Influence (2021)

No spoilers :)

Influence follows the lives of three girls–Yuri, Maho and Satoko. Yuri and Satoko have been friends since childhood but they were estranged after Yuri’s parents forbade her from visiting Satoko. At that tender age, Yuri was unable to help Satoko who was being sexually abused by her grandfather.

In high school, Yuri meets Maho, a girl who is ostracized for her wealth and her “difference” from other girls.

To protect each other from abuse, the three girls commit a string of murders and such is the story related by Yuri to the author Oikawa Tomomi, tto get this story written and shared with the world. But wait, there’s more.

Influence is true to the title and talks about the "influence," the effect which these hideous events have had on these three girls. Right when the viewers begin to wonder “why do these girls keep murdering the assailant everytime,” the title reminds us the answer. That these girls have been shaped and moulded by their pasts, their mindset has been influenced by the experiences where nobody stood up for them.

“I want children to be in a world where they can trust adults.”

—Totsuka Yuri, Influence (Ep. 5)

Influence tells a story of an unconventional friendship born out of gruesome circumstances but one which can withstand any storm for the other.

Beautiful flowers do bloom out on strong roots but Yuri, Maho and Satoko have had to rely on themselves to spread roots, but eventually they bloom with a strange wild grace (and the occasional homicidal tendencies).

With a well-paced storyline and unexpected plot twists that make sense, Influence is a wild journey which I loved to be part of. 8.5/10» An awesome show which impressed me. (My rating scale is on my profile :)

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à ton tour ...

Adapté d'un roman de Fumie Kondo, qui à ma connaissance, n'est pas encore traduite dans le pays autoproclamé des belles lettres, Influence augure au premier abord du meilleur des thrillers. Cast intéressant avec Ohtsuka Nene en narratrice qu'on a toujours plaisir à entendre et à voir. Elle est épaulée par une autre excellente actrice de sa génération Suzuki Honami en écrivain qui se retrouve rapidement enquêtrice. Le gros de l'histoire se passant dans les années 80-90, on verra sur un temps bien plus long à l'écran les trois jeunes héroïnes, magnifiquement interprétées par trois actrices plutôt douées dans leur rôle.

Le ton est noir et la photographie, soignée, rajoute cette ambiance glauque de barres d'immeubles d'une banlieue prolétaire japonaise des années 80. Dans ces cages à lapins, chaque famille épie, critique et parfois dénonce ses voisins. Mais elle ne viendrait pas au secours de personnes peu fréquentables. Faire peu de vagues pour ne pas être ensuite la cible des commérages ne semblent pas s'arrêter avec la fin des brimades scolaires. La société japonaise est gangrenée par les "on dit" jusque dans les lieux de vie. Ce qu'il ce passe derrière les portes de ses appartements exigus, où les générations dorment parfois tous dans la même pièce, personne ne veut le savoir.

Avec un scénario extrêmement bien ficelé, les relations entre chaque personnage correspondent bien au titre choisi et on savoure les indices distillés, en se demandant qu'est-ce qui relie nos deux narratrices dans le présent, autant que de découvrir l'horreur des relations entre les jeunes filles dans le passé. On regrettera seulement 5 épisodes, tant la matière est forte, même si la facilité avec laquelle les meurtres sont perpétrés est toujours déconcertante. Mais le format de 5 épisodes oblige les raccourcis et omet tout le chemin psychologique nécessaire au passage à l'acte que l'on peut mesurer sur la longueur d'un roman.

Petit bémol donc, avec pour le reste que du bon, y compris la musique. La mise en scène fait froid dans le dos, avec une suggestivité sur les actes perpétrés dans ce huis clos, parfaitement menées. Nos trois héroïnes seront donc confrontées au pire du genre humain et vont devoir faire des choix irréversibles. Ohtsuka Nene raconte avec un détachement glaçant tous ses événements débutés 35 ans avant et nous pousse à chaque fin d'épisode à en vouloir savoir plus. Comme si à la fenêtre d'un de ses appartements, nous épions nos voisins pour découvrir leurs secrets les plus inavouables et de la sorte se rassurer sur notre vie pas si misérable.

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♥ インフルエンス ♥

Influence is a drama about 3 girls who are friends since high school, Totsuka yuri the main character is the most innocent while her friends kill some people. When Yuri becomes older she goes to a novelist who writes book to write about her story.Back when Yuri was a high school student, she lived in an apartment complex in the province. She was aware that her classmate Satoko was sexually assaulted by Satoko's grandfather, but Yuri could not do anything about that and they became estranged.
They lived in the same apartment complex. One day, Maho was about to be attacked by someone holding a knife, the story becomes very dark but it's really good, I got so addicted to this drama. Young Yuri is sooo cute and great actress ♥ ♥ ♥

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This one has entered my list of favs

I started watching this dorama because of Hashimoto Kanna and I'm so glad I did. Not only she did an amazing job playing Yuri, but the dorama itself was just the best thing I watched this year.

For the whole course of these 5 episodes I was 100% engage and captivated, thinking about not only what could happen next but more importantly, how these three girls would live their lives.

I still wont call them friends because what they had is something else.

