1,000,000 yen no Onnatachi

"Million Yen Women" is a Japanese TV series on Netflix that is based off a manga. The protagonist is Yojiro Noda, lead singer of RADWIMPS, the band that did the very popular soundtrack of animated film "Your Name."

The structure of "Million Yen Women" is the basic set-up of a "harem" manga. "Harem" is a a popular sub-genre in manga where a clueless man lives together with many young, attractive women, many of whom develop crushes or fall in love with him. Although the harem set-up is fine for comics, it rather loses its tenuous credibility in live-action film such as in "Million Yen Women." However this TV series has a twist, an element of mystery, that is almost as fantastical but rather more welcome. Kudos to Yojiro Noda, anyway, for making his protagonist likable anyhow.

Harem is not particularly my cup of tea, but I did enjoy some of the character development in the series and some surprising moments of depth and pathos sprinkled throughout.

Although "Million Yen Women" contains elements of romance and murder, it also is about Yojiro Noda's character, who is an upcoming novelist, and his rivalry with a popular established author. This rivalry is pretty basic, but I did enjoy some of the discussion about novels and expression and "creating a new emotion" and etc. There's an odd peace about Yojiro Noda that makes character as a novelist believable, and makes him unique against the backdrop of criminal intrigue he stands against.

Unfortunately however, the rivalry between the two authors isn't as resolved as I would like, and there are various other plots of the drama that seem rushed or underdeveloped or sort of like afterthoughts. (I haven't read the manga so I make no comparison.) Nevertheless, "Million Yen Women" does have a degree of substance that elevates it beyond a typical boy's fantasy, and it is mostly fun and enjoyable to watch so I recommend it.

This drama also has Japanese audio description and Japanese captions for those wanting to learn the language.

This show snuck up on me.

OK, I will admit it, the splash screen on Netflix showed some attractive women, so I clicked. Well played, Netflix. Well played.

Then the premise listed under 'more info' reeled in the hook already firmly set in my head. A guy lives with 5 beautiful women, and intrigue and hijinks ensue? Count me in!

But don't think this is a light-hearted show. It gets creepy (not in a supernatural way) and very dark. And the ending? Well, the ending....is VERY satisfying. That's two shows I've reviewed lately that have been able to take seemingly difficult subject matter across the finish line in an enjoyable way. The other being Alice in Borderland.

Slightly more than the usual suspension of disbelief is required to fully understand why the ladies accept the invitations in the first place (the reasons given are kind of 'meh' in my book). And the pseudo-antagonist other author and annoying book critic are more throw away characters than anything major, so some wasted screen time there.

So, one star deduction for those two minor gripes. But otherwise, a terrific and well-paced show. Glad I...er...stumbled upon it on Netflix.

Five women move into an unsuccessful writers home, no one including the writer knows who is behind the set up. The rules are they must pay one million yen a month and ask no questions and the novelist must not enter their rooms. An interesting plot based on a manga where we learn over twelve episodes who is behind the idea and how it eventually leads to tragedy. Well acted with a strong female cast and even though the story is far fetched it holds your attention through every episode as the individual characters back stories are revealed.

I was amazed with every episode. With this show I realized how used I am to Hollywood films and TV. The story is so unpredictable and my jaw drop at every scene. Funny, sweet, sad, charming and mysterious, this series has it all. Even tho I didn't like much the actor for Shin at the beginning, the series sure did won me over. This is a very Japanese show, so it can be weird for western audience to see how the Japanese people are always so polite and stoic, but also, very charming. I would totally recommend it 9/10

The basic scenario is intriguing : an introverted, unsuccessful author has allowed five pretty young women to live at his house. They were mysteriously invited to do so by someone ( not him ) & must also pay a million yen per month in rent, & there are other rules in place. Parallel to this odd arrangement, we follow a cocky, best-selling young author who is the opposite of our "hero" & is championed by an arrogant critic, while the back-stories of the ladies form a major part of the narrative. As the story unfolded & captured my interest, my thoughts inexorably turned as they always do to the ending. Would it do justice to the rest ? I really HATE it when I fall in love with something & then get stabbed in the back by a rubbish finale, but thankfully I wasn't disappointed. And though I don't usually like a BIG revelation with minimal or zero clues, I'm happy to forgive thanks to an exhilarating, blockbuster final ep bulging with surprises & an unexpected emotional wallop that made me teary. A well-written script ( adapted from a manga, & where would Japanese media be without them ? ) has the lot : nefarious deeds, sex in various forms, humour & a pleasing focus on both the philosophy of writing & the joy of reading. Central to the story, of course, is who sent the invites & why, though some of the most memorable moments are small ones : a kick in the backside after a posh party; a young girl in a wordless scene with her author father; the lead's final meeting with a murderous relative. And the last few eps explore the simple power of a human connection. And the cast ? All are good, with two standout efforts : in a showy role, Rila Fukushima is wonderful as the abrasive "nudist" while Noda Yosiro is deceptively great as the main author. You might think this sort of quiet, self-deprecating character would be easy to play, yet speaking in a monotone & not displaying emotion doesn't mean he lacks it & he does have a moving journey to make by the end. Kudos to the director for keeping things flowing smoothly, some of the photography is gorgeous & the music is another asset. Yes, I'd have liked a calamity for the cocky writer but we get a sadly realistic outcome instead.