Nibiiro no Hako no Naka de (2020)

In The Dark Gray Box is a complex coming of age story worthy of an evening bindge watch.

Since no one has given this drama a review yet, I thought I'd give it a go. I hope this review helps you to decide if you want to give this drama a try. I gave it an 8 out of 10.

The story complex and twisted in a way that the Japanese are so good at. I thought the acting was good for how the writer and director wanted to portray what these young adults were going through at this stage of their life. The music was good. I HAD to rewatch parts of it because it was so twisted I was like: "What the Fffff! Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? and Where are they going with this?"! Luckily this drama is more like a three-hour movie so I was willing to go for the ride

Here is the set-up. The story is about the last year of high school for a group of 5 teens who grew up together in a large apartment complex. Like most kids, these teens all live in their own little bubbles but those bubbles are about ready to pop because they have to figure out what they are going after they graduate AND the apartment complex is up for sale so they aren't even sure they'll have "home" to come back to once they leave. To add to all this stress one of them, "Ritsu" has been damaged by his emotionally unstable mother who forced him to act like a girl until he finally rebelled when he was around 4 years old. He hates lies and especially hates it when people act in what he considers to be a "fake" manner. Misery loves company, and at this point, he's so unhappy and stressed that he's decided to "expose" all the secrets his friends have been keeping from each other.

I liked it while I was watching even though I wasn't sure what was happening, The episodes were short and I wanted to watch the next one right away. Once I "got" it, I really liked it and was left wanting more! Which in my book is the sign of a good drama.

If you can't handle "adult" themes, bi-curious characters, or if you hate open endings you probably will not like this drama. Because it's set as a "point of view" coming of age story there is no way for us to know what the future will hold for them unless someone writes more seasons. If they do I will be first in line to watch because by the time they graduated I ended up loving all of them as much as they loved each other.

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" Nibiiro no Hako no Naka de " was not the typical rom com school manga adaption. It dealt with more mature concepts and problems than the typical coming of age dramas do.

So, the story starts a bit light, with the youngsters reaching a mile stone in their lives when they will not only have to start thinking about their future, but their friendship as well. The drama then focuses on the young love and how the leading lady has a crush on the boy next door, but is afraid to tell him. The drama takes a darker turn later on, with the addition of more characters and more issues resurfacing. The thing is, however, that the drama let things go out of hand for a while with the complex relationships and secrets. It just felt a bit messy. But, they corrected things in the final episode. Another minus for this drama was that the main couple didn't really have chemistry, though they looked good together, and their performances were great.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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A heart-felt dram on finding love and yourself

This was a mind blowing drama that i can comfortably say i have never seen this storyline before and iy was really good. It does make you think about how well you know others and yourself feelings. This is about 5 kids that grow up together from very young to HS/college. There are always misunderstanding between there feelings for each other. My thoughts on Ritsu is he was sad, lonely and wasn't loved and wanted what other had. Im wondering to myself why his mom made him dress and act as a girl? Was it related to a previous marriage & she attempted suicide and he reminded her or possibility of postpartum depression. I do feel sorry for Ritsu as he never had someone to talk to or love and by watching them and kissing them he felt part of it. When actually in the end he is what brought them back to understand why they felt how they did. Then we have Motoaki a 10y.o. boy who didn't have a mom and was drawn to Ayame playing the violin and became friends. Then one day she leaves him then 10yrs later she comes back and see him as a man. Then slowly she becomes obsessed/angry with him and Miwa then starts spying on all of them. Then we have Miwa who is pretty, smart and lives next door to Motoaki and has always loved him. She finally gets his attention and they have sex but he has a strange look on him then Ayame start to butt in and causes a misunderstanding. Aoi who is fun and cute, but jeousle of her friend Miwa who is pretty and knows who she loves, but doesn't realize that Ritsu is in love.
This causes confusion and Aoi has sex with Satoru a few times trying to get Ritsu attention as she has liked him then finally she has sex with him gets pregnant then has miscarriage. Then the twister is Satoru is also in live with ritsu since they were kids and he dressed as a girl. Wow so much happened in 6 episodes @25min each 2.5hr total and was worth the watch. There so much that i didnt touch or finsh on. Enjoy

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Oh what a tangled web we weave, inside this box where we continue to deceive

Definitely an out-of-the-box type of drama. No pun intended.

This is not a drama for most people. It is not something casual, generally pleasant, or easy. It is a drama that makes you feel uneasy and does not offer simple or generally expected solutions/problems or even characters you can always feel okay rooting for. Even the ending doesn't quite sit right. But, that's what I think they were going for.

Ritsu was definitely not-so-secretly the real main character as well as the twisted thread connecting everyone. He was by no means a moral person and was often difficult to root for though. Despite that, he was quite fascinating and I ended up feeling sympathetic toward him later on.

