Kaso Girei Review

Drama: Kaso Girei

Japanese: 仮想儀礼

Writer: Egashira Michiru, Minato Takehiko

Network: NHK BSP

Duration: 50 min.

Actors: Aoyagi Sho, Daito Shunsuke, Minami, Matsui Rena, Kawashima Ririka

Japanese dramas are the king when it comes to absurd premise like this one. Two unemployed dudes desperate for money so they establish a service business which is religion. Kaso Girei is a hilarious black comedy at the start but the tone starts to shift in the second half. It got more serious, dark and a very good social commentary when it comes to cults in Japan. It shows us the in and out of cult stuff in Japan and how it connects to politics in the country and even the politics in the cult itself. The drama is very entertaining. There are a lot of back stabbings like watching a yakuza film.

Suzuki Masahiko is a public servant. He has a strong sense of justice like your typical public servant. He is very studious and has keen interest in religious topics especially buddhism. We could say he got the perfect life, got a stable job and a loving wife. Then he met Yaguchi Makoto, a freelance video game producer. He noticed Suzuki’s talent and recruited him to write a story for a game. Suzuki got fully absorbed in writing the story which he eventually decided to quit his job. This made his wife very angry which resulted in a divorce. Later after finishing writing the story he couldn’t contact Yaguchi anymore. Devastated with what happened with his life, he started to blame Yaguchi for scamming him. One day he bumped into Yaguchi who is now a homeless person. Yaguchi now proposed to start a new business with him which is religion. The foundation for their new founded religion is the lore he has written for his game and Suzuki will act as the chosen one or the cult leader.

Most dramas or movies about cults are either just for comic relief or they treat it as pure evil. This is where Kaso Girei is different. They humanize cult members without excusing the bad things they have done. It is not black and white but shades of gray like in real life. I especially like the original cult members as they genuinely cared for each other. Suzuki due to having a public servant background has a desire to help others and he obviously wanted good for his members but even how much good he is doing he still knew he was committing a crime for deceiving them. Yaguchi, who only cares about earning money at first, learns how to develop sympathy for others.

It is a very informative social commentary. I learn so much about cults and how it connects to politics. They even have a character that acts like a cult consultant in this drama and what he had been saying applies to real life politics in any country or any organization like riding the trend etc. conservative vs liberal, right vs left. They don’t care about principles, It is a numbers game to them. What is important is what will get them people's support. I learned that there are thousands of cults in Japan from big to small which made me realize it is like a battle royale game because these cults cannibalize each other so the question is which will be the biggest among them.

The acting is good, the comedic timing is perfect even in serious moments they nail it. Aoyogi Sho (Alice in Borderland, High&Low) is hilarious, making a straight face in funny situations. His chemistry with Daito Shunsuke (Ouran Highschool Host Club, Tumbling) is good, their banter is funny, and they made a great buddy duo. Acting wise though the best acting I will give it to Minami (Minamata, First Love:Hatsukoi). She is just that underrated actress that has grown on me the more I watch her. Not the biggest budget given to a Japanese drama. I think it would be much better had Netflix produced this like give it the budget similar to Naked director. The topic would peak interest to many, it is like The Wolf of Wall Street but with cults.

Cults are a huge problem in Japan or maybe anywhere in the world especially with the latest current events involving them. A very Informative drama that managed to remain entertaining too and although the genre is black comedy it didn’t make religion as a joke I don’t see anyone getting offended with the theme. They showed the good effect of having a belief. This drama remains grounded in the end.