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!!!

My Sister, My Sister

Maika Yamamoto and Miori Takimoto in "Sister"

 Nagisa Miyoshi (Maika Yamamoto) is a sweet and naive girl whose life revolves around her adoration of her kind and caring older sister Saho (Miori Takimoto) as she tries to make it in the big city.

Saho is an art director for a fashion magazine and has managed to get Nagisa a job at a successful advertising firm, and job which she is dedicated to and wants to make something of herself with.

But a fly appears in the ointment when the section supervisor (who had been away on business when Nagisa was hired) returns, and Nagisa finds it to be a man named Yosuke Asakura (Junpei Mizobata),someone who was her high school crush years ago! 

They has a short friendship back then which ended abruptly, leaving her with unrequited feelings still unresolved. Her heart pounds for this unexpected reunion, but her spirit sinks when he is reintroduced to her by co-worker Hase (Taiki Sato) ...and Asakura pretend to not even KNOW her!

Nagisa is crushed by the turn of events, but big sis Saho consoles her that evening by telling her she’ll help her dress up and look more outstanding so she can make a PROPER impression on the guy. Nagisa's spirits are lifted by her thoughtful Sis! 

And after the coaching and encouragement by her Sis, Nagisa DOES manage to get Yosuke to not only talk to her the next day, but acknowledge their past! Finally they can talk about their brief school encounter, and she even feels like there might be something to be rekindled here!!

That evening she tells the good news to her sister, how she reconnected with her friend and how there might even be a chance of a new relationship!  Saho is happy for her and then tells Nagisa that she has some good news of her OWN-that she is engaged to be MARRIED, and wants Nagisa to meet her fiance that night for dinner!

Nagisa is beside herself with happiness for her older sister and can’t wait to meet the gentleman who will be marrying Saho…and so it is a complete SHOCK...

…when Saho’s fiance turns out to be none other than Yosuke himself!

Nagisa is stunned beyond words but puts on a brave face for the sake of her sister, pretending  to only know of Yosuke in passing at work, even as her feelings are crushed.

She wants to do what’s best for Saho…but as we will soon learn, there is a dark streak of nastiness within the heart of Nagisa’s older sister that is waiting to come out, cold feelings that threaten to destroy any happiness Nagisa hopes to have!

WELL…I’ve been reading some of the reactions for the first episode of Sister on twitter, and I’m pretty amazed how many people were surprised by the twist at the end. For me, Saho turning out to be secretly mean and manipulative had to be one of the most predictable reveals for the show, what with Miori’s character being so overly saccharine and sweet and Maika so wide eyed and naive…You KNEW it was too good to be true! 

Wonder if this show will have any developments that will actually compel me to tune into this one for the long haul!I really love both Maika Yamamoto AND Miori Takimoto, (by the way, both of them look just utterly BEAUTIFUL here!)  but is this gonna be another one of those persecution dramas???? Please, No…

I mean, I just got through the Hirona Yamazaki/Kie Kitano dramedy “Nanji No Na” and though I ended up rather digging it, I really don’t want to sit through more!