This review may contain spoilers
A Promising Premise with Flawed Execution
**Mild spoilers**
The Human Vapor is a reboot of the 1960s film of the same name. I haven't seen the original, but the drama leans heavily into a retro aesthetic through its cinematography and costumes. I initially found this confusing since much of the story takes place in the modern era.
From the trailer, I expected a violent, gory crime thriller centered around The Human Vapor. Instead, the violence is surprisingly PG-13, and the titular character is criminally underutilized. Rather than driving the story, The Human Vapor is relegated to a supporting role and used as a pawn by others. The plot instead focuses on conspiracies and revenge with predictable storylines and character arcs. Honestly, I felt a little bait-and-switched. The story is also bogged down by questionable writing and character decisions. Some choices are so illogical that they made it difficult to take the plot seriously.
The Human Vapor's origin story had a lot of potential. They could have easily made him the driving force behind the murders, but instead, the story takes a more convoluted direction that ultimately pulls the spotlight away from him and puts it on a dislikable female lead. Despite everything she does, she still gets a relatively happy ending that, in my opinion, isn't deserved. Oguri Shun's character is similarly frustrating, spending most of the series doing very little of consequence.
The drama is the most interesting whenever The Human Vapor is actually involved. I also enjoyed the streaming sibling duo's storyline, which I found to be the most compelling part of the series. There are also unexpectedly funny moments that caught me by surprise, which felt like such a Japanese touch to me.
Overall, The Human Vapor had an intriguing premise, but it ultimately feels like a missed opportunity. The drama is still a decent watch, but it definitely didn't meet my expectations.
The Human Vapor is a reboot of the 1960s film of the same name. I haven't seen the original, but the drama leans heavily into a retro aesthetic through its cinematography and costumes. I initially found this confusing since much of the story takes place in the modern era.
From the trailer, I expected a violent, gory crime thriller centered around The Human Vapor. Instead, the violence is surprisingly PG-13, and the titular character is criminally underutilized. Rather than driving the story, The Human Vapor is relegated to a supporting role and used as a pawn by others. The plot instead focuses on conspiracies and revenge with predictable storylines and character arcs. Honestly, I felt a little bait-and-switched. The story is also bogged down by questionable writing and character decisions. Some choices are so illogical that they made it difficult to take the plot seriously.
The Human Vapor's origin story had a lot of potential. They could have easily made him the driving force behind the murders, but instead, the story takes a more convoluted direction that ultimately pulls the spotlight away from him and puts it on a dislikable female lead. Despite everything she does, she still gets a relatively happy ending that, in my opinion, isn't deserved. Oguri Shun's character is similarly frustrating, spending most of the series doing very little of consequence.
The drama is the most interesting whenever The Human Vapor is actually involved. I also enjoyed the streaming sibling duo's storyline, which I found to be the most compelling part of the series. There are also unexpectedly funny moments that caught me by surprise, which felt like such a Japanese touch to me.
Overall, The Human Vapor had an intriguing premise, but it ultimately feels like a missed opportunity. The drama is still a decent watch, but it definitely didn't meet my expectations.
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