Hayabusa Shobodan (2023)

A drama that took me completely unaware! When I initially began watching Hayabusa Shobodan, I expected a traditional story of the "harried city man who comes to small town and recharges himself", and at first, that was what we got, with main character Taro Mima (Tomoya Nakamura), a struggling writer, coming to the small village of Hayabusa, connecting with the locals, joining the fire brigade and even finding a love interest of sorts in Aya Takichi (Haruna Kawaguchi).
But at the halfway mark of Hayabusa Shobodan, the show slowly began shifting into an entirely different, SURREAL drama, one involving Fanatical Religious Cults, Supernatural Encounters, and Spiritual Prophet Reincarnation! WHAAA!
While on one hand thinking  "What the HECK is happening to this drama?", the OTHER hand was transfixed and couldn't WAIT to see what would happen NEXT! This had all the makings of a David Lynch Series a la TWIN PEAKS, and I was ALL on BOARD!
 I've said many times how much I appreciate an unpredictable show where you're on your toes with one surprise after another and I GOTTA SAY, I had NO IDEA where ANY of it was going to GO! Had me guessing ALL the WAY to the END!
Sadly, it ended ALL TOO SOON, and I  really wished it could have been even 15 minutes longer just so we could have a nicer "wrap up" between the romantic leads. STILL, a fine show and one I'm satisfied with, something I can't say for most of the shows lately... 

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Epically Unexpected!

I have no idea what I was expecting but, in all honesty, this story was most definitely NOT IT! And that is such an amazingly fascinating thing!

This story truly amazed me from the beginning. Breaking the fourth wall, the humor, the situations (both dangerous and unassuming), the dialogue, the scenery, the acting, the story in its entirety... I cannot begin to fathom what type of story this is, except to say that I immediately became a fan.

The story was such a curious one that I couldn't help but be hooked from the beginning; like a tidal wave that swallowed me whole. I've never seen a story like this one, I couldn't even begin to place this story in a specific genre. The actors splendidly outdid themselves with each episode!

There were moments where I laughed out loud, moments that I replayed because I didn't want to miss anything, moments I feared, and moments I absolutely could not understand. I felt the plot line in the pit of my stomach; each episode had me enthralled by the mystery of Hayabusa. The ending was incredible, something that I never predicted. Especially after watching a certain actor in a different show; seeing him in this story (compared to the last one I saw him in) was a complete turnaround, like he was a completely different person!

I fell in love with the Fire Brigade, it was amazing to watch them in action. Some parts of the story seemed a bit creepy, but they all served to make the story as incredible and fantastic as it is! While some points of this story may seem familiar, I guarantee that you have never seen a story like this one before! The show in its entirety is one of the most spectacular shows I've ever seen!

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