Details

  • Last Online: 59 minutes ago
  • Location: in my Pillowfort
  • Contribution Points: 7 LV1
  • Roles:
  • Join Date: December 18, 2023
  • Awards Received: Flower Award2

Saeng

in my Pillowfort

Saeng

in my Pillowfort
Juhan Shuttai! japanese drama review
Completed
Juhan Shuttai!
1 people found this review helpful
by Saeng
Mar 9, 2024
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 10
Story 10.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This is a workplace story, set in the manga publishing industry -- with all its struggles in the early 2010s.

Why I gave ten points:
* The main character was quirky, energetic and enthusiastic, without being annoying. These traits were balanced with a grounding earnestness to understand and to grow.
* Overall, the show has a positive outlook on life and work, it is a Japanese-typical "ganbarimasu"-type of story. This, too, is balanced with scenes of failure, of darkness that lives within people, of sadness and introspection. Not everything is roses here, just like in Real Life.
* During the unfolding events, we get to grow close all of the characters, mangaka and editors alike. Some are more multi-faceted than others, but they all have their individual characteristics. Many of the characters get some chance to grow, sometimes in subtle ways -- which is an accomplishment to show for so many characters in such a short time.
* I liked that different sub-storylines connected to others, sometimes just for a few moments, sometimes longer.
* No Romance! It's about the characters and their journey, their interactions as colleagues and/or as editor-and-mangaka. (There is one scene when one character sends some glances in another character's direction which could be seen as some kind of romantic interest, but that's never acknowledged, and it's only the one time.)
* The struggles in the storylines were all either internal struggles of a person or issues of the publishing industry. There were no external conflicts, no "evil" people -- in short, no unnecessary drama.
* The length of the drama was just right for the storyline. It doesn't need more, but if it was shorter, the atmosphere would probably suffer.

All in all, I recommend the series, which has an overall optimistic tone balanced by darker and more sombre parts, which make a well-rounded story, with a small plot twist in the last episode.

[This is a very slightly edited version of my review on Viki.]
Was this review helpful to you?