I think the main draw is how bizarre and eerie this drama is. You can tell just by the music that something is always off.

Representation wise, the complicated love hexagon we got offered some non-heterosexual people as well. We had two Bisexual ML's to my surprise, I saw the tags but I assumed it was only one. It was a nice twist for me. Ritsu was very obvious (lol) and I suspected Satoru and was glad they actually confirmed it instead of keeping me guessing.

With Ritsu you are either going to feel for him or dislike/hate him. Either way, if you are looking for a very interesting watch maybe give this one a go. Just, look at all the tags first for any trigger warnings that may be damaging for you.

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Not Enough Episodes/Time

LIKES:
STORY
- how they tackled adult themes like obsession, voyeurism, sex, pregnancy, blackmail, abuse and how abuse can be recycled.
- the message that only truth and communication can make relationships survive
- how they showed the power of friendship and how selfish a crush can be
- the way they explained that lies to yourself and others just breeds more negativity.
PRODUCTION
- filming and editing were okay, considering the limited episodes and their length.
MUSIC
- was well chosen for the moments of impact, but nothing too memorable
ACTING
- Kamio Fuju was great in his role, but everyone did a good job with what they were given.

DISLIKES:
WRITING: trying to make pedophilia seem like misguided love. Trying to pass off emotional blackmail as a part of growing up. Not enough time to really develop any of the characters or show growth.
TIMING: Some moments dragged on too long and could’ve used the time in a better way.
MUSIC- playing that violin song over and over, it was just too much.

OVERALL:
Fast watch, dark content with mixed messages. I would recommend it, especially due to the complex character of Ritsu. I have watched it again, but wished it was longer or had more episodes.

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Keep watching if you want to know why

At first the show can be very confusing but if you keep watching you will begin to understand the "whys" by ep 4-5. The teenagers in them, the angst, the emotions, the hormones, how can you blame them? I enjoy the complex relationships in this drama - it may never be as crazy IRL but that's why we watch it on TV instead to fulfill our curiosity! It's an interesting show overall. I agree that it does feel a little rushed but it gets the point across in 6 eps. Never underestimate the power of childhoods, childhood friends, and child development.

How can you say no to Kamio Fuju!

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Honestly I'm watching this for Riku Hagiwara. Overall, the plot isnt that bad but I am not sure if ped* sub plot is needed. The story revolving the 5 teenagers are enough imo. It started with the typical girl crushing on a guy who happen to live next door and there are also have been friends since little. Unfortunately, I dont think they have the chemistry to sell that young love. Things get a darker turn and it gets messy. Ritsu though, my boy Ritsu is the star and the catalyst of a lot of things happened between them and boy, he did a great job messing with everyone. lol

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Muy entretenida a pesar de resultar un poquito floja

La historia gira al rededor de cinco chicos que crecieron en el mismo complejo de apartamentos y son amigos desde la infancia. En la actualidad son adolescentes que van a la secundaria y sus relaciones, aunque se mantienen, han cambiado, y uno de ellos parece no llevarse con el resto tan bien como antes, aparentemente porque no ve como algo honesto los vínculos entre los demás.

Si tuviera que definir esta serie en una palabra sería "entretenida". La empecé a ver como para chusmearla un poco y antes de darme cuenta ya estaba desesperada por ver el segundo capítulo debido a una escena que vi en los avances que me dejó en plan "WTF, ¿Vi mal o va a pasar lo que creo?". Ya desde el principio te dan a entender que algo raro está pasando entre los cinco protagonistas, y la forma en la que se relacionan unos con otros te hace preguntarte si no es que hay algo más ahí que no te están diciendo, cosa que te incita a querer ver más (encima son solo 6 capítulos de 23 min c/u, lit te la comés en nada).

Los personajes son diferentes e interesantes, están buenos para variar. A ver, no son la cosa mejor desarrollada que haya visto en mi vida, pero para lo poco que esperaba, están ok. Lo que sí aplaudo es a los actores, porque no me dieron tanta cosita como otros que he visto en historias de este tipo (tal vez porque mis expectativas con los japoneses son muy bajas gracias a que tienden a la sobreactuación jaja).

Al principio no sabía para dónde iban las cosas, no entendía a dónde quería llegar la trama, eso también me mantuvo enganchada (eso y que tuviera partes turbias). Ya para el final todo empieza a tomar forma y es fácil entender lo que quiso hacer el dorama, aunque tal vez hubiera necesitado un poco más de tiempo para desarrollar sus ideas mejor (sobre todo porque se mete con temas delicados o complejos, lo que está buenísimo, porque te muestra un aspecto de las relaciones humanas que no se ve tanto en otras series asiáticas de este estilo).

Hay cosas que quedan muuuuuuy flojas, sí, pero es tan dinámica que vale la pena.

IG de reseñas cortas: @altoplottwist

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