Sleepless Nights with Bakarhythm's "Non-REM no Mado"

Bakarhythm in Non-REM no Mado

 As someone who absolutely LOVES the works of off-kilter madman BAKARHYTHM and his wonderfully imaginative stories, set-ups and scenarios, when I found out he has a series of thought-provoking shorts called “Non-REM no Mado”, I knew I just HAD to check it out!

Starting off as a sort of “Twilight Zone” feeling show, the series slowly became more of a take on societal niceties, fun observations and funny gags, becoming more Jerry Seinfeld than Rod Serling!

At first, Non REM no Mado started off slow and seemed more like throwaway ideas left over from his dramas, (at least in my opinion) but by the third installment, it really seemed to pick up and become wildly fun to watch! Some I even now regard as full blown faves!

Hosted by Bakarhythm in his always stoic persona (think the dude in the white room purgatory in Brush Up Life and you get the idea), along with an abstractly dismembered Yuki Saito as his companion, they introduce each segment and talk about it afterwards, making for nice ‘bookends” to each chapter!

 

Just got finished wrapping 'em all up and thought I'd break the series down for anyone interested in checking it out! The synopses of the chapters and the guests appearing in them (of which there are MANY!) follow: 

Spring 2022 Special

"Our Love"

Kazama stars as a two-timing guy who wakes up one morning to find that his cheating heart has split him into two separate beings! Now free to date each woman exclusively, his life should be a breeze…or is it just inviting MORE problems?

Shunsuke Kazama

"Cancellation Game"

A man trying to cancel a subscription contract online find out just how difficult companies make it for someone to end their service, with hard-to follow instructions, hidden buttons and forms, til one is about to lose their minds! 

For those who have actually tried to cancel a subscription, you know that this is a scenario that is far too close to the mark to be funny!

Toru Nomaguchi

"Customize"

A young barista learning the ropes at a Starbucks-like cafe finds that there is a skill in learning and memorizing those agonizingly long customized orders of extra cream, low fat milk, two sugars, etc, and find there’s a status and art in it!

Mayu Matsuoka

Fall 2022 Special

"The Man from the Future"

Average guy discovers that he’s time-slipped back 3 years into the past, unfortunately, having lived a completely unremarkable life unaware of any real social events or advancements in science or technology around him, finds he has no way of using this power to his benefit!

Masataka Kubota

"Banned Terms"

Fumino as a Charismatic Newscaster who finds that in his current world of cancel-culture, easily offended parties and outrage baiters, it is becoming harder and harder to do her daily report without using words or phrases that might “set somebody off”. 

With Cancel Culture becoming a bigger and bigger thing nowadays, this is a very timely one!

Fumino Kimura

Yuno Ohara

 "I Want To Know The Password"

A game of cat-and-mouse between a housewife and her husband when, believing he is cheating on her, engages in a battle of wits with him as she tries to get into his phone, laptop, etc, for proof. But the savvy hubby is always one step ahead….

PS: MAN, Tae was so damn pretty in this chapter!

Tae Kimura

New Year’s Special 2023

"The Shelter Man"

Hilarious short of a schleppy guy who finds a fugitive at his doorstep, begging for cover from the police. Normally he would call the authorities right away, but she’s an absolute babe so he invites her in, with hopes of somehow getting it on with her. But will his sense of appearing gentlemanly to his beautiful guest dash his chances?

Disco Hoshino

Riho Yoshioka

"Proxy Society"

In a futuristic world where you can hire a proxy to stand -in for you at any event that makes you uncomfortable, Ryuta Sato is at the top of his game. His latest job is to stand in for a guy who wants to propose to his girlfriend for hand in marriage. But when the girlfriend sends in her OWN proxy, things can get a bit muddled!!

Ryuta Sato

"Making Friends as an Adult"

A short but sweet story of a woman who finds that as she approaches middle age, it gets harder and harder to make friends to do things with. When work and home connections fail, she must dabble in latest methods and fads in search of true friendship!

Also featuring Yu Kashii, whom I haven’t seen in forever!

