Hoshi Kara Kita Anata (2022)

Sweet, But Worlds Apart From Its Predecessor…

For those unaware ‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ ( alternatively known as ‘ 星から来たあなた’ or ‘ My Love From The Stars’) is adapted from ‘ My Love From The Star’ starring Kim So Hyun ( ‘ Dream High’, ‘ Secretly Greatly’ and ‘ It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’) and Jun Ji Hyun ( ‘ My Sassy Girl’, ‘ The Legend Of The Blue Sea’ and ‘ Jirisan’).

‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ focuses upon the same basic plot premise as its predecessor . Mitsuru Higashiyama ( Fukushi Sota- ‘ BLEACH’, ‘ Omukae Desu’ and ‘ Avalanche’) is a seemingly ordinary university lecturer, apart from one fact: he’s not human.

Stranded on earth during the edo period, Mitsuru has been forced to blend in with humans for more than 400 years whilst keeping his abilities and identity low-key.

However, everything changes for Mitsuru when he encounters popular and seemingly haughty actress Sasahara Tsubaki ( Yamamoto Mizuki - ‘ Tokyo Alice’, ‘ Perfect World’ and ‘ Ningen Kowai’). Tsubaki and Mitsuru soon find their paths crossing in more ways than one, as Mitsuru finds it harder to keep his secret…

As mentioned previously, ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ is based upon the popular Korean series ‘ My Love From The Star’ and was initially written by award-winning screenwriter Park Ji Eun ( ‘ My Husband Got A Family’, ‘ The Producers’ and ‘ Legend Of The Blue Sea’).

However whilst there are certainly some intriguing things to note about Amazon Prime’s Japanese adaptation ‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’, it’s admittedly hard not to notice where the screenwriting felt inconsistent even as a standalone piece.

Naturally this isn’t entirely the fault of writing problems alone. A limited duration length did naturally restrict the abilities to explore plot lines, or counterplots in detail. On the other hand whilst time can be a limiting factor for any production or adapted series, it was still noticeable for viewers that ‘ ‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ did little to adapt itself to its limitations.

Whilst the series did admittedly draw greater attention upon the potential romantic relationship of main leads Tsubaki and Mitsuru, the overcommitment for attempting to tie in several unexplored subplots in a short space of time could often make the events of the narrative feel somewhat sporadic and desultory . As a consequence this allowed restricted and limited opportunities in order to explore characters beyond their surface level.

The acting quality of the series is admittedly variable dependent on scenes. Fukushi Sota and Yamamoto Mizuki were fairly decent as our main leads, though surprisingly, despite the talents of both respectful actors , Sota and Mizuki’s onscreen chemistry felt somewhat lukewarm at best.

Admittedly this wasn’t entirely the fault of the actors. Despite several attempts in order to reiterate the importance of the romantic relationship between the main leads in ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’, there were few and far distinguishable or emotive moments in the series where the audience could truly understand the importance or relevance of this relationship.

Of course whilst there were several heartwarming exchanges and insights into the characters at times, the paper thin roles of the main characters could often impact their presence onscreen.

Despite Tsubaki seemingly being an actress who has suffered under false stigmas and stereotypes , it was hard to truly pinpoint moments where audiences saw Tsubaki as a dynamic character, mature or at least be explored with more vulnerable sides. Similarly, whilst Mitsuru is seemingly a character who has carried a seemingly arcane burden of being stranded as an extraterrestrial on earth, Mitsuru rarely seemed to be affected, develop or being given opportunities in order for viewers to digress his current persona or past.

In addition to our main leads, there is also an array of side characters. Whilst some of these side characters are necessary to a certain extent in the events of the series, ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ rarely fleshed out the significance of these particular characters , built up their presence onscreen or at least foreshadowed or tied in certain actions or events surrounding their appearances to make them memorable for the audience.

Then of course there’s the question of pacing with ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’. As mentioned previously, ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ was limited from the outset with having to compact a storyline into a space of ten episodes. Whilst the narrative is certainly expedited by mainly focusing upon the romantic aspect of the main leads, this also manifested as a double-edged sword with execution.

Pacy, engaging and allowing opportunities in order to allow the storyline to progress, but rarely did this allow time for ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ to build upon its characters, plot line or a sense of conflict, dilemmas or obstacles for the main leads. Indeed whilst the drama did attempt to throw in several conflict points by the final part of the series, the finale felt somewhat anticlimactic as a result.

As for the filming quality and cinematography , ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ is admittedly average. The quality, whilst not bad per say, was unimpressively fuzzy in certain scenes for a production released under the name of a top company such as Amazon Prime. In addition to this the absence of a sleek gradient, versatile camera angles as well as absent palettes schemes and even a lack of subtle motifs were prominent as the series progressed.

The OST for ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ was sparsely used in the series. Notably when music was present in scenes, it was often faint and synchronic; attempting to place emphasis on characters or scenes, without always leaving an impactful punch by the end of episodes. Arguably one of the few memorable tracks found in the series was GReeeeN’s ‘ Ryusei no Kakera’; an avant-garde yet surprisingly upbeat melody which played as the drama’s main theme song.

Acknowledging a drama as a standalone piece is always quintessential when talking about adaptations. Admittedly ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ did add its own idiosyncratic touches to the storyline by bringing on board the talents of Fukushi Sota and Yamamoto Mizuki as the main leads. On the other hand it’s hard to deny that the chaotic bricolage of the drama’s inconsistent narrative, characters, pacing and filming, couldn’t help but make the series feel as though it failed to live up to legacy of its predecessor and past incarnations. An average and easygoing binge-watch, but perhaps not a worthwhile investment.

Lees verder