This drama is a parody with a heart + all the cheesiness that comes with it.
I gotta say it took me a while to get invested in it and care about the characters, the band members. I enjoyed it on an episodic basis. Something light and funny, to watch after a long hard day without much to think about. However, as I started to see more of the main and recurring characters, I did grew fond of them. And by episode 7-8 I realized there was a solid storyline being built up, and everything becomes clear by episode 10.
The plot is about Tatsuya a rookie detective who gets wrapped up into becoming an idol in a boy band, in order to infiltrate the entertainment industry, and catch a powerful figure there. The band members are all colourful individuals, we've got the creepy, the loser, the dumb one, the cool one, and the hopeless romantic. Honestly the one I had the hardest time with is the creepy stalker, but his character grew best of all, along Tatsuya. It was great seeing each member get influence or swayed by the show-biz and how they learn to deal with it.
First and foremost, this drama is a parody of talk-shows and idol programs, and how ridiculous they can be. It's also about the people in the show-biz industry and how far they're willing to go for popularity. The music used in the show perfectly matched the world they're portraying.
I think what I enjoyed the most is the acting. It's over the top fitting perfectly with the premise. Nakamura Aoi was hilarious and perfect for the role. He says every single cheesy line there, and was the most fun to have on screen. Matching Tatsuya's cheesiness is Aoyama Misato's craziness for the sake of popularity. Morinaga Yuki was also noteworthy as desperate Teru. Kataoka Tsurutaro as the ex-drama star and current public figure was great at mirroring both sides of his contradicting characters. The rest of the cast were on point with their characters. I think it tool a while for the chemistry to get built up between the cast, but once it's there, everything in the show started to feel much more endearing.
One weakness here is that the show takes a long while to get us hooked up. I guess if things had happened a bit faster with the overarching plot, it would engage viewers faster. Another that could be considered a weakness, depending on preferences, but they did go a bit too seriously in the last 2-3 episodes. Episode 10 was especially serious with a whole different tone. It would've been nicer to keep the tone light.
In the end if you're a person who enjoys parody shows, talk shows and game shows, you might find this interesting, and even fun.
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