Haruka Kinami

Yu Kashii

Summer 2023 Special

"Dilemma At Dusk"

A supermarket quandary we’ve all been in, where the line you choose to pay for your goods goes slowly while the other goes fast… and when you move to the faster lane, IT slows down and the line you left picks up. What is a customer to do! Yukiyoshi Ozawa as the frazzled customer and Kana Kita as the cashier. Really liked this one!!!

Yukiyoshi Ozawa

Kana Kita

 

"Can You Be My Oshi/Death?"

Kaho as a bored OL whose only happiness is supporting her Oshi in a local idol boy band. When her stan suddenly quits, she seeks a new idol to support, and eventually finds one...a clerk at the local convenience store she shops at!!

Kaho 

"For Those Who (Don't) Want To Get Ahead in Life"

Seto stars as a succesful entrepreneur who, after being chided by an attractive contemporary of his (Miori Takimoto) for being too “high falutin’”, attends a class which teaches one to lower self-goals and become a more “Down to earth” unachiever!

Koji Seto

Miori Takimoto

Winter 2023 Special

"Nozaki's-San's Dream"

A high-school girl (Mori) dreams of becoming a famous model, actress and singer when she graduates. In her eyes, she’s always had star quality and has never doubted success would be on the way. But while being complimented by a gushing classmate (Karin Ono), she senses that her peers may not have seen her in the same light! 

This chapter is PURE BAKARHYTHM, the dialog so zany, fast and quirky, it could have come straight out of Brush up Life, especially with the karaoke flashback scene! 

Nana Mori

Karin Ono

"Love Chart"

A middle aged Dad faces the nerve wracking ordeal of parenthood when his young daughter falls in love with a boy in school for the first time! Using her school journal as a guide, he tries to work out what’s happening in class while he’s at work!

Kenichi Takito

Yuno Nagao

"Death Game"

A down on his luck guy with nothing to lose (Okayama) enters a “Squid Game” like scenario where the winner wins millions-but to lose costs you your life! But unlike life or death dramas like Liar Game or Da Capo Shimasenka, THIS game is run by a couple who, though intimidating looking, appear to be novices to the whole death-game dealing thing and fumble right along with the would be contestants! HAHAHA, this one was freaking HILARIOUS!!!

Amane Okayama

Takumi Saito

Misako Renbutsu

That's it so far- Five Specials in the span of two years.... pretty good output! I’ve talked to friends about Bakarhythm’s awesome SUTEKINA SEN-TAXI series, and how we WISH he would make new seasons every year, and though he won’t be doing that any time soon (I would wager that Yutaka Takenouchi would be waaaay to busy to commit to THAT), it seems like we may count on more Non REM no Mado specials in the future!

PS: Also really love how Bakarythm continually uses actors and actresses from his previous series, Kaho, Haruka Kinami, etc,  even cute Yuno Nagao (who played young Ando Sakura in Brush Up Life) among others!

Will be waiting for MORE of this FUN series!!!

It's Here! "Reibai Tantei Jozuka Hisui"

Kaya Kiyohara as Hisui Jozuka

 When we first meet Mystery Novelist Shiro Kogetsu (Koji Seto) he is helping as an unofficial consultant to the police on a  macabre serial killer case.

The Detective in charge, Masakazu Kaneba (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), is an officer with unorthodox methods to working his cases (such as consulting a writer’s opinion likee Kogetsu on things), aggravating his forensics agent Tenko Amano (Michiko Tanaka, doing basically her same role she did as Forensic Agent in “Kizoku Tantei) for his un-scientific ideas. But his latest request takes them all for a loop when yet another victim turns up with no leads or clues, and he asks if they should get a psychic medium brought in!!

Kogetsu is particularly appalled, as he is a great skeptic in miracles and a huge disbeliever in things like psychic phenomena. He scoffs and tells Kaneba he feels it a bad decision. But despite his beliefs on the subject, however, when his college colleague calls him up and asks him to accompany her on a Psychic consultation, he readily agrees.

