20
34
7
WandereR
Borneo
“dele”? [Yes/No]
dele.Life is a company established by Sakagami Keishi where he and Mashiba Yutaro provide the service of fulfilling the contractual requests of their clients for complete removal of their personal information upon their demise. In other words, the deletion of digital data or “relics” that is present in their electronic devices. Hence the term dele, which means to delete. This process is complicated and fraught with uncertainty, intrigue and suspense as it involves verification of the clients’ supposed deaths, the potential for consequential impact of the content in question and ultimately uncovering the truth of the deceased's final wishes.
dele is a mixed media project, meaning a production involving the medium of literary works and television dramas, entitled Project Page Turner. Initiated by crime novelist Takayoshi Honda and screenwriter-novelist Kazuki Kaneshiro, with the backing of entertainment company Kadokawa Co. Ltd, the TV drama was produced first before the completion of the novel, also of the same name.
A TV Asahi production that is directed by Taketa Tsunehiro (BG: Personal Bodyguard series) and Tomoyuki Takimoto, who also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Takayoshi Honda, Kazuki Kaneshiro (BORDER series), Takeshi Aoshima (Avalanche), Tomihiko Tokunaga (Aibou, Iryuu Sousa), and Yusuke Watanabe (Gantz, Attack on Titan). The experienced Keisuke Imamura (Avalanche) serves as cinematographer while prolific composer Taisei Iwasaki and music producer DJ Mitsu The Beats contributed to the original score and soundtrack.
This drama garnered an impressive list of accolades which includes the 56th Galaxy Award for September 2018, 13th Confidence Award Drama Awards’ leading actor and grand prize for both male leads, 98th Television Drama Academy Awards’ director awards, 27th Hashida Award for leading actor and Tokyo Drama Award 2019 for drama excellence.
What I Loved
The premise of the drama, the narrative for each episode, and the underlying themes featured. I was hooked from the get-go. This is perhaps the most fascinating application of the episodic format that I have come across in recent memory. Each episode is unique, imbued with its own distinctively compelling and poignant exposition that is conveyed with a specific storytelling approach, filming style, atmospherics, side characters and even music. All 8 episodes contribute to the character growth of the two male leads and their partnership dynamics, yet stylistically they give the impression of an anthology drama with 8 vastly different mini-stories. Divergent yet cohesive, disparate without lacking coherence. Kudos to the screenwriters for the smart writing and creative approach in reinventing familiar themes to be presented over the course of the drama.
The technical execution, which is reminiscent of a film production but in a drama format. I’ve seen a few TV Asahi productions recently and they never cease to amaze me with their quality, which is the case here as well. The drama appears very cinematic indeed, especially in terms of the direction, cinematography and editing. The experienced cinematographer, Keisuke Imamura, showcases a variety of filming techniques throughout. In certain episodes, he favours long takes of back-to-the-camera shots while in others, he employs close-ups and tilted angles to capture the sense of disorientation as experienced by characters in scenes. In terms of the editing, dele is one of the rare dramas that adopts an extensive range of editing techniques including prolonged fades in scene transitions as well as match cuts, to name a few. These variations in photography and editing methods are not just used for the sake of diversity but are put to good effect in complementing and enhancing the storylines across all episodes.
The soundtrack for dele is one of the most eclectic that I have heard in a drama production. The mix of music genres is extensive and establishes the atmospherics of the narrative. Comprising big band music, jazz numbers, classical pieces, and contemporary fusion, I’ve enjoyed the music as much as I have appreciated the storytelling and for the most part, both aspects go very well together.
The aforementioned technical excellence certainly contributes towards enabling viewers to develop the necessary emotional connection to the individual stories as well as building an attachment to the various characters. The excellent execution would be meaningless without the accompanying emotive impact and this is where dele has succeeded for me. The drama excels in articulating the complexities of the human drama and emotions in a manner that is riveting, evocative, provocative, introspective, reflective and contemplative for viewers, IMHO.