Also, I really want to read the book sensei wrote. I like that she went the Tarantino route and rewrote history gave them a happy ending in the book. Like she said to Maho in episode one, she writes fiction.

This is definitely going to leave a everlasting impact on me. That is the power of good stories.

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A very underrated and overlooked J-drama

Though Influence is centered on multiple murders committed by the three main leads, it isn't a high-octane thrill ride but rather an observation on friendship and how it crumbles and rebuilds itself in the midst of heinous acts committed with good intentions.

Not only is the story intriguing and takes many unexpected turns in its short 5 episodes run but it's also very well produced and well-acted. Admittingly, I haven't watched very many J-dramas, but I was glad that I took a chance on Influence because it really raised the bar for me. I especially loved the effort that the production team put into making the 1980s flashbacks look real. The set and costume designs along with the exterior shots were all top-tier.

The only places where the story fell short was minor plot inconveniences. It annoyed me to no end that Maho was at the crime scene of Yuri's murder. Thematically, it makes sense because Yuri starts to realize in that moment that Maho deceived her but in context, Maho should not have been anywhere near the crime scene. Frustratingly, it was later revealed by Detective Natsume that Maho has an alibi, which was not only false but obviously a thoughtless plot contrivance by the fact that they never specified what Maho's "alibi" was.

There was also the instance in which Yuri seems surprised that Satoko didn't know that Yuri killed her husband, despite Maho specifically telling her that Satoko didn't know. These scenes were written in simply for dramatic effect but thankfully, they didn't come aplenty. Just a few head-scratching moments that takes away from an otherwise EXCELLENT series. However, there is concern that since the show is very much dramatic and lacks humor or romance, there's little rewatch value. The most exciting parts were the plot twists but during a rewatch, you'll already know everything that's going to happen. The best thing to gain from a rewatch would be the handful of genuinely sweet/heartwarming friendship moments between the three girls.

I highly recommend Influence.

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Lazos criminales

Impresionante historia de suspenso sobre 3 chicas que son amigas desde la escuela y las une algo muy perturbador, la manera en la que se desenvuelve la historia, la cual es contada por una de estas chicas muchos años despues de los sucesos importantes de la historia. Me pareció brillante la narrativa de la historia y el personaje de la novelista creo que es la representación de todos aquellos televidentes que escuchabamos y descubriamos la historia poco a poco a medida de que iba siendo contada. El desenlace de la historia me pareció sumamente impredecible y sorprendente, adicionalmente a eso, la manera en que conectaron la existencia de la novelista con el resto de la historia de estas 3 chicas fue fenomenal también, pienso que el guión es impecable, sin embargo es una historia muy triste pero a la vez no pude evitar sentirme conforme con el final, pienso que las cosas sucedieron como tenía que ser, aunque haya sido un poco agridulce.

La actuación es otro de los aspectos que hizo brillar esta historia, es la primera vez que veo a Hashimoto Kanna haciendo este tipo de papel tan oscuro y conflictivo, y debo decir que me impresionó, pude sentir toda la contradicción y arrepentimientos que sentía su personaje a lo largo de la historia; me encantó también Yoshikawa Ai interpretando este personaje rebelde y frontal, creo que va muy bien con su imagen, adicionalmente este personaje a pesar de tener ese frente, también tenía una fragilidad oculta que pudo interpretar muy bien; Aoi Wakana también me impresionó, a ella no la había visto antes, y realmente su tenacidad fue algo inolvidable. Adicionalmente, Otsuka Nene fue fabolusa como la que narra la historia, podía sentir la tensión de la novelista mientras escuchaba la historia por parte de ella, y tenía esa aura de misterio que me encanta de ella; y bueno por último Suzuki Honami siempre espectacular, yo sentí que era ella descubriendo la historia de estas chicas, todas las cosas que a ella le sorprendieron, a mi también, y me encantó su labor investigativa durante la serie.

Esta es una historia corta, con tan solo 5 capítulos, pero llena de muchísima intensidad, no hay un solo momento que no haya tensión, pero también hubo redención para estos personajes que pasaron por tantas cosas. Como es una historia un tanto triste, quizás no es una serie que vería nuevamente, pero definitivamente la recomiendo por su excelente guión, narrativa y actuación.

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A short, female-centered, mystery drama. Truly a rarity

This is a very interesting mystery drama; it took me just one night to finish watching it (it’s a very short drama with only five episodes).

Influence is about a Yuri, a mysterious woman who approaches a novelist to tell her the story of how (and why) she and her two best friends committed three murders. Yuri asks the novelist to write a story about them.

The premise is fairly simple, but each episode offers a series of intense twist and many heartbreaking moments that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The drama deals with some pretty heavy issues and isn’t easy to watch at times, especially in the first few episodes. Even so, I found the first half of the drama more gripping than the second, perhaps because the actions of the female leads made more sense because, after all, they were just teenagers. About the second half of the drama, I have mixed feelings; after some of the plot twists, I was expecting something more sinister to be at play, but that didn’t happen - this is not that kind of story. It’s simply the story of the deep bond that binds three women together and the twisted sense of friendship they share. It was fascinating to watch.

