A rare gem from NTV
Nippon TV, home to not just Detective Conan but also originated Dragons Den/Shark Tank, has scripted drama as its weakest link. A lot of them are unserious about script quality. NTV often sees actors succeed elsewhere and "headhunts" them immediately only to give them a subpar project - as they did with Gakki after Nigehaji, with the whole Weakest Beasts debacle. She's really cut back on TV work since, eh. And worst of all, NTV was disrespectful enough to cause the serious situation with Sexy Ms Tanaka's author, and then issued a whole investigation report that conveniently shames she who can no longer defend herself.But about once every 10-12 years, there'd be a really good NTV drama in the most heartwarming way, where all their usual shortfalls go away. The last time this happened for me was 2015's Angel Heart, where NTV as home to the City Hunter franchise had enough respect to do an excellent series focused on Shinjuku as the fringe of normie society, that show has excellent unforced story arcs and is written about all the things that matter in life...
Both of those praises also apply to A Moonlight Nights Passing. You can see why Haru chose this over season 3 of The Unresolved Women. This is the meatiest role she's gotten in a VERY long time, probably the first since the psychopath she played in ON. She's otherwise almost always typecast in roles that don't serve her. She's excellent here, playing someone who's very world-weary, has preparations for any scenario and holds the cards close to her chest, for a reason you will see in episode 1. In a freak coincidence, even her character's name coincides with a US current event.
Aso Kumiko is one of my favorite actresses, she's probably too pretty and too glowing for her character, but that glow in and of itself helps hold our attention. The first half of the show's centered on her, the second half is on Haru's character, because the source material are 2 novels. NTV dramas often have a way of absolutely abandoning structure by episode 8 or 9, and like I said before, fortunately that didn't happen, the pacing and strength of narrative is unusually good for that network.
This show is a hybrid of multiple genres and that's the result of hewing to what the audience wants to watch. The modern audience, regardless of age, usually could use a mystery to carry their attention, even when the main event is romance or slice of life or whatever, and so we get that in most episodes. It's very Detective Conan in exposition, depth and speed - you can see Haru as Conan and maybe a police detective asking her all the right questions to explain her case. Also, like the 2006 NTV manga-based drama, Kuitan, Haru often solves the mystery by eating.
You can still tell it's NTV - they could've shot the key art using the awesome car in the show, but typical to NTV, they just couldn't hit that level of consistency. But a good NTV drama is rare. It's like witnessing Halley's comet. I'm counting down the 12 years to the next one.
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Great social commentary that's gone unnoticed in a peak Lakorn
This is my all-time favorite, peak Lakorn. It comes from an era when writers (or the source material) really wanted to say something, and find ways to seamlessly intergrate them into the story. Most Lakorns have to reward good folks, and let the negative villains fail, but it's really done in a very natural way here, while maintaining delicious delicacy and clarity between the different clusters of characters, and running multiple arcs among them, entangling them with each other. Re-watching this makes me realize many 2020s Lakorns seem to miss this level of intricacy and characterization. Wanting to do the right thing pits children against parents or in-law, police against media, even lover against ex-lover, and also formerly rich kids against people like their past selves, etc. That's an incredible web they've woven.I'm a New Age kind of guy and I'm very familiar with real life people who have the intuitive and healing forces that Margie's Auer possesses. Which, btw, she's much more convincing in this role than playing a lady boss. I wish she'd gotten typecast as this. It's great fun watching my spirituality represented on Thai TV. As "Kim" acquires black magic, her abilities also pit her against him for dramatic tension. Nowhere else on TV will you see the love interest tell a guy named Krod to "Mai krod" - if rage is in his name then how can he not rage? If Krod doesn't krod then is he still Krod? (yes, but it's great fun so watch for yourself if you can find this show :)
There's a ton of social commentary in Arkom. My favorite is its rightful indictment of businesspeople. Whenever in Bangkok, I'd still go to Seacon Bangkae where filming took place, like a fanboy I would willfully call it "Decha Mall" as it is in the show, and go to the specific atrium and Mr. DIY where stories took place. Now, almost 10 years on, conglomerates are IMO downright out of control in Thai society and looking more and more like the villains in this show. Don't you wish we had Kim for real to gently work his Arkom on the top 3 richest families?
This show is just so on-point throughout, bar a small stretch of arc in the last 1/3 that felt hasty, e.g. with the supercar causing an accident. I love the casting. James Ma is great in his Oliver Queen-inflected role, I love Alex Rendell in this, I even love the mall owner Decha, to say nothing of stalwarts like Johnny Anfone who always know what to do.
In the last 10 years, I've constantly thought of everyone involved as their characters here. When I order gapao rice I pause for a second, and wonder if I should order the way Krod did. I don't think there's another lakorn that's so keyed into the topics I care about.
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