Meari21

I’m talking about their network TV productions that are relatively low budget in comparison to K-dramas and C-dramas. Most of them don’t look cinematic because they use a different frame rate, color grading, and cameras. If you compare a typical drama from TBS to a Netflix produced drama like Makanai, you can see a huge difference in the camera movements, cinematography, and overall look of the dramas. It’s not that they’re not capable of producing higher quality content it’s just that they don’t have the budget and are inclined to stick to what’s already the norm for Japanese network TV. But if you want global appeal, that has to change because people are visual creatures. The way a movie or show looks matter to the general audience. Netflix produced J-dramas look as if they’re filmed using equipment and techniques for filmmaking and that adds to their appeal. Japan takes inspiration from other cultures as well. They’ve taken hamburger and made a version of their own. Many Japanese street foods are foreign-inspired. They can learn from Hollywood as well as Hollywood can learn from them. Okada pitched this project to Netflix because he wants the international attention. Kaku Kento said the same thing and even worked with an American showrunner to create House of Ninjas. They worked with Korean productions to make Romantics Anonymous.

Battle Royale was also one of the reasons why we have Kill Bill. Quentin Tarantino was heavily inspired by Japanese cinema (as well as Hong Kong cinema) that he patterned a lot of his movies from them including Battle Royale. We have Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) because of that movie. This little known movie inspired filmmakers and writers worldwide. It’s just that most younger generations or those who don’t really watch Japanese films are oblivious to its existence and only know Squid Game because of its massive popularity. I, for one, don’t belittle SG’s achievements. It did help introduce this genre to those who were not familiar with it and it’s good on its own. What irks me is when other people dismiss other death game works as just another copycat when it is the copycat. They even conveniently forgot about The Hunger Games that came before it, which was clearly inspired by Battle Royale and Ender’s Game. It’s alright to compare and see similarities between these works. But it’s also alright to inform or give suggestions to others who enjoy such works as they might enjoy these recommendations too. It’s not fine to accuse other works of plagiarism and make assumptions before doing some research, though. Google is free. Information is easily accessible these days.

I agree. If this gets cancelled by Netflix, it's done for. This project was pitched specifically to Netflix with the intent of releasing it globally. Okada Junichi didn't want this to stay in the Japanese market. His end goal is to revive the chanbara trend and make it mainstream in Hollywood again. Samurai films became huge in Hollywood when the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese and their corresponding productions bought the distribution rights for Kurosawa Akira's films and released them in the States. Their local network productions simply don't want to invest this much money on a TV project. They even use the same filming styles they used a decade ago - to my frustration - because that's what they're used to and are reluctant to really change. Sanada Hiroyuki mentioned that about working with the local crew for Shogun. He said that he's glad that the crew was able to adapt to the western style of filming and have learned a lot from it. Movies are a different matter, though. They seem to invest more in their films and their films are much better in quality production-wise. So I don't wonder why stars like Okada are now looking to Netflix/Disney to help them produce their shows. I don't think this series will be cancelled though. 1899 was cancelled because it didn't do well commercially and critically. It didn't live up to expectations. It just wasn't on the same level as Dark.

Oh yes, Kaiji too! The recruitment process and prize money angle in Squid Game is the same as in Kaiji. They target people in debt too. And Kaiji is one of the first death game manga released in the 90’s. The children’s games they play in SG are similar to the ones in the ATGW, the player numbers and setting are from Deadman Wonderland, and the all out violence from Battle Royale.

I actually remembered Deadman Wonderland when I watched the first episode of Squid Game. The only difference is DW has sci-fi/fantasy elements to it. The players were experimented on and they developed the ability to control their blood, allowing them to use their blood as weapons. It's also in a dystopian setting, after a great earthquake that sank the whole of Tokyo so Japan became a kind of warzone. Squid Game is more grounded and has zero fantasy elements unlike DW, AIB or the ATGW. It's more like Liar Game but with children's games and people get killed if they lose. Like I said, SG is a combination of many death game tropes. The creator may refuse to admit it but I know he was heavily influenced by Japanese manga when he wrote SG. Heck, he was probably influenced by the Hunger Games too. The similarities are too glaring.

It’s typical. The betting part is typical too. Deadman Wonderland also had VIPs who betted on enhanced individuals they forced to fight to the death in an arena like gladiators. They were assigned numbers according to the order in which they were recruited to join the game. They were also "kidnapped" and brought to this secure and isolated area they couldn't leave, nobody knows where this facility is either. They were turned into prisoners and given this neck collar that tracked them and killed them if they tried to escape or broke the rules. And the big baddie isn't as simple as just someone who wants to see people die and make money. Sounds familiar? That manga was released in 2007. If they make a live action version of that, it would be awesome. The anime didn’t do it justice. Squid Game, to me, is a combination of many death games manga/novels I've read in the last 25 years. It doesn't have a single original idea to it. So if anything, it’s the Japanese that should file lawsuits. But they don’t because at the end of the day, it's just a good reimagining of this genre imho. Still enjoyable.

