Marshmallow-Chocoholic
Europe
A Thought-Provoking Adaptation..
With numerous adaptations across television and film ( including a predecessor Japanese version in 2001, as well as a loosely- based South-Korean adaptation called “ Hello, God” in 2006 ), it is only natural to raise the apparent question whether this recent Japanese version of Flowers For Algernon is actually worth watching as a stand-alone production.
In this Japanese version of the eponymous novel, our main protagonist Shiratori Sakuto ( Yamashita Tomohisa) is a kind-hearted young man with an intellectual disability. Working for a floral delivery service, a misunderstanding between Sakuto and researcher Mochizuki Haruka ( Chiaki Kuriyama) leads Sakuto to developing a benign crush upon Haruka. Wanting to become “ smarter”, Sakuto with Haruka’s aid enters a top research programme with the hope of improving his IQ, however, as one thing leads to the next, Sakuto begins to realise that the world he’s been in living isn’t as perfect as it seems, as his relationships with his colleagues, friends and Haruka will change irrevocably.
In screenwriters Nojima Shinji ( Love Shuffle, 49) and Ikeda Natsuko ( Zekkyou, Ouran High School Host Club-2011) ‘s contemporary adaptation of Daniel Keyes’ 1959 eponymous novel, there would seem to be two prominent made to this version ( sans the cultural localisation in Tokyo) alone.
The most evident change being that the show places more sympathetic lighting for the characters associated with our main protagonist Shiratori Sakuto ( Yamashita Tomohisa), with an actual didactic focus upon most of these characters as individuals with emotions and their own problems rather than just merely plot devices. Then of course, the greatest change in the show comes through the focal point of the “ casual romance” between our main protagonist Sakuto, and researcher Mochizuki Haruka over the course of the series and a lot more than their predecessor counterparts in the novel.
Whilst their obstacles and later development in their relationship are paramount for Sakuto’s progression as a character, the relationship between Sakuto and Haruka truly ceases to be challenging in terms of the overarching storyline . Haruka for a major part of the series felt a little more objectified to simply the “ love interest” than an actual individual with thoughts and feelings. Arguably, this is the mould in which Sakuto “ sees” Haruka within, however, even in her own scenes, there was little to really draw up about Haruka as a individual , apart from creating more and more “ naive” and unfair misunderstandings for Sakuto without acknowledging how he may feel also.
Arguably Sakuto is fairly similar to Haruka in this department towards sometimes being “ unnecessarily cruel”, particularly towards the unfortunate second female lead Kawaguchi Rio ( Tanimura Mitsuki). Whilst the show did constantly attempt to make us question the boundaries of ethics and principles both in science and our male lead’s “ actions” , it is hard to truly feel pity for Sakuto in some cases after his behaviour with Rio- a kind-hearted girl who fell in love with Sakuto despite his intellectual disability, and soon became a form of “ grief” for Sakuto to inflict his feelings and anger upon. Whilst this did certainly add a touch of realism to complexity of actual relationships, the way that screenwriters Nojima and Ikeda initially dealt with Rio as both an individual and her storyline, felt both lacklustre and anticlimactic in the grand scheme of things.
In all honesty, the acting of Flowers For Algernon could sometimes be a bit of a mixed bag with genuine heartfelt, with some questionable performances. Yet what should certainly be said is that our main leads do not disappoint.
Whilst Sakuto is a complicated and questionable individual, there’s no denying that Tomohisa was brilliant within his dual performance as our main lead between the fine drawn line of innocence and cynicism over the course of the series . En par with Tomohisa, was undeniably costar Chiaki Kuriyama. Despite her character’s flaws, Kuriyama added much needed charisma to Haruka as a character. In addition to this, the show tackled some surprisingly difficult themes from discrimination against those with an intellectual disability, abuse and deeper philosophical and ethical questions including the pursuit of happiness in the face of intelligence.
Overall, it’s fair to say that Flowers For Algernon is a show which is fairly rough around the edges; the romantic factor ( although not predominant ) is a little lacklustre as the focal point , certain characters ( such as Rio) could have been written with more intrinsic purpose to the overall show and the pseudoscientific elements of the show could have been explained in more depth than just “ passed over” for the sake of plot progression. However, Flowers For Algernon is still surprisingly thought-provoking with deep moral questions posed for both viewers and our main protagonist Sakuto, an intriguing premise and a bittersweet , yet appropriate ending for our main lead’s journey from beginning to end. Although not flawless, this is worth a watch if you’re looking for something with thought-provoking questions.
