Winds of change are here

series review

Netflix has had its share of drama, laughs, tears, blood and relationships. So now to be presented with something that wouldn’t really qualify to be a subset of any of these aforementioned genres is quite soothing and mildly discomfiting, for it means having to absorb a different variety altogether. Hibana (Spark) is a 10-part Japanese series, which is the newest kid on the block.

Those with limited horizons of imaginations might presume Hibana to be a bigger version of a Murakami-esque novel or like an Anime series come alive. To tell you the truth, it is neither. This is a part of Japan and the oriental entertainment that none of us have seen before, simply because it is new and fresh as the wind and flowers shown in the series. The characters are real, simple in their lives, complex in their minds and angsty in their approach.“I’m thinking about buying a pet.”
“Yeah?”

“Pets make good company, right?”
“Are you going to buy an old fart?”
“No!”

That’s how the show begins, with two friends Tokunaga (Kento Hayashi) and Yamashita (Masao Yoshii) going over their stand-up comedy routine. Their gig happens at a summer festival, with little audience and their lacklustre response. It is here that Tokunaga meets Kamiya (Kazuki Namiyoka), who goes on to become his teacher in the art of manzai (stand-up comedy). Kamiya, with his almost-ragamuffin appearances and seemingly frivolous demeanor would come across as a sort of ‘maverick mentor’, who respects the art. He does not believe in catering to the masses, he says, because then, you are not doing anything new.

Hibana is based on an award-winning book of the same name by Naoki Matayoshi. Some parts of it focus on the struggle of those trying to get their first big break in the world of stand-up comedy. Tokunaga juggles with his part-time job at a supermarket, at attempting to be a disciplined apprentice and facing rejections. But sometimes, you have to grab the second best offer to pay your bills. Tokunaga and Yamashita end up at shows where talent has little recognition and their potential is seriously under-utilised. At one audition, the duo have to encounter a Marilyn Monroe lookalike, a man who makes a toy helicopter disappear with his hair and an another man who pretends to be a stomach. They’re chided for their routine when they perform there, being told that they have no ‘catch’. So much for talent. What an artistic imitation of life, you’d think.

The sempai-kohai (master-student) relationship or the big brother-little brother theme keeps popping up throughout the season, again a constant reminder that this is a Japanese series. That Tokunaga begins to write Kamiya’s biography upon the latter’s insistence is the starting point of their rapport, which is riddled with friendship, conflict, hardship and anguish — and also forms the core of Hibana.

Also, childhood memories of Tokunaga are frequented, leading up to explain his status quo. The entire 10-part series chronicles 10 years of existence of these people. The most realistic theme here, however is the portrayal of human emotions — everything from betrayal to jealousy to hope to existential crisis. Relatable at so many levels without the gas of surrealism and over-the-top philosophy like one can expect, this is as human as entertainment can get.

Should you watch Hibana (Spark)? Yes. But not because you want to try something out-of-the-box or to get out of your comfort zone. But at least to see how (or whether) such refreshingly genuine writing will sit with your sensibilities.