Miva
Poland
This review may contain spoilers
Surprisingly, a really good series ✨
I'll be honest, before I decided to watch "Pending Train '' I was reluctant as it seems as "low budget" series but since I was bored and Yuki Yamada who played Naoya Kayashima caught my interest with his unusual hairstyle I started watching it. I was ready to give up after episode 1 but surprisingly I watched it till the end. It was just such a great plot story. They didn't crash with their plane or ship but instead it was about a supernova explosion. It was a first for me and I'm very satisfied with this difference.
The main actors played their roles very well. Yuki Yamada and Eiji Akaso were a perfect contradiction to each other - Naoya (who was played by Yuki) was rational but explosive, mysterious but obviously kind while Yuto (who was played by Eiji) was calm and heroic but also naive and idealistic. Those two created a dynamic that completes each other.
* Not gonna lie they even gave a nice and satisfying bromance vibe sometimes ?
The three things that were (for me) disappointing were:
1️⃣ Not enough episodes - causing most of the actors (meaning about 20+ actors) to turn into background characters. Only a few got somewhat enough screen time to be considered side characters.
2️⃣ Too many background characters or actually too many unnecessary characters to begin with - most of them were like moving manekenes. Some had potential for more screen time and better plot, but the way the past was shown was just pitiful. Sure, Naoya and Yuto got a rather decent explanation of their past but others? Not so really... There were many elders and there was a second train carriage with another 20+ characters and from all 40+ characters I remember 8-9 characters got their past explained. Big difference, isn't it?
3️⃣ Annoying Female lead - she was like an empty vessel that put close to nothing into the story, neither she came with any ideas nor was she useful in any way to ease the situation they all were put in. From my point of view she was all around the two male leads just to talk with them and get these characters past explained to the audience. Other than that she was naive and blindly followed her "hero" as well as was always ready to go into potential danger like a moth flying to the light (straight into the moth trap). I get it she wanted to play hero and help/save her hero but she had nothing to keep herself safe in any way or form. Even her past was lacking - it was said she was saved but that's about it, there is nothing more said about her.
Additionally, something that I realized is that this series doesn't have a Love Triangle! ??
I was surprised with how the three main characters (better known as two male leads and one female lead) gave at the beginning the vibe of the typical vibe of 2 ML and 1 FM. But apparently it wasn't the case here. Shirahama didn't love Hatano and Hitano didn't love Shirahama. Their relationship was barely friends. Shirahama saved Hatano and Hatano looked up to him but that's about it. Main reason why Shirahama wasn't anywhere near falling in love with MF was because he already loved someone else (the restaurant girl) and Hatano? Like I said before, she was an empty vessel and only started to develop real feelings towards Kayashima when she "saw" him (she realized he is real, has feelings, is doing good, is trying, is existing). Kayashima was developing his feelings towards FM from the start but was far from admitting it because he felt like FM was in love with Shirahama - because she was always following him like a lost child.
I guess the ending was something that also slightly disappointed me though not as much as the earlier mentioned three points. It was an open ending. Depending on what the Professor's reaction could mean it defined the ending with was either the world ended or it was saved. Of course my first assumption was "it worked and the world got saved" but the Professor's reaction could mean he was mocking his life and gave up... so yeah, it was unknown.
I believe if the series had more young characters (15-35) but less characters overall as well as had more episodes it would be much better ??
The main actors played their roles very well. Yuki Yamada and Eiji Akaso were a perfect contradiction to each other - Naoya (who was played by Yuki) was rational but explosive, mysterious but obviously kind while Yuto (who was played by Eiji) was calm and heroic but also naive and idealistic. Those two created a dynamic that completes each other.
* Not gonna lie they even gave a nice and satisfying bromance vibe sometimes ?
The three things that were (for me) disappointing were:
1️⃣ Not enough episodes - causing most of the actors (meaning about 20+ actors) to turn into background characters. Only a few got somewhat enough screen time to be considered side characters.
2️⃣ Too many background characters or actually too many unnecessary characters to begin with - most of them were like moving manekenes. Some had potential for more screen time and better plot, but the way the past was shown was just pitiful. Sure, Naoya and Yuto got a rather decent explanation of their past but others? Not so really... There were many elders and there was a second train carriage with another 20+ characters and from all 40+ characters I remember 8-9 characters got their past explained. Big difference, isn't it?
3️⃣ Annoying Female lead - she was like an empty vessel that put close to nothing into the story, neither she came with any ideas nor was she useful in any way to ease the situation they all were put in. From my point of view she was all around the two male leads just to talk with them and get these characters past explained to the audience. Other than that she was naive and blindly followed her "hero" as well as was always ready to go into potential danger like a moth flying to the light (straight into the moth trap). I get it she wanted to play hero and help/save her hero but she had nothing to keep herself safe in any way or form. Even her past was lacking - it was said she was saved but that's about it, there is nothing more said about her.
Additionally, something that I realized is that this series doesn't have a Love Triangle! ??
I was surprised with how the three main characters (better known as two male leads and one female lead) gave at the beginning the vibe of the typical vibe of 2 ML and 1 FM. But apparently it wasn't the case here. Shirahama didn't love Hatano and Hitano didn't love Shirahama. Their relationship was barely friends. Shirahama saved Hatano and Hatano looked up to him but that's about it. Main reason why Shirahama wasn't anywhere near falling in love with MF was because he already loved someone else (the restaurant girl) and Hatano? Like I said before, she was an empty vessel and only started to develop real feelings towards Kayashima when she "saw" him (she realized he is real, has feelings, is doing good, is trying, is existing). Kayashima was developing his feelings towards FM from the start but was far from admitting it because he felt like FM was in love with Shirahama - because she was always following him like a lost child.
I guess the ending was something that also slightly disappointed me though not as much as the earlier mentioned three points. It was an open ending. Depending on what the Professor's reaction could mean it defined the ending with was either the world ended or it was saved. Of course my first assumption was "it worked and the world got saved" but the Professor's reaction could mean he was mocking his life and gave up... so yeah, it was unknown.
I believe if the series had more young characters (15-35) but less characters overall as well as had more episodes it would be much better ??
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