Drama Digest
Twin brothers, Ryuichi and Ryuji, are adopted by the Yoshies soon after being abandoned by their birth parents. The twins grow up having a pleasant childhood with Misa, the daughter the Yoshies give birth to shortly after they adopt them, and life is good. However, things go south when they are fifteen, and Genpei Kirishima, the competitor to the Yoshies who runs a shipping business, drives them to heavy debt. The Yoshies, unable to figure a way out of this mess, eventually commit suicide, and the twins grow up swearing that they will take revenge.
Seven years later, Ryuichi has got plastic surgery, faked his death, looks like a completely different person, and uses someone else’s identity. He is a member of the criminal circuit. Meanwhile, Ryuji supervises the working of the shipping companies at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
Watch this series for some gripping revenge drama that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
The Feel-Good Part
This is a revenge drama with strong screen-writing. Its gripping narrative manages to keep you hooked throughout its development, and the seasoned actors’ convincing performances contribute to the show’s excellence. It is impressive that every character is written with grey shades, and no one is the picture of untainted righteousness or evil. This drama is reminiscent of Ouroboros, with its dark and depressing themes.
Another impressive factor is how this show humanizes every character and does not reduce them into the labels of good and evil. Just as the main leads have their characters and backgrounds explored, so do the secondary characters and the antagonists. Revenge dramas often resort to labeling characters as good or bad, but this one is a welcome exception.
The Disappointing Factor
This series often becomes too dramatic to be realistic, and although it is to make sure that the viewer stays engaged, it gets a little tedious. The first episode is not as promising as the rest of the drama is, and it might work to its disadvantage because people might get warded off instead of giving the rest of the drama a chance. It also resorts to using a few clichés typical to revenge dramas, which makes it predictable, and one can piece the ending together by the first three episodes.
In-Depth Analysis
This series is thrilling, even though there are some glaring flaws. The kind of revenge that the twins want is not evil; they do not want unnecessary bloodshed. They just want Kirishima Express to go bankrupt. This makes the story commendable because the directors of revenge dramas get to drawn by bloody rampages, even though it contributed nothing to the original storyline. This show pointedly refrains from that, and that makes it commendable.
However, there is the popular cliché ruling this drama, that one must take on the role of the monster in order to become one. This makes the show predictable, and viewers can guess the ending, but it does not take the fun out of the drama.
The OST fits the storyline and is visibly appropriately chosen.
Star Power
Tamaki Hiroshi is incredible in this show and surely the scene-stealer. His performance contributes to the grappling narrative more than anyone else’s.
Overall Opinion
One of the best revenge dramas of 2020, this should definitely be on your watchlist.
