Giri/Haji

After watching one-and-a-half episodes of the execrable series "The Witcher," I'd begun to doubt the reliability of IMDB ratings. Then, I decided to try "Giri/Haji," suspicious of its 7.9 rating. Also, I'd seen Joe Barton's series "Cuffs," and while enjoyable, it was pretty weak beer.

"Giri/Haji" was an absolute revelation, right from the start through the eighth and final episode. The writing and direction, art direction, cinematography and effects, were just superb. And the acting! I was not familiar with any of the Japanese actors, but they were great. So were the British actors, many of them familiar to fans of UK films and TV, including Kelly Macdonald (first seen in Trainspotting), Charlie Creed-Miles (from Peaky Blinders), Tony Way (from Ricky Gervais' "After Life"), and new-to-me Will Sharpe.

Part family drama, part police procedural, part Yakuza film, the movie flips between London and Tokyo during a Japanese gang war. Strange as it may seem, the various filmic elements hold together beautifully, whether changes in screen dimension to denote time shifts; brief uses of anime; and a lovely ballet sequence.

It is bloody, violent, tender, exciting, and contemplative. Something for everyone. I fully recommend this series.

Wonderful to be introduced to such a tremendous cast. Loved Will Sharpe who made Rodney a standout but equally compelling were Takehiro Hira, Yosuke Kubozuka and Aoi Okuyama. Great to see new people on screen. It's not often I can see the perfection of direction but everything about this show was superb. Hays off to Julian Farino. I'll be watching him. Stellar.

Binged watched this week but no spoilers here. This really benefits from having 8 episodes rather than the BBC's usual 6 and allows for greater character development and backstories. There are side plots and stories galore, bloody violence, humour, tears, sadness & retribution but everything comes together with a few twists and turns in a final episode that has one of the most unexpected & touching rooftop moments. The cast are fantastic as is the script and cinematography. Loved it.

The first episode starts with the kind of stylized art violence that is unreal enough to let me carry on watching. Resonates with "the matrix" (gun scene) or similar.

The daughter, Taki, is so beautiful, that presumably the stage direction in her shots is: "Close up of Taki's face, takes half the screen, dialogue (optional), something else pertinent to the plot and artfully arranged in the other half of the shot, pause on Taki's face for 8 seconds, cut. Repeat".

Sometimes it suffers a bit from acting as if some characters are "wise" or might suddenly say "the answer" (to life and everything I suppose) - a lot of things "happen", and then the characters are generally busy seeking meaning, and we happen to be there, so we are along for the ride. But they are as muddled as anyone in the world, more so maybe. If you stop looking for meaning, just fall in love with the characters, and appreciate the series of heists, showdowns, coincidences and cinematography, it is more enjoyable, and watchable.

For me, the brother Yuto is a bit irritating to watch in episode 1 - maybe because he has so many "soft focus" "in the past" scenes, which make him look and act like a model for photos that come free/ready installed in new photo frames than a real person. The other characters are all engaging, and only he is the odd man out in this episode. Also, this is the odd-episode-out too - yuto improves.

There is some unevenness in what is possible/impossible in this created universe, especially around fight scenes and show downs - sometimes the characters are unbeatable/unstoppable in their gunfighting skills, callous professional heisting and doing the job of the gangster/police/yakuza. Other times, "those pesky kids" (not those pesky kids, but some of the non-yakuza characters) seem to be able to get the upper hand over the gansters by hitting with a frypan or a pair of scissors, against automatic weapons and uneven numbers, and get away with it. That breaks the magic really. But at least there is a lot of magic:

The series has its own style and its own humour. The between-the-scenes boards and narator are cool/witty/self deprecating. In terms of characters, Rodney and the Cockney gangster could each have a show of thier own really, their dialogue is so sharp and watchable.

And even apart from those two shining stars, there is quirkiness and humour in this show, that means I feel I can watch it again. Look out for hidden personal messages to some of the characters in the billboard/adverts and airport departure boards, and even painted onto the road where the "Stop/go slow" should be.

Stop, go slow, and watch it again.

Unbelievable! This is a perfect fusion of Asien ( Japanese) and European (British) cinema with an intelligent script, great animation parts, complex character development and outstanding actors! If you want to criticize something, there could be less brutality, but on the other hand it's a crime drama about the Yakuza. So it fits again.

How come this show has a rating below 8 stars and small-minded shows with their predictable, repetetive stories and stereotypical good guy- bad guy characters like Cobra Kay already have 3 seasons and are rated with over 8,5?! I just don't get it.