"Kimi to Sekai ga Owaru Hi ni" drama: Season one, episode one recap

 

 Air Dates: January 17th until March 21, 2021 Sundays at 10:30 pm on NTV

Title translates over to Love You as the World Ends, subs done by Manxcat at D-Addicts

Episode Ratings.... #1, 8.4%

Main Cast: Won't be adding too many characters in but instead may be removing many as already two of the main characters were killed at the end of the second show, they'll have their own section.

Ryoma Takeuchi as Hibiki Mamiya.... ~25 year old mechanic who lives with his girlfriend Kurumi and was about to propose when the disaster struck. At the time Hibiki was trapped in a tunnel and escaped after four days, eventually he joined up with a few other survivors.

Ayami Nakajo as Kurumi Ogasawara.... Hibiki's girlfriend and the pair went to high school together. She's in her second year of internship to become a doctor yet is still a bit too green.

Marie Iitoyo as Kanae Hiragi.... Third year college student who survived the catastrophe by being stuck on an elevator with Shoko, her daughter and three others.

Sho Kasamatsu as Hiro Todoroki.... Went to high school with Hibiki but really can't stand the sight of him. Hiro is a detective whose superior Hongo was killed at the end of the second episode. That makes him in charge of the small group and he's such a mean, hateful young man.

Tamae Ando as Shoko Mihara.... A caregiver by trade and is the mother of Yuzuki, they were trapped in an elevator with Kanae with two others.

Naho Yokomizo as Yuzuki Mihara.... Twelve year old survivor who has asthma.

Makita Sports as Yohei Komoto.... Owner of a small moving company and ended being trapped in the apartment elevator with Kanae and thee others.

Kim Jae-Hyun as Yoon Min-Jun.... Immigrant from Korea who is working with Komoto, he too was trapped in the apartment elevator which saved six lives.

Hyunri as Yoon Jian.... Min-Jun's older sister who is working in Japan as a doctor and has been assigned to help with the outbreak working for the Self Defense Forces of Japan.

Kenishi Takito as Koki Shuto.... Head doctor for the Self Defense Forces.

 Those who are now deceased:

Ryohei Otani as Daiki Hongo.... Police detective who is Todoroki's superior who has to always keep him in check. Hongo seemed like a really decent man but at the end of the second show he was shot, it appears as though he's dead but is he?

Takashi Sasano as Masaomi Uwajima.... Older man who was a novelist, he was bitten by a Zombie in the second episode and died at the end.

 Whew, seems like a large cast but it really isn't as most get a lot of screen time. This is my kind of drama as horror is my favorite genre and most series with that theme have been solid watches. Have viewed three other dramas with a Zombie theme, all were quite good but this will be the most serious and gory of them all. This is also the first season, there will be ten episodes in this one. A week after this season ends the second will begin with six shows and not sure why they weren't combined. Perhaps because of the time frame, this begins in September 2019 so maybe the second will take place in current times. Following this post is the recap for the second show.

 Miura is kind of a smallish city of 44,000 that's located on the Miura peninsula on the southern tip of Kanagawa prefecture. The time is September(?) 2019, seems like that period between Summer and Autumn. The main character, though there are many, is a 25 year old mechanic named Hibiki. He's living with his high school sweetheart Kurumi and when the series began he had plans on finally proposing to her that night. Kurumi is in her second year of residency at the Miura hospital, she happened to find the engagement ring and would have said Yes that night..... but will she ever get the chance in the future? To Hibiki it seemed like a normal morning when he was driving to his job as a mechanic on his motorcycle though very few other cars were out during rush hour.

 But the one he did encounter practically drove Hibiki off the road and ended up smashing into a wall. Hibiki kept on his way and while traveling though a tunnel it began shaking as if there was an earthquake. It wasn't but whatever the force was it so powerful the tunnel collapsed with Hibiki in it, he wasn't hurt badly but was trapped with seemingly no way out. With no options he began digging almost nonstop for four days until he eventually saw sunlight. Making his way out Hibiki cam upon a strange scene.... there was no other person around! Not one person, car, sound and just a few birds in the air, where could the world have disappeared to? Plus there was no phone service so Hibiki had no success in trying to contact his girlfriend Kurumi, what does or can a man do in a situation like that?

 Hibiki rushed to his bosses' repair shop to find of all things... living creatures(!).... or can Zombies be considered living? His boss was one of the creatures and Hibiki had to beat many off to save his own skin. Hibiki quickly left the garage and tried to figure out what's happened to Kurumi, no success at their apartment as she hadn't been there for days. But shortly after leaving it Hibiki went looking for a pace of refuge though he easily could have stayed at his apartment. But it worked out well as he met a normal person, this was the detective Hongo who almost shot Hibiki thinking he was a Zombie, there aren't many live humans remaining. Hongo told him there's a group of almost ten holed up in a building, come with him or face the consequences which means a sure death.

