Hibana

Japanese sense of humor might not be everybody's cup of tea but it's easy to understand, in this case the Manzai (a sort of stand-up comedy) even if something is lost in translation. Once you break that barrier (and for some people, the subtitles barrier too) you're into one of the most fascinating mini-series made in Japan. We follow the steps of Tokunaga (played by Kento Hayashi) and his acting partner in the quest to fullfill their dream of being successfull as a Manzai act. Sometimes inadvertently funny, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes rare for western idiosyncrasies, but always a pleasure to watch and feel.

I really enjoyed Hibana-sparks. And although the series was not that great when you look at character development/depth, i was happy to see that there were some really good scenes in the middle and at the end of season 1. Personally i think the show should not continue because the story could collapse under its own weight. With this i mean that episodes 9 and 10 were so ..... strange that it will be difficult to continue without creating an absurd storyline. I think that i rather read the book (152 pages) then to watch a dragged out Netflix series.

PS: forgive me that i am unaware of the Japanese cultural aspects, but i think the decisions that were made by the characters ( or the lack thereof ) should have been explained better via an internal dialog.

It doesn't look like something I can watch. I left it in the first part.

I love the characters. For the first few episodes, I couldn't decide whether the comedy was awkward, or if the humour got lost in translation. I ask you to bear with it. The humour gets much easier to understand and will make you appreciate Manzai before the end. However, this is not a comedy show. It's drama. More specifically, it's character drama. Ten years in ten episodes, we are privy to the very best and worst bits. If you are bored of ten season shows about the same things, this is for you. I dare you to watch it to the end and not want to re watch the characters' beginnings.

I don't watch all that much Japanese TV or Movies, but the actors were incredible, and I'm going to look for them in the future.

On the face of it this is a drama about a few slackers hoping to make it big in stand-up comedy...but peel away the top layers and you will find a richness in narrative, visual gags, black comedy, absurdity and ambiguity eg with some of the more emotional scenes I didn't really know whether the characters were crying with laughter or despair (like Andy Kaufman and the bongos). There are also some scenes where nothing seems to happen and if you find that's the case then you've missed something. Fine performances from the leads, and even though I watched this eight years after release I am glad I have come across the actors involved.