Mini-series (2016)
Watch Hibana Spark
Created by: Naoki Matayoshi (based on novel by)
Starring: Kento Hayashi, Kazuki Namioka, Masao Yoshii
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| Hibana Spark |
A Netflix drama, and it's first original Japanese series, about two comedians, Tokunaga and Kamiya, searching for meaning in life and in comedy over the course of ten years.
Verdict:
I like the potential of the series more than what it accomplishes. The story is simply amazing, exploring the beginnings of a young comedian that wants to make it big. Because this is a drama and not a comedy, it has some amazing moments. A few individual scenes depict the longing for stardom and the harsh reality amazingly well, but the show is slow. It's just too long. Every scene is too long. Maybe it's the sheer amount of subtitles to read, or that Tokunaga's mundane life often isn't very interesting. It's a series of small moments spaced too far apart. There is no secondary plot in each episode to liven the pacing. I thought episode eight was great and would be a great finale and wondered how the series would continue, but episode nine was really good too. Ten was a bit muddled. I don't know if it took seven episodes of buildup to payoff, but it's a great story even if the execution is lacking, but it's hard to recommend a show that makes you work so hard to get to the end.
It depends.
Review:
This is Netflix's first original Japanese series, so realize that you'll be doing a lot of reading.
Through episode seven, I really liked the story but the show was boring. Episode four was enough to make me think it still had potential. Really neat scenes are sandwiched between mundane sequences. Episode eight was a turning point, building upon everything that came before it. It doesn't make the first half any less boring, but at least there is a payoff. The payoff is amazing. It's a great story. Episode ten gets a little weird, but it fits the story arc after the shock wears off.
Tokunaga is a young comedian in a duo, Spark, that wants to make it big. He meets a more experienced comedian Kamiya and asks to become his apprentice. Kamiya's one condition is that Tokunaga must write Kamiya's biography. I like that Tokunaga realizes he needs help to succeed and seeks it out. Spark does get an agent in the first episode.
Kamiya seemed to like Tokunaga even before the apprenticeship started, taking him out for a meal. Kamiya did see the act, so he may have decided to be a positive influence on a young comedian. Kamiya has no filter and says what he thinks immediately. He coaches Tokunaga to do the same to overcome his reserved nature.
I don't really get the comedy. It doesn't seem funny to me, despite what this show is telling me. I have to assume this is just a cultural difference. There are many scenes depicting the Spark duo practicing their routine. Their routine is a conversational back and forth culminating in a punch line that flies over my head.
As the Spark duo experiences more minor success, Kamiya falters. He moves to Tokyo where Tokunaga resides, but is living off of his girlfriend.
A great scene in episode four is with Tokunaga working at a convenience store. He's bossed around by the other employee and even berated in front of customers for no good reason. You can feel what he's thinking, wondering if his career will ever take of or if he's relegated to working this job forever. As the customers leave, they recognize him from his show and want a photo. It's a small glimmer of hope that of course makes his coworker jealous.
I finally discovered what funny banter should looks like in a flashback to Tokunaga's inspiration to be a comedian. It's word play like the Marx brothers. We get to see the Spark's duo painful journey from terrible to good. That's not bad, but it just takes so long.
Tokunaga is getting tired of his Spark partner Yamashita. Yamashita is dedicated. He's made it this far, but he's not a well developed character. We don't care about him because he's just there to develop Tokunaga.
Tokunaga and Yamshita become more successful, on the brink of making it. Kamiya is flailing. Tokunaga doesn't know how to handle fame, he's too introverted. Fame would suit Kamiya well as he always seems bit like an aloof jerk. Tokunaga feels guilty of his success while Kamiya is failing. Episode eight has an amazing scene. Despite Tokunaga's success, he still wants praise from Kamiya. Kamiya tells him he finds him funny off stage but not on. Despite the success Tokunaga is having, this appraisal is what matters to him. Tokunaga lashes out. He asks Kamiya why Kamiya hasn't made it to television. Why did Kamiya copy his hair style? The Spark duo's comedy has gotten much better. You see that full progression, though that might not be a good thing considering their early material.
As well as Spark did, fame never came. Ten years after being signed by an agent, they disband. Yamashita's girlfriend is pregnant and he moves away. I wondered if this was a set up for Tokunaga and Kamiya to partner, but it never went that way.
In episode ten, Tokunaga is a real estate agent. He's done with comedy. There is a bizarre twist with Kamiya, when he and Tokunaga meet.
This twist seemed completely different from what the show ever was. It was ridiculous, not dramatic. As I continued to watch, it makes sense, Kamiya doing anything to be funny. The show did a good job of making it a poignant point, even if it is still ridiculous.
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