great of a job at it.

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Like a Holographic Flower, a Mesmerizing Find

I’ve never been so impressed with a short series the way I was impressed with Animals, in more ways than one. This is a drama where they speak Japanese, but the messages within the series transcends languages and cultures all over the world. when I first started watching this, I myself was going through a very rough patch at my job, and this drama was an intimate friend pushing me, and encouraging me that it’s ok to leave a place that’s not serving me.

I deeply empathized and saw myself in the main character Umi, and it was so comforting, not only to see my struggles so accurately portrayed, but to also see how someone can take difficulties with such stride, and still come out on top. it’s also so rare to start a new job, and have colleagues around you that encourage you to get better at your job with positive attitudes and mindsets, and that was also very heartwarming to see. this drama made me feel like I was right alongside Umi in each episode, and had a good deal of understanding for why she made certain decisions, why she’d be frustrated in some cases, and flustered in others.

something else that impressed me from the get go was the American influence in this show, and how it balances so well in this show, and ties in with the goals that the Animals Brand has. it really gives this show that extra refined edge that I’ve never seen before, and is very refreshing to watch.

I was deeply captivated watching the FL in each episode mature from being extremely overworked and under-appreciated, to working at her own pace, taking challenges as they come, and being praised for her accomplishments. it was also fun watching her learn about makeup so throughly and with such fascination, and watching her have fun with it.

much respect and appreciation for the ending scene. The ost as well as the scene in the end gave the ending a sitcom kind of vibe, and I loved that.

Overall, a very impressive and impactful drama about being in the makeup industry, how it isn’t all glitter and glam, how demanding it actually is, and what it takes to thrive within it all. honored that I found this gem of a drama. 💜

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Don't Fall For The Poster!

This is a cute drama but nothing like I imagined it would be. There isn't even enough romance for me to consider it a romance drama.

It's more of a story about a 27 year old woman who works herself to the core in a job without so much as an appreciation for all her hard work. Eventually, she gets an interview offer from another company that has a better work environment and she finds inspiration to grow and be a better version of herself.

I feel really let down by this drama on the romance front. Though both male lead and second male lead are really nice, genuine characters, there is hardly any moment outside of casual interactions with them so the poster was a complete false advertisement and I doubt anyone picked this drama because they wanted to see an office work environment story.

I liked all the characters and the OST is cute.

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