Seems his friend Yuika Kuramochi (Momoko Tanabe) has been experiencing a repeating haunting vision at night and has been recommended to see a “Self-Professed Medium’ named Jozuka Hisui to take a look at her case.

When they get there, the two are surprised at how grand the place is, expecting a dank and shady place. They are seated by assistant Makoto Chiwasaki (Fuka Koshiba) while they wait for a previous patient to complete their reading.

When they finally meet Hisui Jozuka, she is just as mysterious and ethereal as the expected, with vintage clothing and and antique surroundings to complete the image! 

At a glance she seems as wondrous as advertised, and from the first moment Jozuka gives Kuramoto an aura reading, she is already completely mesmerized! Kogetsu, however, remains unconvinced. 

Kuramoto’s story of the ghostly image of the weeping woman looking over her has Jozuka worried, as it harkens back to the legend of the Irish banshee, which appears as a crying vision when someone is about to die. 

She warns Kogetsu to keep an eye out for Kuramoto’s safety, but he passes it off as part of the spiel.

To get a better assessment of the problem, Jozuka want to visit the home where the spiritual vision appeared, and they agree to meet the next day. Kogetsu happens to catch Jozuka early (where she wards off some would-be mashers with some cutting readings of their dark secrets) and is surprised to find that, while “off the clock”, dresses in a regular, stylish and modern fashion sense.

Jozuka confronted by thugs who demand she accompany them for some fun.

Letting them know she can see their dark secrets, and how they've hurt people.

"L-let's get outta here! That chick is nuts!"

She admits to the skeptic Kogetsu that she dresses in the witchy style outfits while doing consultations because it is what is expected of her and it helps with the readings. but she promises to change into the costume when they meet Kuramoto.

The meeting with Kuramoto never happens. She doesn’t answer calls and when Jozuka gets another bad feeling about things, they burst into her home…

...…where Yuika Kuramoto is found murdered in a pool of her own blood!

As Kogetsu frantically looks around, Hisui is hit with the bad vibes of the place, falling into a trance and whispering to herself, “The murderer is a woman. What…what is she looking for?” before passing out in Kogetsu’s arms.

The next day, Kogetsu ponders about the things Jozuka mumbled while in her trance state. He talks to Detective Kaneba about the murder, and is surprised that no woman is on their list of suspects. Somehow, despite his earlier skepticism, he feels Hisui has some kind of insight that the cops do not have and he finally admits it: he now believes her power is genuine. He needs to talk to her again.

When he does meet up with Hisui, she expresses regret about Kuromoto’s death, feeling greatly that she could have prevented it if she’d only pressed her beliefs stronger.  She knows in this world, psychic readings are seen as child’s play, but when Kogetsu finally affirms that he is now a believer in her visions, she pleads with him to use her abilities to help catch the killer.

 And thus a new partnership is made- with Jozuka joining hands with the law enforcement, using her powers to see the ethereal threads of the crime and Kogetsu applying his logic to the visions she sees, so that they may see the whole picture....

Going into a trance to channel the dead Yuika...

Once she is under, she begins speaking the truths that only the deceased can know, Kuramoto herself  talking through the vessel of Hisui. And though painful for both Hisui and the recently departed Yuika, they finally get the elusive facts they need to catch the criminal.

As some of you may recall, Reibai Tantei Jozuka Hisui has been the drama I’ve most anticipated, and I’m glad to say it was well worth it! Kaya Kiyohara (who is steadily growing as one of my favorite actresses) is properly hypnotic as the medium Hisui and Koji Seto makes a good foil as the serious skeptic Kogetsu.

My only wonder is: what in the WORLD is Fuka Koshiba doing here in such a small role? The role of assistant Chiwasaki is surely more suited for a newbie actress, not someone so relatively well established! 

Does this character become more integral as the show progresses? Does she end up being the killer or something? Or was the novel so important and popular that Fuka decided she just HAD to be a part of it, no matter how small the role??? I'm totally baffled.

Guess we can only wait and see what develops….