Becoming an adult, or more specifically turning 30 can bring many things, the usual work routine is the key of many, and with this new Japanese show with A listers Yui Aragaki and Ryosei Matsuda as its main characters, it's time to show that even in Japan, being an adult isn't that simple.
The show was marketed as a 'adult romance' sort of show, and to be fair I think teenagers would not quite be into it because 'Weakest Beast' (aka 'Kemono ni Narenai Watashitachi' in Japanese) talks about many things about adult life and especially it's most tedious moments from work life, to dating, and it is one of the best late 2018 shows I've watched.
Everything starts at the '5Tap' a cozy and classy bar in Tokyo where people , alone or with others, meet for a drink or multiple ones .(And it is unfortunately fictional .)
On one side you get Akira (Aragaki), a woman who always tries to do everything perfectly, but the price for a state of mind like this costs her much in her private life and at work with her boss yelling non-stop, and a romantic life that bores her.
On the other side you get Kosei (Matsuda) who is an accountant . He lives a life where romantic entanglement do not exists for him, and his blunt way of talking gets him in trouble a lot more than he would like, but Kosei loves to judge others and notice things about them that they usually try to hide.
Both Akira and Kosei meet at the 5Tap and talk thus starting the show's 10 episodes. And with 10 episodes, you get to see both characters evolve in their own way and at their own rhythm with a strong supporting cast to make it all feel way too real at times.
The strength of 'Weakest Beast' goes first through its cast. This Japanese show plays on subtleties, here exagerated drama and over the top performances do not blend well, and the show teaches you that in Japan, you deal with your problems as quietly as you can. However, this doesn't stop the show to address many interesting and serious topics such as cheating, one night stands, burn-outs at work, polygamy, mental health and suicide , things that many of us experience no matter where we are in the world.
Acting wise, we have Yui Aragaki giving probably one of her most underrated performance yet. She plays Akira with such strength and the characters' obstacles always have an impact on the viewer, especially during her most desperate moments, tension rises when she loses control of her emotions and this is where Aragaki's acting abilities really shine.
But to act along Aragaki is Ryohei Matsuda (yes the same Ryohei who played Ren in 'NaNa' back in 2005! ) who sometimes can come off as distant and cold man, with a mysterious side we don't get to explore right away,but getting to know him throughout all 10 episodes feels incredibly rewarding towards the end as Matsuda's acting allows the character to slowly get out of his shell in a very organic way.
Along Aragaki and Matsuda is a collection of actors who all do an incredible job. It is very satisfying to see Rinko Kikuchi getting an ambiguous yet weirdly entertaining role, especially in a Japanese tv show which took its sweet time to happen.
Haru Kuroki and Kei Tanaka continue to show that they are part of a new generation of actors with too much talent to handle and Kuroki especially is an absolute delight in every scenes she appears, which could have been tricky considering the character she plays isn't the easiest but she does it with such ease that you can't help but love her very much.
But what about the story then ? Akiko Nogi is the screenwriter in charge and no surprises here she manages to paint honest and realistic portraits of characters who are lost at sea in their own ways . But it isn't the first time she had such a splendid work, after all she is a longtime collaborator of Aragaki, with multiple shows written by her and starring Aragaki such as the 2016 hit 'The Escapist's Wife' ( aka 'NigeHaji' ) .
Akiko Nogi writes about women and men in their most raw and honest moments and it always feels very life like . She questions society in many ways from love and family relationships, to work, all of this causing distress in all of those characters and it is explored everytime with delicacy while also never backing from acknowledging the darker sides of life without sugar coating anything.
The downside of the show might be for some that it takes its time to develop its characters and its story, but for me this was an absolute delight from start to finish. Its themes resonated with my own personal experience from the good to the bad moments, and this proves that no matter where we are in the world, there is so much that we share, and each characters almost feels like they could be our neighbours, out co-workers or even our 'bar buddies'. 'Weakest Beast' is a must of Japanese entertainment and I cannot recommend it enough.
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