J-Drama Review: Fishbowl Wives (2022)

 For the entirety of my viewing of Netflix’s latest adult drama Fishbowl Wives (2022) I compared myself endlessly to the pensioner Mrs. Glick from The Simpsons. Anyone else remember the scene where Bart is at her house weeding the garden to raise some pocket money and Mrs. Glick is sat in her armchair watching a steamy day-time soap opera and commenting “filthy… but genuinely arousing”?

 This eight-part Japanese drama, inspired by Ryo Kurasawa’s 2017 manga series of the same name, will have you sitting there Mrs. Glick Style with your knitting (as I very much was) picking your jaw back up off the floor and praying no other member of your family walks in on you watching such smut.

 But Fishbowl Wives is compelling, heartfelt smut. Set in “The Heights”, an ultra-glamorous multi-storey Tokyo apartment complex. The secret misery and despair of the complexes married denizens is hidden well behind a mask of outward success and affluence. King and Queen of Living a Lie are the Hiraga family.

 Chain hair-salon owning extraordinaire power couple Sakura Hiraga (played by the warm and engaging Ryoko Shinohara) and her charming, handsome husband Takuya (played by Masanobu Ando, best known as Kazuo Kiriyama in Kinji Fukasaku’sBattle Royale) are equal parts envied and adored by fellow residents of “The Heights”. A beautiful pair of goldfish swimming around a shining bowl for all to admire, but the water within is dangerously dirty.

 The viewer soon learns that their relationship is more akin to that of Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin’s in Sleeping withthe Enemy. Takuya is a serial womanizer and gaslighting wife beater. How much more will Sakura put up with before she’s pushed to breaking point? Isn’t there anyone who can help her find the natural strength and resilience inside her to take back control of her life?

 Cue Sakura’s goofily adorable extra-marital love interest HarutoKazama. Haruto owns the local goldfish shop and has more than a few skeletons in his closet, but will face them all if it means he can be with Sakura, who he genuinely loves. However, loving another man’s wife is risky business at the best of times, especially when the wife is viewed by the husband as a personal possession and punching bag for the sole use of the husband. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Takuya is not going to be receptive to having another man take his toy out of his sandbox.

 Featuring disturbing scenes of sexual assault and domestic violence, the Sakura/Takuya/Harutolove triangle is the central pillar storyline. It’s a plot provokes strong reactions as a Westerner to the Japanese attitudes towards, and divorce laws governing, those trapped in violent marriages. Divorce, regardless of the circumstances, is still considered shameful.

 Less shameful than divorce, apparently, is infidelity. If there’s no shame in infidelity, then let me tell you, the other “Goldfish Wives” of the show are living proud as punch.

 There’s Bento Wife whose husband gets a little more than he bargains for when bringing in a third party to their bedroom. There’s Outsourcing Wife, who reasons that if her husband won’t give her the baby she so yearns for, someone else can. 

The Running Wife thinks that her husband is running away with her life and now she’s left with an identity that doesn’t belong to her. A desperate act of cheating is the only path to communication and ultimate reconciliation. 

And Renovation Wife, an adulterous, raging bitch at the best of times, cowed by an overbearing mother-in-law and high maintenance husband, finds solace and self-acceptance in the arms of a damaged contractor.

 Over-seeing, and openly encouraging these wives to stray and find both emotional and sexual satisfaction from whatever source they can is resident mystic Mei. Is Mei really psychic? Or does she just like seeing women take back some control over their own destinies and break free from the social constraints trapping all these goldfish women in ill-fitting bowls?

 Beautifully shot, clever “fishbowl” style camera work, exquisite lighting to capture and reflect moods, gorgeous musical underscore and rife with metaphor and social commentary, Fishbowl Wives is a gripping drama that is as heart-breaking as it is heart-racing. Imagine… a sexually explicit Desperate Housewives with meatier plots and considerably better acting.

 This won’t be for everyone. I enjoyed it immensely, it was hard to watch at times and not every minute of the show is flawless. But, if you’re looking for an excuse to melodramatically gasp and cry “Escandalo!” at the T.V. while clapping your hand to your cheek - then this is the show for you.

 5 stars from Straight Outta Kanto!

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J-Drama Review: Followers (2020)

 

If the grey old Irish winter has left you feeling gloomy and unglamorous then may I recommend a hearty dose of technicolour escapism?

