Notre phare dans la nuit

I'm glad I read the critic reviews after watching the series; if I had read them in advance, I might not have watched and I would have missed this great series. Professional critics felt that viewers unfamiliar with Japanese culture and nuances of the languages would fail to fully appreciate the episodes. Depending on what the viewer hopes to see, that might be true.

As a westerner, I am totally unaware of Japanese culture, yet I was fully absorbed in hearing the journeys of two very popular Japanese entertainers. Their early experiences seemed to parallel the experiences of many entertainers, no matter the country. The experiences of feeling isolated from one's peers, the lessons learned from staying true to their principles, the responses to perhaps the unrealistic demands of fans -- all those conversations were very honest and authentic. It's amazing that two such well-known figures would so openly discuss all of these subjects in a public forum.

I have since become a fan of Gen Hoshino since he is more readily available on Youtube and I think he is the Japanese counterpart of John Denver.

Lovely to see famous people express themselves and have a discussion about worries, insecurities and things they get irritated by. It's refreshing and a nice break in TV shows which are usually just celeb interviews. I love the format and the locations. It's also like 90s UK TV shows where the crew behind the camera are laughing. I loved that.

I have been a fan of gen hoshino as an actor and a musician and this just solidified my liking of him. I have no idea about the comedian in this but now I appreciate him too. The EP which Gen Hoshino released after this is enjoyable also.

I liked the audience and outside interaction which showed Japanese people reveal their worries and insecurities as well. It's comforting that people are just talking about it.