That said, it's not without its faults, for example the thing about the button was beyond stupid (there’s no way a single button could possibly open a whole ass case that was already closed) or the part where one of the female leads tries to play the “he had a rough childhood” card after her boyfriend viciously attacked one of their classmates. It made sense for her to think that way, but the thing that angered me the most is that no one called her out on her bullshit. I was fucking livid.

Nevertheless, the drama is definitely something different and I would recommend it if you can handle some darker themes.

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A story about Friendship? Not really, more of a story about a story about being bound by a secret.

When I finished watching this drama, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I mean as a story and the way it was executed is excellent by all means. The characters were multidimensional and intriguing. What didn't sit well with me though was the ending. Not the actual ending, but how it was viewed? Like condoning what those 3 did?

I find this story excellent at showcasing the wrong in being in a world where it's all about gossip and being afraid of the law alone without having a sense of values to believe in and follow. Basically, as long as I don't get caught, I'm free to do as I please. There is no owning up and taking responsibility. Because society's opinion is their God and true law. And that is what makes Maho and Satoko the worst type of "friends" you can have. What they had there wasn't friendship but a bind.

As for Yuri, it's a bit of the opposite. Very early on, her sensible little self took on the burden of someone else's pain and lived the rest of her life feeling guilt over something that had nothing to do with her. That guilt lead her to take each and every action she took later on in life. And no one seems to notice her pain, not her family, not even her so-called friends.

Other than the main trio, I also enjoyed the writer's character, and how she was doing her research instead of just depending on a biased point of view of the story. The detective was interesting as well, smart in some cases, and really stupid in other times.

Directing of the drama is great. The pacing is great. What surpasses it is how lighting and colour were used. Present-day colours were vibrant, while when we go back to the past, particularly to scenes with Yuri, it gets dimmed. It's a notable contrast that helps you both immediately know where we are in the timeline, as well as portray the characters' psyche at the moment.

In short: I never thought a story about 3 high school girls would have so many twists and turns that kept me intrigued till the last moment. Depressing but a good and solid drama.

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Una historia con mucho suspenso y sorprendentemente conmovedora

¡Hola, muchachada! Hoy me paso por acá para hablarles de un Jdrama súper cortito (solo tiene 5 episodios) que realmente creo que vale la pena ver.

La historia gira en torno a una mujer llamada Yuri que le escribe a una novelista con el objetivo de que esta cuente la historia de su vida en un libro. La novelista queda completamente enganchada a la historia de Yuri cuando descubre que ella y sus dos mejores amigas de la secundaria cometieron varios asesinatos.

Empecé esta serie literalmente porque sí, sin haber escuchado nada sobre ella y sin saber si me iba a gustar, simplemente me la crucé en Viki un día que tenía que hacer tiempo y le di play... Literal así se descubren las mejores historias.

Las tres protagonistas son personajes bastante peculiares y complejos. Cuando uno piensa que las entiende, hacen algo inesperado (pero también lógico, no es que actúan de manera aleatoria). Ver lo que estas tres harían a continuación me mantuvo súper atenta las casi cinco horas que dura este dorama, así que por ese lado 10/10. Y la novelista me pareció un recurso espectacular, porque sus reacciones al ir escuchando la historia representan muy bien al espectador.

Hablando de recursos y de la forma en la que está contada esta historia, amé los pequeños saltos entre el pasado y el presente. Siento que utilizaron muy bien esa dinámica para generar suspenso e intriga.

Además, el guion está súper bien escrito. Cuando terminé la serie me sorprendió un montón lo conforme que quedé con todo, sobre todo en lo que respecta a las explicaciones finales y a los vínculos que se fueron creando entre los personajes. Me divierte pensar que una historia sobre asesinatos tenga un feeling tan conmovedor, pero la realidad es que lo tiene y me encanta.

Actuaciones decentes, una estética bastante definida, momentos turbios y bastante serios, una trama sólida y una banda sonora que acompaña bien todo son algunas de las cosas que más resalto de #Influence.

Creo que lo único "criticable" es que en algunas partes cae en "conveniencias" para la trama, pero esas conveniencias ni siquiera se dan en situaciones realmente relevantes, así que todo bien.

•IG DE RESEÑAS CORTAS (sin spoilers): https://www.instagram.com/altoplottwist/

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I’ve seen a couple of shows and movies recently that meditate on the idea about what kids are supposed to do when adults fail to protect them. I think it’s an interesting idea to wrestle with, and this show takes it in a new direction: maybe murder is the solution! I am somewhat joking, but I don’t mean to make fun of it. In fact, I think it really works in this story.
I think this show could have benefited from being a little bit longer, but the story doesn’t feel too rushed. The actresses are all solid, and the way their characters’ relationships evolve over the course of the story is interesting to watch. I enjoyed the framing device too. I honestly think the best parts were when they were in high school, and while it stayed solid throughout there were a few things that bugged me at the end. But overall, it is an intriguing, compelling, well-written, and well acted show. The cinematography was nice as well. It’s definitely a solid thriller.
P.S. this reminded me a tiny bit of the novel OUT by Natsuo Kirino, so if you liked that book you might like this!

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