Mika Ninagawa's latest T.V. series Followers (now on Netflix) is a compelling and vibrant drama focusing on two friend groups of sinfully stylish Tokyo urbanites. 

Tokyo Urbanite Group A are a gaggle of gorgeous, successful professional women (and their assorted lovers and gay best friends) who confidently navigate their careers in photography, fashion and celebrity PR to greater heights. Think Japanese Sex and the City.

Tokyo Urbanite Group B are an equally attractive, but younger gang of scrappy, struggling actors and artists. Reliant on an over-saturated social media and the nepotistic whims of the uncaring Gate Keepers to Success for for any crumb of recognition, these young up and comers are edging closer to eternal obscurity. 

Followers skillfully collides these two worlds with far reaching consequences for all concerned. The obscure shoot to fame to notoriety then to obscurity once more and the famous revaluate their tenuouse roles at the top and the harsh reality of an idustry that quntifies everyone's value regardless of past endeavours.

A vivid portrayal of how not only do all lives, no matter what the social sphere, touch each other in one way or another, Followers shows the staggering power held by those that have a high social media following.

However, it's not all eye-melting haute couture, fever-dream monster cafes, Asian celebrity cameos (Miyavi, Yu Yamada, Monsta X to name but a few) and insta-worthy cityscapes of Tokyo at night. Hard hitting issues such as miscarriage, breast cancer, women in the workplace, homophobia, love, loss, back-stabbery and the public crucifixion of the famous no longer deemed worthy of fame are topics expertly handled without any overt preachy message. The drama simply unfolds before the viewer who is left to form their own opinions.

While Sacrifice x Success is the dual headed dragon each of the charcters need to over come, it's ultimately friendship and authenticity in following one's own path that is the key to happiness.

Followers is deliciously binge-worthy at just nine forty minute episodes (I watched them all in one go one stormy Saturday) and certainly has the plot subtance to go with the almost unbearably striking visual style. 

Given the electric use of neons and bold, clashing prints, it's no surprise to learn that the director for this, Mika Ninagawa, was also the director for the equally electric 2007 pop art geisha movie Sakuran featuring the rebellious beauty Anna Tsuchiya (Kamikaze Girls)

So, grab the duvet and have a massive mug of tea close at hand and forget all your troubles... by watching someone else's! Just be prepared to lose a few K in your bank account afterward booking the next flight to Tokyo! #holidayenvy #doinitforthegram

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Yen Press Manga Review: Ibitsu (Twisted)

Konnichiwa! Howdy! Dia Duit! If a gruesomely drawn extremity horror with sick fan service based on a Creepypasta style urban legend with a deranged Gothic Lolita as the lead is your cup of tea then...

Welcome! Welcome! Sit down, grab a seat and let Straight Outta Kanto pour you a steaming mug of undiluted nightmare fuel.

“Ibitsu” by Haruto Ryo is a 2010 horror manga by Square Enix and Yen Press. “Ibitsu” is the Japanese word for “Twisted” - as in twisted and perverse. The complete thirteen chaptered volume by Yen Press also features two bonus “Twisted” side stories “Hall of Dolls” and “The Curious case of The Editor.”

Ibitsu lead protagonist, Kazuki Ito, is an ordinary young Japanese man who makes the fatal mistake of answering an odd, if seemingly innocuous, question from a stranger at the garbage dump one night:

“Would you... have a little sister?”

Considering the fact that the question is asked by a strange, scruffy young girl lying amongst the discarded neighbourhood garbage bags... dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit... at night... You'd honestly think Kazuki would have the wherewithal to see (and avoid) serious trouble when he sees it!? Bless his cotton socks.

Little does Kazuki know that the girl before him demanding his family history is in fact the Demon Lolita from the local urban legends. Legend has it, if you are approached by the Demon Lolita she will ask “Would you... have a little sister?” If you answer “No!” she will kill you there and then in a “twisted” way. If you answer “Yes!” Well...

Let's just say Kazuki finds out the bloody, brutal way that accidentally becoming an urban legend's onii-chan (Big Brother) isn't all it's... cracked... up to be. Demon Lolita is determined to not only be the ONLY sister in Kazuki's life (which poses a grave and gory inconvenience for his ACTUAL sibling), Demon Lolita is determined to be the ONLY person in his life full stop!

