HomeScreen Alchemist

This movie was released way before the terms "Mandela Effect", "Glitch in the Matrix" and "Timeline Shift" became popular. It's great to watch it right now when many people right now are experiencing a pretty much similar phenomenon, although mostly in milder sense.

Rena (kanji: 玲奈) is often interpreted as "beautiful like a jewel" or "the sound of jewels," symbolizing grace and purity. ❤️

I'd go hard on him but only at a certain level (because he's too "privileged" to ever get a main lead role without having enough acting talent/ability and experience to support him). But my main frustration & disgust is aimed at the AMUSE agency. They're the one who ruined this drama. Maybe because they have the publishing rights of the original manga. Then they decided to use this drama mainly as a promo tool for their Timeloss boyband/idol group thing and most likely they kinda forced the Masaki guy to do the main role (that he didn't even feel excited to do).

Where is she now??

Just watched episode 4 so far, and wow it was really good! I have a feeling they are based on true/actual stories (that cannot be exposed because the talents are still active in the industry) that had to be "fictionalized" to some degree. Kawaguchi Haruna's role here as Hirata Kanade is still very much a lovable sweet character too, although presented in a different angle.

Need to see more of Mitsushima Nazuna (who played the role of Akari-chan) in more dramas & movie. She's naturally cute 😍 and her acting is also really good. She can act with nuance in facial expression. Very talented!

There's nothing wrong with Riho Yoshioka. She has won numerous awards for her acting. Most people prefer to watch a better actress, because a movie is live, so acting matters.

As a fan of both Aju Makita & Yuri Tsunematsu, I'm looking forward to this.

I'd recommend Scandal Eve (another Abema TV original, currently airing on Netflix). It's really dark, intense & serious. Not for everyone, but worth a try.

This is an atypical horror movie with some obvious gnostic, esoteric understanding of reality thrown in (Life is an illusion, we live in an inverted version of the illusion where suffering & sacrifices are "needed" to maintain that illusion, etc.). Many Japanese manga & anime movies are deep into that theme, and they are more embraced and understood by the readers, watchers & fans of that genre. But in horror genre, I guess not so much. Those who normally watch horror genre are for the scares and thrills, and not quite interested in finding the allegorical meaning in the story or anything.

My miso soup tastes different after I watched this. 😕

Naturally kawaii!! 😍
Watching her in the drama Hirayasumi.

Yes. Judging from the various open locations, etc. this seems to have a large budget for the production, it's certainly larger than Miss King & many other "normal" dramas. So Abema has to have a "mission" to spread the awareness & message to a large number of audience through this drama. It's crazy to think otherwise. They also screened the first 2 episodes at Tokyo International Film Festival.

Episode 2 offers a lot more 'clarity' to the whole story (which is really good as an exposé, because it points to the actual reality within the industry). If only we could endure watching a bit longer without being triggered by the gripping dark atmosphere & gut-wrenching plot portrayed in the drama, that could cause in throwing tantrums for some.

At the end of episode 2, Kawaguchi Haruna started to become a "good girl" 😁 (although not quite to the level of her usual roles as "romantic-drama sweetheart").

I feel that Abema has been trying to "out-wow" WOWOW in terms of production quality & content with their latest dramas, like Miss King and this one. Both Scandal Eve & Miss King can work as "a pair" because they both touch the shadowy darkness within the mainstream showbiz / entertainment industry especially in the talent agency system (check out my review of Miss King).
https://mydramalist.com/796860-miss-king/reviews

Miss King uses Shogi as an allegory, but Scandal Eve seems to dive explicitly into the actual darkness. An exposé. It may be too dark for some, but I think it's needed so that many young & naive talents (normally start from the "idol" scene or teen models) may not get lured so easily into exploitation just because they did not read the fine prints of their contracts.

Miss King is a solid drama. I promised myself to write a review of it, and did that finally. Basically to make my point why it deserves a high rating. Please check that out.
https://mydramalist.com/796860-miss-king/reviews

Since early episodes, I had a feeling that this is a kind of drama that will not be everyone's cup of tea, because it does not follow the same program/pattern being pushed in the mainstream entertainment industry by countless other movies & serial-dramas. In the review I made a connection between shogi and the mainstream entertainment/showbiz industry, because I found that whoever came up with the story of Miss King, seems to use shogi as an allegory.

I wrote this in my review: This is a positive drama about courage to face and overcome seemingly impossible challenges. The description of "revenge" here is more about "taking the power back" or "reclaiming what was once lost", and certainly not the "bring everyone who put me down into the pit of hell" type of revenge.

Abema TV has another "dark-type drama" airing on Netflix right after Miss King ends. It's called "Scandal Eve". I'm keeping an eye on this, because the stories might have been "inspired by" real scandals in Japanese mainstream entertainment industry.

[updated 5 December 2025]
I've made comparison between this and Miss King because they both touch the shadowy darkness within the mainstream showbiz / entertainment industry especially in the talent agency system (check out my review of Miss King where I address the allegorical meaning of the story).

Miss King uses Shogi as an allegory, but Scandal Eve seems to dive explicitly into the actual darkness within the industry itself, and it dives beyond the "reported scandals" in the gossip magazines. An exposé if you will. I'd say it is a very good and intriguing drama.

[updated 22 December 2025]
I just posted the review of Scandal Eve, check it out [no spoiler]:
https://mydramalist.com/profile/HomeScreenAlchemist/review/521994

I'd like to see more direct interactions & conversations between the characters played by Yui Narumi and Anna Yamada here, or even in the next drama or movie where they can play together. They both have strong screen presence and "inner attractiveness". I really like Yui's acting in "After The Quake" (first time watching her in that), and then also in "Miss King" with Non. I can feel a dash of sadness or melancholy in her eyes, that could fit to play a character with complex personality, someone who would hide her true feelings (not always have to be a dark/depressive one). I'd like to see Yui being picked up to play larger roles, even a main one in the future.
https://mydramalist.com/photos/81Ol62_3

Yes indeed. She still looks stunningly youthful and cute at 32. But to be honest I miss her natural innocent look in "Amachan" (she was 19 at that time). https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_MRGDWUCjJg