This review may contain spoilers
I found out about this drama from Takeuchi Ryoma's twitter lol... and was glad that I ended up checking out this drama. Timeslip plot always interests me so much so I was intrigued at the plot where Tamura Shin ended up time slipping into the past and finding out who his father really was.I like how well the plot had been written, especially when we weren't quite sure if Shin's father was truly a murderer or if the true criminal being someone else. And since the incident happened in a small village where everyone had their own secrets and motivations you couldn't help suspecting everyone to have some kind of motive to frame someone of murder. Not to mention the focus on people's eyes and evil eyes, you couldn't help feeling wary of anyone regardless of how they appeared harmless. And just when you thought you're sure about the identity of the real culprit, things took on a different take and you started to question everything that you once knew about the incident. Even when the final truth ended up being so simple, it makes one see how things weren't always so easily distinguishable or black and white.
It's like how you were given pieces of a puzzle without knowing what the final image would look like, and as you try to connect the pieces you'll either getting close into forming the complete image or ended up being misled. Yet once you finally found out the complete truth then finally all the pieces that didn't make sense before become clear. That makes the mystery of finding out the true criminal really engaging.
It's similar to how I felt while watching Erased, and while there was some difference in how the time slips/revival happens, the plot still involves the main character going back into the past in order to change a bleak future.
Was this review helpful to you?
Acting-wise, Takeuchi Ryoma seems to be hindered by Shin's lack of capability as the main protagonist. On the other hand, kudos to Suzuki Ryohei whose acting shined the most amongst the main characters of the drama.
The music is well-composed; however, it fails to cover the superficial tensions in the plot that only push the protagonists to run around pointlessly again and again.
Overall, while this drama is watchable, it is pale in comparison with other similar dramas such as Signal and Erased.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Murder on the Orient Express
The Ship of Theseus is the translation of the original title of this drama.The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment about whether an object, after having had all of its original components replaced, remains the same object. In Greek mythology, Theseus, the mythical Greek founder-king of Athens, rescued the children of Athens from King Minos after slaying the Minotaur and then escaped onto a ship going to Delos. Each year, the Athenians commemorated this by taking the ship on a pilgrimage to Delos to honour Apollo. A question was raised by ancient philosophers: After several hundreds of years of maintenance, if each individual part of the Ship of Theseus was replaced, one at a time, was it still the same ship? (wikipedia)
So what do mythology, philosophy and japanese time slip drama have in common?
Shin accidentally goes 30years back in time and tries to stop a murder from happening and save his father from being accused of committing it. But every time he goes back in time, the future changes and so does his own future: he finds himself on a parallel timeline. So if he manages to change everything, will his future be same or different? Spoiler alert: his future is the same but with different state of his surroundings. Ship of Theseus: he changed everything and still ended up happily married and having a baby with the same woman but the path (ships parts) to it has been completely replaced. Is he still the same person even though he does not have the original Shin's memories (the original ship)? The question remains!
Time travel is hugely difficult to write about because it is impossible to explain logically. Every alteration in the past, necessarily creates another timeline and he can never go back to his original one.
The main plot is a serial murder killing left, right and centre apparently for no reason. Shin and his father try to discover and stop the killer who always seems to be one step ahead while they pointlessly run around without achieving anything. Red herrings abound; new suspects are introduced only to be murdered in the next episode. The plot moves at a breakneck speed. Until it gets too fast: new characters are constantly introduced, those seen just in passing become suspects: basically in last two episodes, everything goes upside down, the suspects are surprising and their reasoning psychotic! Shin runs around, repeatedly promising to save his family from doom and miserably failing, until the final solution turns out to be the right one!
I found the cinematography odd: I had a strange feeling of a low quality production throughout. It lacked warmth. Yes it is a crime drama taking place in the winter but still, it should not have looked so sharp and crisp. The writing was excellent but they crammed too much in it and I would have preferred it to be slower and more menacing. There are a few loose, unexplained events and characters' fates (two policemen, the book, the notebook, the drawings...) The culprit turned out to be based on the one from the aforementioned Agatha Christie's novel. The make up for the older versions of adult characters was weirs: it did not look natural at all: they seemed to be older than they should be! The music was appropriately heavy, sentimental and sad, stressing the tragic events on the screen.
As for the actors, they were all amazing. Particularly the kid who played Mikio: he managed to show the character's multiple different faces with an amazing ease. He is infinitely talented. The actor playing Shin is in excellent physical shape: there was at least one scene in every episode where he runs breathlessly and effortlessly around, either looking for something or trying to get somewhere
I love time slip stories, and I enjoyed this one a lot until I got fed up with the constant twists and turns and fake culprits and annoyed with asian societies as depicted in many dramas where the family of a criminal is eternally held responsible for its one member's misdeeds. Nevertheless, it was a great watch, i had fun!
Was this review helpful to you?
A Time Travel Drama for everyone.
First of,i liked the title and the reference to the Greek Mythology.Athough through the whole Drama i couldn't find any relation,but at the last episode all made sense.Brilliant is all i can say!Good production.What stands out is mostly the Music which i liked better than the other technicalities.But i don't mind as most of the JDramas focuses basically on story and characters.This one does the same.
Acting was in a good level too.Kids were great at their roles(i wish " The Bad Kids" was a Jdrama...) and Suzuki Ryohei's (The Father)performance was excellent.
The scenario has few inconsistencies but not the silly and annoying kind which distracts you from the story.
Actually i think this is the first Drama i see everyone believing in the time travel story the protagonist says,so easily and fast.Anyways that wasn't a bummer!
Ofc as any related Drama which respects itself,travelling back to time and try to change the course of the events,always has its consequences.Always there is something to win and something to lose.Our main lead here seems not to take this too seriously,as he is always focused on clearing his father's name at any cost.Even if he has to sacrifice his own future and happiness.
There are many heartwarming moments between the family,to lighten up the mood and the dark vibes.For me it is a very well balanced Drama.It has a bit of everything.Crime.Mystery.Serial killer.Time Travel.Suspense.Lovable characters.Family bonds.
Of course in the center of all is the mystery about who the real murderer is,and later on the why all these happened.It has a light intense but is here all the time.The culprit plays hide & seek with our protagonists and us as well.Few baits thrown to us to keep the suspense,and this job is done right.It does keep the interest in a good level,always questioning everyone.
And now let me explain something here.Is not a spoiler just my personal feeling as this is a review for future watchers.
Until 30 minutes before the last episode ends,this was a solid 9,5 regarding the story mainly.10 minutes in between there was a detail(i can't describe it otherwise without spoiling)which totally ruined my mood and i was a bit pisssed to be honest.So i thought to give a 7,5.Yes i was really annoyed!And then the final 10 minutes..What a nice and warm feeling!Made me forget my anger,and recalled all the previous and exciting hours this Drama gave me.So as you can see the final rate is 9, but you can interpret it differently than me.(Better or worse!)
Even for those who are not too familiar with the genre,is easy to watch and follow the story.Not confusing at all.No messy time line either.
Bottom line i liked it a lot.No regrets and i do recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