Cue envelope pushing (and often times erring on the psycho sexual side) violence, cliff hanger after cliff hanger, fantastically drawn cinematic style horror scenes and brilliant use of tropes from what seems like every urban legend out there.

If you're in any way squeamish or only a casual fan of light horror, this is definitely not the manga for you. I would also advise a trigger warning for anyone prone to distress from scenes of self-harm, abuse or sexual violence.

However, if you've a“twisted” taste sense of humour and a strong stomach then I cannot recommend Haruto Ryo's Ibitsu enough. Fun fact, I loved this manga so much I even got a tattoo of the Demon Lolita on my right arm shortly after reading and still don't regret it!

There's something perversely enjoyable about allowing yourself to be drawn in as a spectator of Kazuki's unravelling descent in to madness, the spiralling plot twists of Demon Lolita's origins and the dizzying realisation that Haruto Ryo is NOT afraid to “go there.”

But tell me quickly, before you go... Would you... have... a little sister?

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Horror Anime Review: Elfin Lied

Konnichiwa! Salut! Guten Tag! Fancy a retro anime review about a kawaii magical girl with an absence of clothes but an excess of psychic killing powers!? Of course y'do! Can you guess what show Straight Outta Kanto is talking about? Of course y'can! 'Tis none other than Lynn Okamoto's controversial horror “Elfin Lied.”

Originally a long running manga serialised in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump from 2002 – 2005, Elfin Lied was given the anime adaptation treatment in 2004. Not dissimilar to the Game of Thrones situation (but thankfully much less disappointing), the 13 episode long anime of Elfin Lied was made while the manga was still being written. Anime director Mamoru Kanbe had to get creative on how to satisfactorily wrap up the series, so the endings of both the show and manga do differ.

Elfin Lied centres on a world where unaware humans are not alone as a species. An underground mutant race known as the “Diclonius” are very much among us. Sadly for us humans, Diclonius are mankind's enemy; born with horns on their heads and equipped with super-strong psychic “vectors” that are dismember-ing-er-ific weapons of human annihilation. A secret organisation has been discreetly murdering new-born babies presenting as Diclonius and also conducting horrific experiments on any poor, dear murderous mutants captured alive.

Part of the controversy of Elfin Lied is the fact that the sadistic and vicious Diclonius presented in show are all doe-eyed, daddy issue filled, very young females. “Kawaii” indeed. By today's standards, it does feel unacceptable to watch a show that overly-sexualizes mentally incapacitated infantile female characters. (For example, could Chobits realistically be made today?) However, it was a different era back in 2004 and must be judged accordingly.

Not only that, the show is absolutely rife with gut-wrenching story lines and plot twists featuring some of the most wretched and socially pathetic characters you will ever weep for. The brutality, hardship and bloodshed each human and Diclonius goes through in this harrowing yet beautiful anime are all designed to provoke the viewer in to wondering who is really the threat to mankind here? Mutants, or man itself?

The sexual abuse, extreme gore and psychological trauma means Elfin Lied is not exactly the ideal choice for a casual watch. However, the gorgeous old school gouache background animation, heart wrenching musical motif and brief glimpses of camaraderie and kinship that the characters strive to maintain throughout some truly vicious odds make this a worthy watch.  

I can guarantee you though, “Lucy” is one “Elf” (in Lied) you won't want on your shelf this festive season.

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Japan Does Christmas - an "Itsudatte My Santa!" Review.

How many weird festive holiday rituals do you personally hold dear and adhere to every year? Humans by nature are creatures of habit and slaves to tradition. Regardless of your religion or beliefs, there's no denying that December is a month entrenched in traditions, habits, rituals and ceremony. One such tradition for me, Straight Outta Kanto, is my annual viewing of the anime adaptation of Ken Akamatus's short manga "Itsudatte My Santa!".

Fellow old school manga and anime nerds will know Ken Akamatsu as the creator of legendary harem comedy Love Hina. In 1997 Ken drew a short one-shot manga for Shonen Magazine "Itsudatte My Santa!" This was later adapted into an anime OVA in Japan, 2005. Released in the west in 2007. 

