Enjiya (2021)

Enjiya ( 演じ屋);The Bittersweet Revenge Tale…

Revenge tales have long been the creme de la creme of classic drama storylines , however, “Enjiya” attempts to revamp this classic setup with our main lead Tomoki ( Isomura Hayato)’s own dish of revenge best served cold . Falsely accused of sexual assault on a train by a stranger ( Ito Momoka) and her accomplice ( Ito Asahi), Tomoki finds his life turned upside down by losing his fiancée ( Tokunaga Eri) and his job overnight. Tomoki journeys to a rooftop in order to commit suicide, only to be a witness to an “enjiya” ( the namesake of the drama); a staged event where clients can request anything they want for a pricey fee. Tomoki decides to employ the services of a mysterious enjiya worker Aika ( Nao) in order to inflict revenge upon all those who falsely accused him of this wrongdoing .

There was a lot of uncertainty where PD Noguchi Teruo ( as the screenwriter and director) was initially going to take “ Enjiya”. Revenge tropes revolving around the lead as a “ wronged person” popularly take form in getting revenge against a lover or ex often over other setups, so seeing a drama where the male main lead was more focused upon his revenge against a set-group of individuals( including strangers) than a lover per say definitely made this a different, yet intriguing watch. The drama flits between soap-opera-style setups (such as when a distraught Tomoki discovers his fiancée’s boyfriend) and of course dark satire and comedy ( Tomoki’s awkward discovery that the seemingly stabbed woman, Aika, is actually acting for a client in a disturbing and lewd fantasy).

Yet the vitality of this setup would undeniably not have come to life without its main cast. Whilst Isomura Hayato is often an overlooked actor by respectfully starring in lesser-known dramas/productions or side roles, he really shone through onscreen as Tomoki. The actor’s donned sloppy haircut, anxiety and mix of emotions present in his facial features captivated Tomoki’s character, emotions and psyche perfectly. Parallel to Isomura was evidently actress Nao who played suave and mysterious enjiya worker Aika. Similar to her costar , Nao has often played in lesser-known works or in smaller roles over the years, yet her performance here was undeniably one of the main highlights of the drama also.

As far as the rest of the casting choices are concerned, the acting is a bit of a mixed-bag respectfully. This isn’t to say it was unwatchable or dragging down any of the other actors, but some performances were admittedly better than others during certain moments of tension or angst . Adding onto this was also Noguchi Teruo’s screenwriting logic also. The screenwriter and director has respectfully suffered from this problem and mixed-criticism for this exact reason in the past and it is evident to see where problems arise here; the logic of characters, as well as realistic scenarios were fairly hare-brained at the best of the times. Actions of characters could sometimes feel lacklustre or out of place by failing to build-up more complexity. Then of course there’s the issue with minor details. This was shown such as with the train seemingly having few mentions of CCTV footage ( and even if was obscured and misinterpreted why it wasn’t covered in more detail), the criminal records of Tomoki’s accusers not coming under fire at least once in the police questioning and of course the fact that Tomoki seemed to have “ no one to lean on” ( not even mentions of friends or family) after the incident also.

However even amongst its more evident mistakes and it’s surreal premise the drama wasn’t afraid to try to tackle trickier subject areas and topics . The prominent premise of the drama itself revolves around the illicit and unusual trend in Japanese culture of unique businesses which accommodate themselves to the unusual services of their clients. This can range from customers looking for a romantic love interest, friend , a confidant, maid and even a fake family member for various reasons and often for extortionate prices. Consequently Teruo’s drama offers a surprisingly dark reflection upon modern Japanese culture and isn’t afraid to pack a punch when needed.

The ending offers a classic case of a dish of revenge best served cold- it’s bittersweet but a concise ending to the story. Overall ‘ Enjiya’ can easily be overlooked by many due to fuzzy camera quality and set designs often coming across outdated and marks of a novice filmmaker, however, the storyline was oddly intriguing . Whilst certain characters ( including our antagonists) could’ve done with more development and build-up, the story offered an engaging take on the revenge trope. A surprisingly good watch.

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