{"id":21974,"date":"2017-01-26T07:00:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T06:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/avo-blog.nl\/?p=21974"},"modified":"2017-01-26T12:42:23","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T11:42:23","slug":"j-drama-review-shokuzai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/2017\/01\/j-drama-review-shokuzai\/","title":{"rendered":"J-Drama Review: Shokuzai"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shokuzai (\u8d16\u7f6a, penance) is a Japanese thriller series, which contains five episodes. In theory it\u2019s actually a really long movie and was even shown in cinema\u2019s, including cinema\u2019s in the Netherlands, in two parts of each about 2 hours long. <\/p>\n

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That this series is a thriller is immediately noticeable in the way the first episode begins. At first sight it seems to be a happy and fun series with playing children on the playground in their break, after a new student is introduced to the class, Emilie Adachi. The next scene shows Emilie becoming friends with four other girls, Akiko, Sae, Maki and Yuka. They\u2019re playing when a man asks if one of them can help him with a chore in the gym. <\/p>\n

Then the thriller actually begins; Emilie goes with him and is sexually assaulted and then killed. The four girls claim to not have seen his face, even though Emilie\u2019s mom, Asako, urging them to say the truth. They\u2019re cursed by Emilie\u2019s mom with \u2018the penalty\u2019 and they have to live with that from that day forward for the rest of their lives, unless they redeem their debt to her mom by finding Emilie\u2019s killer or at least help find him. <\/p>\n

hen chapter 1: The French Doll begins, which is set fifteen years later. The series is divided in chapters of which there\u2019s a total of five, equal to the amount of episodes.
\nThe first four chapters are each about a different girl, who all went their own separate ways. It\u2019s clear that none of the girls have forgotten the incident and they find it hard to live with for themselves and their environment. Their \u2018penalty\u2019 makes sure of that. Every girl then tries to help Emilie\u2019s mom and the fifth chapter is all about Emilie\u2019s mom and the biggest questions are finally answered. <\/p>\n

Every chapter thus has its own story that\u2019s all connected by a common thread; repaying their debt of the penalty and living with their trauma of the incident.
\nEvery story is tense and keeps your eyes locked on the screen. It isn\u2019t boring to watch because every story has action and events that make you think. <\/p>\n

I do find the acting a bit weak and the script disappointing at times. Mainly because of some dialogues that comes off as weird for the viewer. The montaging is also not very strong. There are a lot of irrelevant shots shown and they\u2019re also a tad long at times causing the tension to actually go away. The camerawork however is beautiful. De shots are thoroughly thought through and by using the lighting in the right way the scenes become a lot scarier. The timing and use of the appropriate music is also working in favour of building up the tension. Therefore there\u2019s definitely not a shortage of tension. The psychological aspect of the movie is very well portrayed by the lead actors and actually only the supporting roles are a bit weak in their acting. <\/p>\n