HEAT (2015)

It starts off strong and gave me high hopes but ultimately I dropped it after episode 6 or so. It's the typical 'jerk who learns how to start feeling through increasingly ridiculous situations where he has to make the right choice'. The cast is good as is their performance but the story just lacks. A lot. The characters other than Ikegami aren't explored and merely hinted at having more to do than run around rolling out fire hoses. Sato Ryuta plays a character whose sole purpose is to appear and lecture the main character on morals and feelings, usually preceeded by him staring at the main character from a distance. Ikegami's boss is a guy who spends his days cutting roses and looking out windows while threatening his employees. Politely.

Would not recommend unless in the mood for a cliche-driven drama to fill an empty day.

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A story about real estate employee joining volunteer Fire Corp to get land owner approval ? it sounds very interesting. In fact for the first few episodes, I was engaging with the story. However, just like your common Slice of Life Jdrama, the story is becoming more predictable. I found myself struggle to finish this series. You can pretty much anticipate what going to happen in each episode. This is when a good background story drama falls into cliche. The lead who starting as self-centred person turned into someone who care about others. The villain boss who is not that bad but with cunning personality will finally turned into new leaf. The strong-headed female lead who will fall in love with the male lead. A female character who like the male lead who has been friend with for years just to realise the male lead likes the female lead eventhough they just met and other cliche which you will find in your common Slice of life drama. Basically, your excitement dies as the story is progressing further

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