 There is one radio station on air which is being controlled by the Miura city government. Before meeting Hongo Hibiki heard the city has been ordered to evacuate immediately as it's about to be cordoned off. But it may too late to flee now, especially for Hibiki who won't leave until he's learned the fate of Kumuri. So it was off to the hideout with Hongo and all ten happened to be in a spot where there was no 'regular air' was when the disaster struck, what it exactly was is unknown at this time to us viewers and the characters. Hibiki had been trapped in the tunnel when things went haywire plus there was a group of five stuck in an elevator. That group consisted of the twelve year old Yuzuki, her mother Shoko, two movers and above the striking third year college student Kanae. 

 You'd think there would be many more who at the time were on an elevator or at some other enclosed location, perhaps there were but probably many fled the city and maybe more are holing up too. Besides the five, Hongo and Hibiki there were three others. One was an older novelist named Uwajima along with a courier who was Azuma but he quickly left to find a rumored shelter. The remaining person was another detective named Todoroki and he's quite a hothead. He went to high school with Hibiki and can't stand his old classmate, why hasn't been revealed through two episodes. This small group spent the night at the abandoned building but come morning they realized it was no longer safe as Zombies had been trying to break in and it was just a matter of time until they were successful. Azuma hadn't returned with info about the shelter which was the Miura high school, with really no other options the group headed out as it's slightly safer during the daytime.

 These Zombies are like most you've seen though with a few differences. Yes they just slog when they walk but on occasion can be as spry as a human. It appears when a person has been bitten all react a bit differently and for no reason. Some humans can turn into a Zombie two minutes after they've been bitten, for others it may take up to twenty hours. For now this 'virus' is just located in the city of Miura which has now been blockaded by the Japanese government. Why just that city has been affected is a mystery but that'll keep us watching! Plus the Japanese Self Defense Forces have been moving into the city to battle the Zombies, we'll see much more of them in the next episode.

 So the nine person group headed to the high school, for the most part it was a safe journey as they just encountered one Zombie. They can come out during the day and do but are much more dangerous at night or in a location that's dark, are they vampires too? The group reached the high school just before dusk and noticed Azuma's motorcycle there, if he's safe why didn't he come back and get the others? The high school had also been the location where the staff from Miura hospital fled to, no sign of them but Hibiki did find his girlfriend Kurumi's ID badge. No dead bodies of the staff which is a good sign, seems they had to flee in a hurry so where could they have gone to and why did they need to leave?

 The answer to that was provided by Kanae who went looking for the ladies room. She was passing by the gym when a few minor noises from inside aroused her curiosity and she entered to see what it was. Of course it was a huge mistake as behind a curtain in the gym were over a hundred Zombies who were starving and they proceeded to chase her down the hallways. But her screaming attracted the attention of the others who quickly began battling the creatures throughout the school. While in high school Hibiki had been a member of the archery club, he gathered a bow and a huge amount of arrows to defend the group and he showed what a marksman he was in taking down the Zombies. One of the movers is named Yoon who is from Korea, he's been quiet as he doesn't speak Japanese all that well. But beyond well is what he is at Taekwondo as he was like a one man army and took out more Zombies than Hibiki and Todoroki combined. Unknown to anyone for now was the fact these Zombies had been normal not too long ago and were waiting for a vaccine to be given to them.

 More on the vaccine in the next recap and for now most of the Zombies at the school have been beaten back but it's another location the group of nine can't remain at for too long. So off to wherever was what had to be planned out but the question was where was the twelve year old girl Yuzuki who Hibiki had befriended? She had gotten separated from her mother during the battle but managed to escape to the outside safely. But hot on her tail was the tenth member of the group, that was Azuma who hadn't returned to the group for now he too is a Zombie. Or was a group member to be more precise as once again Hibiki showed his archery skills and took the Zombie down but his supply of arrows isn't endless nor the bullets the detectives have, what's going to happen then? You'd think if they thought a bit the group would hit a store for supplies or head back to the police station for more ammo and weapons which never took place.

 So with most Zombies out of the way the group decides to spend the night at the high school. Hongo discovered a radio receiver and went searching around the dial for other groups of survivors, there had to be more out there. Someone did respond and of all people it was Hibiki's girlfriend Kurumi! Her hospital staff had to flee the school once the Zombies began to overrun it but safety they didn't find. At the moment they're under siege at the major Harumi intersection, can Hibiki and his new mates come and rescue them? Of course he'll be dashing there but that scene brought us to this exciting opening episode's conclusion.

 This was a thrilling first show, not as much action in the second episode but it may have been a tad better as we got to meet the other characters a bit more plus learn some things about the Zombies. Not enough of Marie or Ayami in this opening episode but both will be getting a lot of screen time and will be playing key roles in the series. Think all of the major points were discussed above but any minor ones should be in these screenshots which always help you to follow the action a bit better. The following post has the recap for the second show.