We all know that Japan has some of the most eccentric and endearingly bizarre interpretations of the Christian holiday of "Christmas." Traditional turkey and ham!? No! KFC dominates the season with millions of Japanese families chowing down every yule to a bucket of chicken wings. Who cares about Valentine's Day!? December 24th is the hottest date night for young Japanese couples. And who can forget about our lord and saviour Santa Claus, nailed to a literal cross in department store windows across Tokyo!? Holiday visual merchandising... crucifixion style. 

I personally feel that My Santa is the most gloriously weird snap shot of Christmas-meets-Japan. Imagine It's a Wonderful Life crammed into A Christmas Carol but with more Big Titty Magical Girls from the North Pole.

My Santa centres around a dispirited young man on Christmas Eve in Tokyo. Our down-hearted hero is alone, once again, shunned by family and friends on this festive night - which also doubles as his birthday. For dear young hero's birthday is in fact December 24th. In honour of such a Christmassy birth date, his (now absent) parents decided to call their child... Santa!

So here we are, December 24th and young Santa is depressed that he's all on his ownio. Cue his Guardian Angel, or rather, Guardian Santa Mai - a flat-chested but large spirited Santa in Training from the Santa School in the North Pole come to Earth to give boy Santa hope and joy this holiday. (Yes. That is more Santas than a police line-up from Hell.) 

Hilarious misunderstandings, public "pervert!" embarrassments, slap-stick whimsy, a stuffed reindeer named Pedro and an uproarious run in with a Yakuza boss and his now smashed Christmas Cake ensue. In true holiday special fashion, by the end of the episode boy Santa has learned the true meaning of Christmas, the importance of family and the value of friendship. There's even a little cherry blossom of love blooming between Santa and Mai. 

Does the old saying that every time a bell rings an angel gets it's wings still hold true here? Like Hell it does! Every time a bell rings a Santa in Training gets her titties! Brace your eyes for an absolutely bonkers Magical Girl Sexy Santa transformation at the end.

The "Ittsudatte My Santa!" OVA DVD even comes complete with a second Summer Beach Special episode. Sexy Santas at the beach. Oh Japan. Never change. 

56 minutes of my life every Christmas Eve is dedicated to this weird little gem, purely because it reminds me that life and its traditions are not to be taken so seriously. Life is for living and laughing and the one thing "Ittsudatte My Santa!" will make you do is laugh.

Happy Christmas and New Year from Straight Outta Kanto.

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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon DX Review

Alola, PokéNerds! Welcome to this week’s Straight Outta Kanto blog post. Straight Outta Kanto is Ireland’s number one spot for Nerd Culture, Nightmares and Nostalgia.

Answer me these questions three and find out what Pokémon you'll be...

You all know by now that here at Straight Outta Kanto we are hardcore GenWunners and devoted beyond reason to Game Freak, but even we've had trouble staying loyal of late. Lack lustre, incomplete feeling, rushed, half-hearted releases by Game Freak on Nintendo Switch have left us wondering whether there is any hope for the future of Pokémon!

And then along comes Pokémon Mystery Dungeon DX - the first new Mystery Dungeon game in four years. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon DX is like that one last game-changing Full Restore you spam during those final crucial moments in your battle against the Pokémon Champion. There is hope!

Anyone familiar with the Mystery Dungeon spin-off series of the Pokémon games will consider the storyline to be fairly standard. You are a human who has been magically transported to the un-named Pokémon world to help save the day for various apocalyptic reasons.

You answer a quiz at the start of the game to determine what adorable Pokémon avatar you will embody for the course of the game. You also get to select your goofy but earnest Pokémon partner. You and said partner build a small base-camp and become stalwart members of the Pokémon community - helping out local neighbours and merchants by going on adventures, or, "explorations" in "dungeons" and generally saving the day.

You participate in these explorations for monetary/material rewards, add new members to your exploration team and advance through the Pokémon exploration ranks. There are addictive side-adventures to keep you occupied as well as the quests that further your progression through the main story line.

As I said, the story line is fairly basic and contains less plot-twists and content than previous Mystery Dungeon games - for example, the epic and heartbreaking Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness. That being said, it's still engaging and tear-jerking at times.

The endearing soundtrack and unique, charming, almost crayon drawing style of the animation gives a familiar game a refreshing face-lift. There is a huge amount of content and areas in the game - both as you play the main plot and post-game.

