Drama: Inside Mari
Romaji: Boku wa Mari no Naka
Japanese: ぼくは麻理のなか
Director: Smith, Hatsuki Yokoo
Writer: Shuzo Oshimi (manga)
Actors: Elaiza Ikeda, Ryo Yoshizawa, Yurika Nakamura
When I thought I've seen all the clever twist in any movie or drama, but boy was I wrong, this drama has one of the most original and well executed twists in any drama. The last time I had this goosebumps was in the movie Pink and Gray, that one also has one hell of a twist. This drama is based on a manga of the same name so I guess I shouldn't be surprised because seriously these mangakas are geniuses coming up with original and crazy plot.
Isao komori is a college dropout who spends his days playing video games and watching porn. He is living a carefree life. Every day he go to this convenience store just to see Mari, she has this angel like feature that made Komori decide to make Mari his idol. He became obsessed and his sole pleasure in life is to stalk Mari. One morning Komori wake up in Mari's body. Another Komori inhabit his old body, but it is not Mari. Mari has disappeared. Komori struggles to maintain Mari's ordinary life and starts to investigate Mari's disappearance.
If you think this different take on body swap genre is what I mean when I said original, then you are wrong. The essence of the story remains though like trying to find where Mari go, and that's what I think this story is genius. A combination of mystery and character study, mystery is very gripping while the character study is what draws you in. If you are into psychology you would really love this drama, it conveys all the pains and struggle every teenagers suffers. Everybody could relate because in the first place identity crisis is classically adolescent.
Technical-wise the acting is surprisingly strong. These three young actors did their part well, but what I'm more surprised about is Ikeda's portrayal of Mari. She manages to give this character authenticity by giving the character intensity if needed but by not making the character looks exaggerated. Very complex character that I imagine most young actress would fail to portray. The cinematography is of high quality, there are many beautiful shots. Both songs are catchy too, nice touch to give the drama fun vibe.
Overall a different take to a trope (body swap) that you would think it is so clever but then you would realize there is more clever twist that you won't see coming at all. Twist after twist is basically in this drama, so I wouldn't be surprised if most will find it complicated and may end up confusing to them, even at the very end.
I want to know who the Director of Photography is in this series.
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