Fuji-TV/FOD homepage link for the show: https://www.fujitv.co.jp/nogizakacinemas/
This drama began on January 21st, it will have ten episodes featuring one Nogi member who are in the above pic and here's the list of who will be in each show plus it's rating:
Episode one- Asuka 7.5/10
Episode two- Manatsu 7.1/10
Episode three- Sayuri 8.0/10
Episode four- Mizuki
Episode five- Hinako
Episode six- Miona
Episode seven- Yuki
Episode eight- Erika
Episode nine- Shiori
Episode ten- Mai
The series airs on Tuesday nights but already four shows have aired so it must be more than one episode a week. Will have a mini recap for each show which has a running time of close to 25 minutes, subs for the series are being done by Beam Subs. Every show will have a different story which often will be a mysterious one, let's get on with the (not so)brief recap.
Episode title: Super Ethereal Knight Arcadius
So far all three shows have been enjoyable watches though did think they may be a bit better or perhaps more interesting. Also thought they were supposed to be a bit eerier or strange but there still are seven episodes to go and this was probably the best show to date though not a must watch.
In the first two shows the member's had a character name but in this episode Sayuri sticks with her actual name. She's a 27 year old single woman in this show who has been working for a long time at the Phantasma Games company. However she's not a designer or anything that interesting but is stuck in the sales department where she works with numbers all day. To drown her sorrows she often frequents the same bar after work and has become somewhat friendly with the barkeep.
Sayuri keeps moaning to the man about her non-existent love life and how her company is just full of twenty something nerds who she has no interest in. The bartender isn't what you would call a handsome man but has a very attractive younger wife. He suggested to Sayuri to take a book of his which was a 'magical one' that led him to marry his much younger wife. Sayuri was a bit leery but if it could work for her barkeep perhaps it could work for her.
She brought the book home that night which contained a ritual that would guarantee her love life would improve. It was getting a bit late so Sayuri didn't complete the ritual, she left the book open on it's page and went to sleep. Of all things to wake up to the first thing Sayuri saw in the morning was the figure above who was made of paper(!) and called himself Arcadius.
The ritual would bring forth a figure, someone you knew or perhaps something else that you loved in the past when the year the book was published. That date was 2006 and at the time Sayuri was a fourteen year old student. She had no man in her life at that young age but what she had which she 'loved' was a manga she drew with the character of Arcadius. Even though the ritual wasn't finished the drawing came to life, it looked exactly as Sayuri had drawn it and with the same personality. It's purpose in it's new life was to protect it's 'Lady Sayuri' at all costs and she quickly became annoyed with Arcadius.
The paper figure can only be seen by Sayuri and it's probably because Arcadius only existed in her mind versus the bartender's wife. However Arcadius can still touch things and often destroys objects that he feels are harmful to Sayuri much to her dismay. It was nice having someone around for Sayuri even if it was just a figment of her imagination but the thrill soon wore off as everywhere she went Arcadius was in tow, even at work.
Sayuri's job is still going nowhere and as you can see above her dream was really to become a manga writer. Her only attempt had been the one with Arcadius when she was fourteen but she thought it was a piece of garbage and she was right. Meanwhile Sayuri had hit her breaking point with the constantly meddling Arcadius as she told him to take a hike forever which definitely broke his heart. Thought we would never see the character again as when Arcadius departed Sayuri's building it was raining heavily and you know what water does to paper. It appeared that was the end of Sayuri's 'keeper' though we'll see the character briefly before the show ends.
Down to the last 1/3 of the episode and around this time of the show is when I realized what Sayuri really wanted in life. When she attempted the ritual it wasn't to find her 'ideal man' in life though that was her original intention. Instead what she needed was a kick in the rear to get her moving towards her dream of being a manga writer. Once she saw Arcadius it brought back memories of the time when she had dreams to become successful in life. These days Sayuri has a solid job but a dead end one and seeing her character has revived Sayuri's dream.
Immediately Sayuri went into action and created her overdue second manga. Much of it was based on her original work but she did change some things such as the Arcadius character. The draft wasn't quite done yet when Sayuri decided to take a break but to her dismay she was locked in her company's reference room. But of all 'people' who should come to her rescue but Arcadius! He survived the rain and said he would go get help for his 'master'. Shortly after he returned with Sayuri's co-worker Yamada who she couldn't stand but he was an upcoming manga artist and their manager had praised his work, Yamada even had a character based on Sayuri in his story.
For some reason he too could see Arcadius and Sayuri wondered if it was because he too hadn't fulfilled the dream life he imagined when he was fourteen. Yamada was impressed with Sayuri's story and the pair worked all night long on it. The pair finished the book by the following morning and she entered in a contest which had also been one of her dreams. Though Sayuri at first had no liking for Yamada the two did become a bit close working together, have no idea if they'll become an item but it appears that way.
Arcadius watched the two growing closer and with that he stated his purpose in coming to life was complete. That was to make sure Sayuri found a solid man to protect her and also that she started working towards her dream, in her case it was to be a manga writer. After telling Sayuri his tale Arcadius quickly threw himself into a paper shredder as she watched helplessly, rain couldn't kill him but a shredder definitely would. Sayuri wasn't too upset though as now her life seemed to be on track, she didn't win the contest but she's still with Yamada as the episode came to it's close.
After writing this up realized it was a much better episode than I thought it was. Best one to date but hope a few others top this show. Sayuri is a decent actress though don't know if she has what it takes to be in a thriller or horror film. But doing the roles of quirky and funny woman seem to fit her well and bet once she leaves Nogi we may see her in a few lighthearted/comedy dramas. Will have the next recap sometime early next week and that fourth episode stars Mizuki. As usual have a vast amount of screenshots to help you follow the story better.
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