The "dungeons" are challenging and rewarding once completed but not soul-destroyingly grinding like in previous games. (They at least have the decency to leave most of the grinding misery for the post-game!) Increased battle functions and options make adding new team members and battling with them in the field more user friendly.

A more in-depth story to make the game feel less like a series of fun mini-games would be my main complaint. To be frank, this game is one of the few things that has kept me sane this last month during the Covid-19 lockdown here in Ireland.

Yes, the game contributes nothing majorly new to the Pokémon franchise, but playing it is like a comfortable and reliable encounter with an old friend. It definitely sucks you in and engages you for hours at a time so it's release during this turbulent time was ideal! It's also the best Pokémon release for Nintendo Switch.

4/5  PokéBalls.

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The Birth of Mewtwo: Pokémon Radio Drama

Alola, PokéNerds! We here at Straight Outta Kanto hope you’re staying safe inside like a Cloyster or Clamperl with a shut shell and being as neurotic about hand washing as I would envision Psyduck to be!

As we’re currently without a day job like many of you guys out there right now, there’s not really a major reason to keep to normal routine hours. Not gonna have a great impact on my health down the line – but for now I am loving an almost twenty four hour devotion to all things Pokémon with no interruptions.

Last night, I finally got to tick off one of the Pokémon related items on my nerd bucket list! I’d heard whispered years ago about a Japanese exclusive Pokémon radio drama called “The Birth of Mewtwo” that aired in 1998 in advance of the Mewtwo Strikes Back movie.

(Fun fact, the title “Mewtwo Strikes Back” always confused me as a child. As far as I was aware, this was the first movie – I didn’t understand why Mewtwo was striking back when technically speaking he hadn’t been struck in the first place…!)

This five part radio play was written by Takeshi Shudo and according to Bulbapedia aired on Japanese radio over the five Sundays preceeding the release of the movie. An animé adaptation quietly followed.

I found all five parts of the radio play adequately subtitled and readily available on YouTube. Obviously this was released right at the start of the Poképhenomenon and therefore that meant it was much more flexible in its freedom with regards to plot and characters that we know now, but were still fresh and unformed twenty two years ago. Fan fiction writers – buckle up!

The five short radio episodes are narrated by “Sakaki”, or, as we know him: Giovanni. Enigmatic Daddy and mastermind of Team Rocket. However, while Sakaki narrates the present day, he refers to an incident twenty years prior involving the then Boss of Team Rocket… his own mother. Not only is Giovanni’s mother the Boss of Team Rocket, her underling is none other than… Jesse Rocket’s mother.

Both women are represented as cold, materialistic, domineering and maternal-rejecting profit seekers. Miyamoto, Jesse’s mother, even proclaiming to have left Jesse (or Musashi) up for adoption so that she Miyamoto can continue working tirelessly for Team Rocket.

The plot initially starts out with Sakaki’s mother and Miyamoto examining their South American fossil finds. Enter Mew’s eyelash fossil. Team Rocket are thrilled. They hand the fossil over to their science team – fronted by Dr. Fuji – with the intent of trying to replicate the original Mew from such a small fragment of fossil through the power of cloning and genetic mutation.

However, the plot darkens considerably as the series progresses and travels through time from the twenty years old find of Mew’s fossil all the way to the present. Dr. Fuji has been endeavouring all this time to create Mewtwo and… something else.

I will not spoil the highly dramatic and emotive plot twist, but let’s just say from episode three get your tissues ready, the feels just got real.

For a promo show for what is in essence a children’s movie, the radio play gets very serious with regards to making the listener think about the morals and ethics of human/animal cloning and genetic manipulation. How far is too far in science?

Don’t get me wrong, the show isn’t heavy all the time. Miyamoto, Jesse’s mother, is the main comic relief character for each episode. There are also elements of audio slap-stick comedy that really add charm and warmth to the drama. Also, the backstory and insight in to the family backgrounds of the well known characters is fascinating and adds an alternate perspective on current accepted theories.

As a fan of the Pokémon franchise for twenty one years, I can honestly say this was one of the most unique and stand alone additions to the Pokémon universe cannon I have come across.

It may be too left of centre to be everyone’s cup of polteageist, but for hardcore fans who’d like to expand their PokéLibrary of knowledge – I would highly recommend “The Birth of Mewtwo.”

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