In this Japanese version of the eponymous novel, our main protagonist Shiratori Sakuto ( Yamashita Tomohisa) is a kind-hearted young man with an intellectual disability. Working for a floral delivery service, a misunderstanding between Sakuto and researcher Mochizuki Haruka ( Chiaki Kuriyama) leads Sakuto to developing a benign crush upon Haruka. Wanting to become “ smarter”, Sakuto with Haruka’s aid enters a top research programme with the hope of improving his IQ, however, as one thing leads to the next, Sakuto begins to realise that the world he’s been in living isn’t as perfect as it seems, as his relationships with his colleagues, friends and Haruka will change irrevocably.
In screenwriters Nojima Shinji ( Love Shuffle, 49) and Ikeda Natsuko ( Zekkyou, Ouran High School Host Club-2011) ‘s contemporary adaptation of Daniel Keyes’ 1959 eponymous novel, there would seem to be two prominent made to this version ( sans the cultural localisation in Tokyo) alone.
The most evident change being that the show places more sympathetic lighting for the characters associated with our main protagonist Shiratori Sakuto ( Yamashita Tomohisa), with an actual didactic focus upon most of these characters as individuals with emotions and their own problems rather than just merely plot devices. Then of course, the greatest change in the show comes through the focal point of the “ casual romance” between our main protagonist Sakuto, and researcher Mochizuki Haruka over the course of the series and a lot more than their predecessor counterparts in the novel.
Whilst their obstacles and later development in their relationship are paramount for Sakuto’s progression as a character, the relationship between Sakuto and Haruka truly ceases to be challenging in terms of the overarching storyline . Haruka for a major part of the series felt a little more objectified to simply the “ love interest” than an actual individual with thoughts and feelings. Arguably, this is the mould in which Sakuto “ sees” Haruka within, however, even in her own scenes, there was little to really draw up about Haruka as a individual , apart from creating more and more “ naive” and unfair misunderstandings for Sakuto without acknowledging how he may feel also.
Arguably Sakuto is fairly similar to Haruka in this department towards sometimes being “ unnecessarily cruel”, particularly towards the unfortunate second female lead Kawaguchi Rio ( Tanimura Mitsuki). Whilst the show did constantly attempt to make us question the boundaries of ethics and principles both in science and our male lead’s “ actions” , it is hard to truly feel pity for Sakuto in some cases after his behaviour with Rio- a kind-hearted girl who fell in love with Sakuto despite his intellectual disability, and soon became a form of “ grief” for Sakuto to inflict his feelings and anger upon. Whilst this did certainly add a touch of realism to complexity of actual relationships, the way that screenwriters Nojima and Ikeda initially dealt with Rio as both an individual and her storyline, felt both lacklustre and anticlimactic in the grand scheme of things.
In all honesty, the acting of Flowers For Algernon could sometimes be a bit of a mixed bag with genuine heartfelt, with some questionable performances. Yet what should certainly be said is that our main leads do not disappoint.
Whilst Sakuto is a complicated and questionable individual, there’s no denying that Tomohisa was brilliant within his dual performance as our main lead between the fine drawn line of innocence and cynicism over the course of the series . En par with Tomohisa, was undeniably costar Chiaki Kuriyama. Despite her character’s flaws, Kuriyama added much needed charisma to Haruka as a character. In addition to this, the show tackled some surprisingly difficult themes from discrimination against those with an intellectual disability, abuse and deeper philosophical and ethical questions including the pursuit of happiness in the face of intelligence.
Overall, it’s fair to say that Flowers For Algernon is a show which is fairly rough around the edges; the romantic factor ( although not predominant ) is a little lacklustre as the focal point , certain characters ( such as Rio) could have been written with more intrinsic purpose to the overall show and the pseudoscientific elements of the show could have been explained in more depth than just “ passed over” for the sake of plot progression. However, Flowers For Algernon is still surprisingly thought-provoking with deep moral questions posed for both viewers and our main protagonist Sakuto, an intriguing premise and a bittersweet , yet appropriate ending for our main lead’s journey from beginning to end. Although not flawless, this is worth a watch if you’re looking for something with thought-provoking questions.
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