James May: Our Man in...

The show is good overall, but it's let down by half-heartedly squatting between two schools of thought aboht what it wants to be and it suffers greatly for it. I want to watch James May spend hours excitedly explaining intricate processes in detail, admiring the delicate craftmanship of woodworking and the technical complexities of engineering; there is a bit of that, but far too often in this series this is cut short - seemingly on the (spurious) assumption that people would rather see James May being forced to perform ridiculous antics and laugh at him he complains about it. Please, drop this for the next series; it's not smart, it's not funny, and it's a waste of James May's talent as a presenter. We get enough bullying of him on The Grand Tour - let him explore things he's passionate about and share them with us. Too much focus on these antics has left the show felt rushed overall - it could have done with another few episodes and much longer segments of the interesting bits.

Amazon have done an amazing job by filming a documentary on one of the most places countries on earth. The documentary contained all the best and weird parts of Japan along with breathtaking scenery. Ofcourse James May's crisp presentation makes it more watchable. I have watched alot of James May documentaries over the years and Our Man In Japan is the 2nd best on my list (cars of the people being the obvious winner). I wish Amazon makes this into an anthological series with May travelling to other beautiful countries. Surely this is a binge watching documentary. Fantastic job James May & Amazon. Cant wait to see what else you have in store (pun intended).

Producers and directors are looking too much for 'funny' awkward situations to put James in. Interesting places like the rocket factory and particle collider have only 5-10 minutes of screen time. Italy is known for for its rich history, food, art, exotic cars and science. But no, James has to visit someone who likes to dress up like a Hobbit...

The episodes (especially episode 3) are FILLED with a lot of activities that have 10 -15 minutes of screen time. This makes it a bit dull and without any memorable events. We have already seen that a healthy balance between funny situations and serious activities can be achieved, with the previous season in Japan!

(Flash Review)

It makes sense that between Clarkson and Hammond that James May would be the one to explore Japan from a cultural perspective. Over six episodes and across each island, May explores several cultural activities from artistic to food & drink to Japanese heritage to local manufacturing to picturesque nature to the bizarre. The spectrum goes from simple and cheap restaurants to luxury train rides. His dry wit and quirky charm is entertaining for the duration and he really exposes the viewer to a wide array of what Japan has to offer. A solid combo of information and amusement.

Mellow and sensible little show. Yujiro was simply great!