Great Acting, Great Writing
Don't let wild rumors about this being a propaganda to discourage you from watching. Otherwise you will miss such a good drama with great writing, presented by a great acting.Hirowareta Otoko is a slice-of-life, semi-fictional biography drama about Matsuo Satoru, the actor we see all over Jdramas but we don't bother to remember his name...LoL. In this drama we got to see his journey of becoming an actor as well as his psychological complex during childhood that later contributed to his sour relationship with his family members.
I don't know how good the original source material is, but the writing in this drama was presented in such an interesting way with many beautiful and smart dialogues. I liked how the writer used time jump and flashback effectively in the story telling without making viewers feel lost of the plot. The first half of the drama was full of comedy and coming of age naivety but be prepared for a more serious emotional ride in the second half if you ever choose to watch this.
The performance of the cast was another key factor that made this drama great. Nagano Taiga did an extraordinary job at portraying Matsuo Satoru in my opinion. We could clearly see that he gained few Kg of weight ahead of playing this role. He was versatile enough to easily changed from quirky to serious. As a main character he knows how to attract audiences sympathy.
Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, while doesn't get that many screen time really did well in conveying complex emotion of his mysterious character. He could have done better with his English conversation, but that's minor downside and we understand the difficulty of Japanese actors with foreign languages. I only wish they wrote a sentence that sounds more natural for a non-native speaker instead of "Cool American English" that can't be delivered (or understood).
Other actors also did well in carrying the whole drama and supporting the main character including the US cast. I would say the casting department really did a good job in this one If you're wondering about Ito Sairi, she did well too but her character was more of a supporting one than a main role (as oppose to what is stated in this MDL page).
All in all, Hirowareta Otoko was a wholesome drama that has the right amount of everything; laughter, anger, curiosity, sympathy, and sadness. It's about chasing happiness and self discovery with strong elements of family bonding and brotherhood as well as accepting one's fate whether it's good or bad. If you're looking for a slice of life drama with warm characters this is a must watch!!
About US propaganda mentioned by other reviewer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The following section may contain some spoilers
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Since this is a Jap-US joint production, there was an "American Arc" that's focusing on MC's stranded brother (Takeshi). Few US actors were added in the arc and it changed the feel of the drama a bit. I mean from Japan-mode to Western-mode overnight....yeah that kind of feeling. This could be a letdown for many viewers apart from the allegedly US propaganda thing that I will explain below.
However this arc wasn't as bad and still carrying important plot elements as MC got to learn the different side of his brother he didn't know before. He also got to solve the mystery surrounding his family for 15 years. The story of the kid (Sean) was also interesting and cute. It has more Japanese vibe than the western in my opinion.
And I DO NOT see Takeshi mentioning US as a peace place for diverse people as a PROPAGANDA. In fact it's an outdated concept of American Dream that's known by everyone already. Whether that dream is reality or just a dream is a subjective matter.
That statement by Takeshi was clearly his personal view and curiosity considering he was frustrated with their conservative Dad. Knowing that, Satoru candidly said "yeah you've found the place you're looking for". This could only be true in these brothers situation and does not apply to everyone. ...obviously!!
Was this review helpful to you?
One of the best
This is a very unique Japanese drama that has top-notched production value different from usual Japanese drama. The script is definitely carefully crafted to make every episode interesting. It brings you back to the typical Asian/Japanese family backdrop and the late 90's/early 2000's of Tokyo/Osaka. There are good mixture of laughter, love, japanese spirit, sadness in those human relationships. I like how they highlighted the family and brotherhood problems in the second half and how it get resolved. The ending scene is gold and Oscar worthy. I hope it wins something. Each actor/actress performance is great and spot on. The soul of this drama is really Taiga Nakano. Hope he thrives in the future with awesome performance.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
First things first: if I were to make an actual average of my ratings for the different categories, this drama would get an overall grade of 6/10...so why am I rating it a 1/10 instead? Very simply put, because, a) it was such a huge let down and b) it pissed me off so royally in the second half.I have myself to blame for it though, as I started watching this "Hirowareta Otoko" without realizing that it's actually an AMERICAN-Japanese production - and indeed, after a few episodes consistent with a typical J-drama, the second half of the series is unfortunately filled with all the stuff that eventually led me to abandon American productions altogether eight years ago, after having watched them all my life. No offense meant, I'm sure most people would disagree and start the flag-waving, star-spangled cheers right away. This is just my personal opinion, so take it for what it is, and if you disagree, just ignore my rant. Thanks.
If you happen to agree with me on the disdain for hollywoodian crap, though, heed my warning and steer clear of this. Luckily for us there's plenty of Asian dramas still not affected by contemporary American "culture".
Nakano Taiga is such a great actor, and there are some wonderful actresses in the cast too (Ito Sairi, Yakushimaru Hitoko, Suzuki Anne, Kaho, Tanabe Momoko, Sato Megumi etc. etc.). The "behind the scenes" glimpse into a supporting actor's life is indeed a tremendously interesting premise. The "packaging" (direction, photography, editing, OST) is also top-notch.
But it all gets utterly ruined by the lousy propaganda it contains, sorry.
Just one example - take this dialogue between the ML and his brother:
"Why did you come to America?"
[...]
"World peace...different people getting along together...[...]...I thought I would find all that..."
"If that's the case, then you did find it."
...'cause yeah, America is so star-spangled awesome, right? >____<
Who in his right mind wouldn't want to go find "world peace" in a country that has been AT WAR for about 228 of the 246 years since its inception in 1776, right? Or to go find "different people getting along together" in a country where racism is literally *everywhere*?
Seriously...>_______<
p.s.
Again, pardon my rant. And please note that I have *nothing* against the American people. I know many, and the vast majority of them are good people. Just not a fan of the government, nor of the media, for the terribly evil effect they have on people both in and outside of the US. Peace!
Was this review helpful to you?