The already well written characterizations are elevated further through the fine performances of the main cast. In particular, Suda Masaki who had me in complete shock and awe at his portrayal of the affable, warm and upbeat Mashiba Yutaro. I have never encountered such a character before and in a central role, no less. It’s my first time seeing this actor in action and let me tell you, his acting is absolutely phenomenal for he truly infuses this eccentric goofball with a lot of heart and soul. His physicality or rather flexibility is astounding as well with the numerous parkour-like stunts that he executes to near-perfection. Aside from the unkempt long hair, I have absolutely no criticism of the fine work that he has done here.
Yamada Takayuki plays the co-lead, Sakagami Keishi. He is an exceptionally versatile leading actor, as evidenced by his interpretation of the role here. Despite being more understated than his co-star, he skillfully projects the nuances and air of mystery that make his wheelchair-bound character a fascinating feature of the plot that arouses much curiosity in viewers. It’s worth mentioning that the slick choreography of his fight scenes performed from the wheelchair is one of the highlights for me.
The supporting and guest cast who appear in this production are certainly deserving of mention as well. The elegant Aso Kumiko, who plays the managing partner of the law firm that sponsors dele.Life and sister to Sakagami Keishi, Sakagami Mai, is convincing as the level-headed and assertive lawyer. The veterans Yo Kimiko and Takahashi Genichiro impressed me with their painfully heart-wrenching portrayals of Esumi Sachiko and Urata Fumio respectively in one of my favourite segments of the drama that is episode 3. Hashimoto Ai makes a breathtakingly scene-stealing appearance as the stunning Kusunose Yuriko while Shibasaki Ko provides subtlety and finesse with her take on Sawatari Akina in episode 5. Episode 7, which exudes whodunit vibes, features Nimura Sawa’s enigmatic Miyagawa Akane and a strong performance by Tsukomoto Shinya as the death row convict Sasamoto Seiichi. Maro Akaji, the kindly grandfather from Lupin no Musume, makes a memorable guest appearance in the highly-charged finale.
Final Thoughts
This goes into my list of all-time favourites as one of the more unique J-dorama productions that I’ve had the pleasure to watch. My favourite stories are from episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 in particular. Exceptionally produced, brilliantly written and wonderfully acted, dele is certainly deserving of recommendation and perhaps even international distribution on major OTT platforms.
dele is a mixed media project, meaning a production involving the medium of literary works and television dramas, entitled Project Page Turner. Initiated by crime novelist Takayoshi Honda and screenwriter-novelist Kazuki Kaneshiro, with the backing of entertainment company Kadokawa Co. Ltd, the TV drama was produced first before the completion of the novel, also of the same name.
A TV Asahi production that is directed by Taketa Tsunehiro (BG: Personal Bodyguard series) and Tomoyuki Takimoto, who also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Takayoshi Honda, Kazuki Kaneshiro (BORDER series), Takeshi Aoshima (Avalanche), Tomihiko Tokunaga (Aibou, Iryuu Sousa), and Yusuke Watanabe (Gantz, Attack on Titan). The experienced Keisuke Imamura (Avalanche) serves as cinematographer while prolific composer Taisei Iwasaki and music producer DJ Mitsu The Beats contributed to the original score and soundtrack.
This drama garnered an impressive list of accolades which includes the 56th Galaxy Award for September 2018, 13th Confidence Award Drama Awards’ leading actor and grand prize for both male leads, 98th Television Drama Academy Awards’ director awards, 27th Hashida Award for leading actor and Tokyo Drama Award 2019 for drama excellence.
What I Loved
The premise of the drama, the narrative for each episode, and the underlying themes featured. I was hooked from the get-go. This is perhaps the most fascinating application of the episodic format that I have come across in recent memory. Each episode is unique, imbued with its own distinctively compelling and poignant exposition that is conveyed with a specific storytelling approach, filming style, atmospherics, side characters and even music. All 8 episodes contribute to the character growth of the two male leads and their partnership dynamics, yet stylistically they give the impression of an anthology drama with 8 vastly different mini-stories. Divergent yet cohesive, disparate without lacking coherence. Kudos to the screenwriters for the smart writing and creative approach in reinventing familiar themes to be presented over the course of the drama.
