Struggling artiste Tokunaga has an electrifying encounter with a senior artiste Kamiya, a genius who has his own unique stand-up comedy philosophy, and becomes his disciple. This is the story of the friendship and struggles between two performers trying to make it in the competitive world of show business. (Source: IMDb) ~~ Adapted from the novel "Hibana" (火花) by Matayoshi Naoki (又吉直樹). Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
- Norsk
- Native Title: 火花
- Also Known As: A Spark , Hibana , ひばな
- Director: Shiraishi Kazuya, Okita Shuichi, Hiroki Ryuichi, Mori Yasutaka, Kuma Shinji, Mori Masahiro
- Screenwriter: Takahashi Miyuki, Kato Masato
- Genres: Comedy, Life, Drama
Where to Watch Hibana: Spark
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Cast & Credits
- Hayashi KentoTokunagaMain Role
- Namioka KazukiKamiya SaizoMain Role
- Yoshii MasaoYamashita MasatoSupport Role
- Murata HideakiObayashi KazuyaSupport Role
- Kadowaki MugiMiyano MakiSupport Role
- Taguchi TomorowoHinata SeitaroSupport Role
Reviews
This drama brings an average plot to life. Tokunaga is one half of a comedy duo that is struggling to secure real gigs. He comes across Kamiya, and their friendship begins with a bright spark (pun definitely intended). What I like about this drama is that it tries to stay realistic. It doesn't stay bright and cheery throughout the series. Instead, all of the characters take hits and deal with them in their own way. It also portrays a wonderful friendship between Kamiya and Tokunaga, and it is a joy watching them interact on the screen. The humor of the series was never lost on me, and I found myself laughing at a lot of the skits they showed. There are a few slow scenes, but due to the nature of the drama it works well.
The only thing I would criticize about the story is the last thirty minutes. It's pretty unnecessary, and I wish they ended it differently. I've never read the novel (and, as far as I know, there is no English translation), so I cannot say whether or not the drama sticks to the original ending. If it does, then I suppose it's an okay ending. If the writers changed the drama's ending, then... why did they do it this way? At least I can say I was certainly surprised, haha. Despite the ending, I would still wholeheartedly suggest this drama. Don't let the last thirty minutes I vaguely mentioned drag you away from watching it.
I never feel like I can properly judge actors, but I didn't find any issues with the cast. At no point did any of them make me cringe. I never thought to myself, 'yikes, that was pretty bad.' I thought all of them really suited their characters, and everyone was brought to life. I really liked Kento Hayashi in particular, and I can definitely picture myself watching something with him again in the near future.
The music was really good, no surprise. I don't have any complaints. Brother by OKAMOTO'S was instantly added to my playlist the second I finished the first episode.
I've only ever rewatched one thing, so I don't envision myself watching this once more. Clearly, I'm not big into watching things more than once. Maybe in a few years I would come back to this, but as for now, I have no plans.
Overall, I definitely would suggest this to those who want to watch a touching drama. It's a wonderful drama that deserves to be more popular than it is.
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Spark AKA Hibana is a slow paced, slice-of-life drama. It's a real depiction of life, not just by simply having a realistic plot. The main characters are well written thanks to the award winning novel. They are non stereotypical kind you would normally see in books, films or TVs. The way they think and decide on things are more similar to us, normal people. Sometimes in life we meet someone new (or new opportunity), but not necessarily anything would happen from that encounter. People come and go in real life and sometimes you won't meet them ever again. That's what the drama was trying to convey.
The direction and acting for this drama were amazing in my opinion. There were a lot of scenes with mixed and complex emotions throughout the series, but the actors really did a great job especially Namioka with the most complex role among others. Hayashi did well too, but he's got his usual kind of character although with an additional personality (when he''s doing manzai comedy).
It is also rare to see any Japanese drama to be as high production value as Spark. You will have the "watching movie" experience throughout the series with lots of non-usual camera works that anyone wouldn't bother to use in a (J) drama. For example, there are several scenes that were shot from a long range where the actors just doing their (crazy) stuffs in the middle of public as well as some shots with additional stories that are not related directly to the plot but at the same time give more meaning to the plot.
All in all, Spark is amazing drama with full positive message of friendship and humanity apart from telling the realistic story of chasing dreams. The only downside is the really bad misleading poster as well as the last few minutes on the last episode as others have mentioned (the reason why I rated its rewatching value lower) . However, it's still worth to watch the whole series and highly recommended for slice-of-life lover or to anyone who would be looking for something different!
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