Yet somehow, it’s both just as bad, and not as bad as it sounds. Perfect case of a relationship unintentionally turning toxic, when everyone involved thinks they have good intentions.

Double is a perfect character study, with so many various meanings to all interactions, that leave the final interpretation of the events and characters’ motivations to the viewer. Depending on what you will focus on, which scenes and moments will seem more important, what actions done by the characters feel more genuine, you might see quite a different tale than other people watching. And that’s the beauty of the show.

Personally, I see it as an artistic presentation of obsession - be it over art or a person, and countless human flaws and weaknesses.

When I think of Yujin, I think about egocentrism and this may seem like a counterintuitive view at first. He is introduced as someone who was willing to sacrifice a lot for Takara to succeed, but were his intentions as pure as it might seem? There is no clear cut answer to this question, but with each episode, watching him interact with Takara made me feel more and more uncomfortable. He had quite a duality about how he carried himself and interacted with Takara that made it hard to understand his character from the get go.

On the other hand we have Takara - a guy that was completely not capable of taking care of himself, and I truly mean what I say. The phrase that quite well describes him is “lack of self” - be it in the roles he portrays, decisions he makes, relationships he forms - everything is dependent on external influences.

He got hyperfixated on things and saw acting as his only goal in life. At the same time, for the longest time I could not truly pinpoint what exactly he wanted to achieve. Technically he verbalizes his wishes, but often they do not quite fit the reality and the action he would have to take to achieve them. He might seem like the victim of the situation, but what this drama is not, is simple - so there is more to his character and how he maneuvers his daily life.

Sounds like a lot? Looks like these are some complex characters? This ain’t even a fraction of what the drama presents. Honestly speaking, it’s best to go into it knowing as little as possible - not getting influenced by other people’s analysis and thoughts. Making it your own unique experience.

Complex characters and relationships are not the only aspect this drama delivers on an impossible high standard - the directing and editing were top notch as well. I am amazed how beautiful Double is. It truly feels like every scene was a deliberate choice and not one frame was left in by an accident or to simply fill the screen time.

Prolonged close ups to the actors’ faces, giving this eerie feeling, accompanied by simple yet dramatic in tone soundtrack? True perfection. The variety of different angles? Beautiful. The use of light and shadows? Could not ask for more. It’s just a perfectly crafted picture.

Onto the performances, both main actors did a phenomenal job, but I did prefer Nagayama Kento’s casting here. He embodied the gentle, caring yet strangely intimidating and unsettling character. On the other hand, while I do not have even a fraction of complaints about Chiba Yudai’s acting, it was simply hard for me to believe he was able to grab people’s attention… doing nothing, standing, walking. When he was not performing, he gave more of a lost puppy vibe, not this charismatic actor who might change the cinema. And yet, this is what they tried to tell me - that people just saw it in him.

Overall, what an uncanny watch it was. Each and every episode left me with so many thoughts to be organized, so many moments I had to analyze. One could easily write a whole book trying to decipher all the characters. More of my thoughts about them in the comment below.