The technical execution, which is reminiscent of a film production but in a drama format. I’ve seen a few TV Asahi productions recently and they never cease to amaze me with their quality, which is the case here as well. The drama appears very cinematic indeed, especially in terms of the direction, cinematography and editing. The experienced cinematographer, Keisuke Imamura, showcases a variety of filming techniques throughout. In certain episodes, he favours long takes of back-to-the-camera shots while in others, he employs close-ups and tilted angles to capture the sense of disorientation as experienced by characters in scenes. In terms of the editing, dele is one of the rare dramas that adopts an extensive range of editing techniques including prolonged fades in scene transitions as well as match cuts, to name a few. These variations in photography and editing methods are not just used for the sake of diversity but are put to good effect in complementing and enhancing the storylines across all episodes.
The soundtrack for dele is one of the most eclectic that I have heard in a drama production. The mix of music genres is extensive and establishes the atmospherics of the narrative. Comprising big band music, jazz numbers, classical pieces, and contemporary fusion, I’ve enjoyed the music as much as I have appreciated the storytelling and for the most part, both aspects go very well together.
The aforementioned technical excellence certainly contributes towards enabling viewers to develop the necessary emotional connection to the individual stories as well as building an attachment to the various characters. The excellent execution would be meaningless without the accompanying emotive impact and this is where dele has succeeded for me. The drama excels in articulating the complexities of the human drama and emotions in a manner that is riveting, evocative, provocative, introspective, reflective and contemplative for viewers, IMHO.
The already well written characterizations are elevated further through the fine performances of the main cast. In particular, Suda Masaki who had me in complete shock and awe at his portrayal of the affable, warm and upbeat Mashiba Yutaro. I have never encountered such a character before and in a central role, no less. It’s my first time seeing this actor in action and let me tell you, his acting is absolutely phenomenal for he truly infuses this eccentric goofball with a lot of heart and soul. His physicality or rather flexibility is astounding as well with the numerous parkour-like stunts that he executes to near-perfection. Aside from the unkempt long hair, I have absolutely no criticism of the fine work that he has done here.
Yamada Takayuki plays the co-lead, Sakagami Keishi. He is an exceptionally versatile leading actor, as evidenced by his interpretation of the role here. Despite being more understated than his co-star, he skillfully projects the nuances and air of mystery that make his wheelchair-bound character a fascinating feature of the plot that arouses much curiosity in viewers. It’s worth mentioning that the slick choreography of his fight scenes performed from the wheelchair is one of the highlights for me.
The supporting and guest cast who appear in this production are certainly deserving of mention as well. The elegant Aso Kumiko, who plays the managing partner of the law firm that sponsors dele.Life and sister to Sakagami Keishi, Sakagami Mai, is convincing as the level-headed and assertive lawyer. The veterans Yo Kimiko and Takahashi Genichiro impressed me with their painfully heart-wrenching portrayals of Esumi Sachiko and Urata Fumio respectively in one of my favourite segments of the drama that is episode 3. Hashimoto Ai makes a breathtakingly scene-stealing appearance as the stunning Kusunose Yuriko while Shibasaki Ko provides subtlety and finesse with her take on Sawatari Akina in episode 5. Episode 7, which exudes whodunit vibes, features Nimura Sawa’s enigmatic Miyagawa Akane and a strong performance by Tsukomoto Shinya as the death row convict Sasamoto Seiichi. Maro Akaji, the kindly grandfather from Lupin no Musume, makes a memorable guest appearance in the highly-charged finale.
Final Thoughts
This goes into my list of all-time favourites as one of the more unique J-dorama productions that I’ve had the pleasure to watch. My favourite stories are from episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 in particular. Exceptionally produced, brilliantly written and wonderfully acted, dele is certainly deserving of recommendation and perhaps even international distribution on major OTT platforms.
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