Some people were also up in arms accusing Alice in Borderland of ripping off Squid Game not realizing that the first season of AIB was released a year earlier and the manga was written years before that. I got exhausted trying to explain to people that it was Squid Game that may have copied elements from As the Gods Will as the characters have to play traditional Japanese children’s games and are killed off if they lose. That movie was released in 2014 and the manga was serialized in 2011. Death games has been a common trope in Japanese manga since the 1990’s. Japanese manga are popular in Korea so it’s possible the creator of Squid Game was influenced by that. Last Samurai Standing is also based on a manga. And the number of players in LSS is 292 not 456. I enjoyed the first season of Squid Game though. But as a manga reader, the plot was not unique to me.

If I'm not mistaken, Squid Game won an Emmy, so it's possible.

He has the potential. I also thought he was one of those actors that can only do stoic characters but he has this one scene in the drama where he cries and I was surprised at how raw his emotions were. He's definitely not good yet. But he could be. I only finished the show because I speed-watched through it. lol

Btw, I am looking forward to that Shinsengumi drama. It stars Yamada Yuki and it also has an all-star cast. It's under U-NEXT but it's crucial that they partner with a major international streaming platform for distribution if they want it to gain traction globally. If they don't, it's just going to be available outside Japan through illegal means. I used to watch J-dramas through fan-subber sites because they were not available anywhere and I had no means to watch them if I didn't resort to pirate sites. Unfortunately, there are still J-dramas that cannot be watched legally outside Japan because they don't have international distribution.

I don't think so. Shogun was a massive success. Granted that it was an FX production that was distributed by Disney, it was still a Japanese creation as it was executively produced by Sanada Hiroyuki and the crew were all Japanese. And Japanese movies that are promoted heavily outside of Japan like Godzilla Minus One become blockbuster hits. It's just that they (including their goverment) don't make a concerted effort to promote their content outside Japan. Even Japanese music artists say that themselves. That's why bands like One OK Rock learned English and consistently toured outside of Japan with the intention to promote their music worldwide. After years of touring, it paid off. Not many Japanese rock bands do this unfortunately. Sure, most popular local Japanese artists don't need it if they're not thinking in a global scale and are just content being popular at home. The popularity of Japanese music worldwide in comparison to K-pop is just a trickle of water next to a rushing stream. You don't hear J-pop on the radio every hour every single day on mainstream radio outside Japan. It's only recently that Japanese productions are making the effort to go global. TBS for example recently signed a deal with Netflix for distribution of their dramas. Fuji TV followed suit, if I'm not mistaken. I believe NHK is trying this with Amazon too. But TvN signed a deal with Netflix as early as 2017. They also partnered with streaming services like Viu and Viki. I believe MBC did the same. They've been at this almost a decade before and it has reaped benefits. I'm betting Japanese companies saw this and said, we want some of that success.

He did. He produced it himself and partnered with Netflix. Kaku Kento did the same for House of Ninjas. These are their pet projects but they couldn't get sufficient funding and support from local production companies and networks so they pitched them to Netflix. Junichi said that many Japanese actors are now doing this to bring Japanese content to the global stage because their own production companies are not making the effort. This is the difference between J-ent and K-ent. Korean productions, with the full support of their government, had been trying to become global for 2 decades and now they are. K-dramas and K-pop didn't become popular simply because they're good, everything was planned out and carefully curated. This is the soft power that their government has always wanted all along.

Btw, guys. If you want to increase the rating on this drama, you have to register your account and rate each episode.

Most MDL users might be sleeping on this but the fact that it’s the number 1 most watched show on Netflix right now means it’s gaining traction worldwide. This is a certified hit. Okada Junichi left a message on his official X (formerly Twitter) account to thank the fans for its surprising viewership numbers. https://x.com/j_okada_aiston/status/1989942313259594077?s=46

Yes. Yang Yang + Song Wei Long = another annoyingly good looking actor with the acting chops to boot. lol

Oh! So I guess I'll have to wait until December. Thank you for answering.

The cast in this is perfection! They made Ito Hideaki grossly unattractive and terrifying when that man used to be one of the hottest heartthrobs in Japan and still is at 50 years of age. They did the same to Abe Hiroshi. He was barely unrecognizable as Gentosai. In fact, a lot of the cast are highly popular actors who were either idols or teen hearthrobs back in the day. Well, I like everyone except Higashide Masahiro. lol

Does it end on a cliffhanger? Because if it does, I will just wait until part 2 is released and then binge the whole thing.

Probably because he’s supposed to be a surprise and a teaser for season 2.

Yep. And they say that they knew exactly who was going to die. I wonder if they knew that a character that was built up to be a serious contender would die. I sure as hell didn’t. I thought he’d last a few more episodes at least. I’m beginning to think this reviewer watched a different drama.