When I saw Fishbowl Wives coming to NETFLIX, it piqued my interest. As I said in my review for the jdrama The Journalist, I am loving that we are getting more access to jdramas and it is getting easier to watch them. That is always a good thing. So, I knew, in order to support this movement, I at least had to check out Fishbowl Wives when it premiered. Have you heard of Fishbowl Wives? Maybe my review will get you to check it out.
*Now as per usual with any review I write, I will not be including any spoilers in this review.*
A QUICK SYNOPSIS OF FISHBOWL WIVES - Sakura Hiraga seems to have the perfect life. She is married and with her husband runs a very successful hair salon. They live in a luxurious penthouse apartment and she is envied by everyone. Everything is not what it seems though. Her life changes when she meets a man due to a goldfish.
Overall, I LOVED THIS DRAMA! As with many Jdramas, it is a drama that has so much more depth and story than what the synopsis or trailer shows. I have always loved this about Japanese dramas. It was a high-quality drama that had me invested from start to finish. I would definitely recommend this drama to other people, especially if you are fans of the reasons I highlight below.
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS DRAMA
THE STORY STRUCTURE - When you click play on this drama, you think it is going to follow the main couple and the story will be about them. In a way, this is true but as I said earlier, it is SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! Each episode highlights a different couple in this apartment complex all while telling the main couple's story alongside the featured couple's story. Everyone is connected somehow. This, in my opinion, is JUST SO CLEVER! You became invested in the main couple throughout the drama but also became connected to these individual couples. You got a more rounded story this way.
THE STORIES - As I just said, every episode was based off a different couple, specifically being told from the wife's perspective. These stories were BEAUTIFULLY written! Some stories surprised me so much by the twists that were put into them. Some of the stories were absolutely heartbreaking at the same time. The title of this drama says it all. All of these stories were about wives being trapped in their relationships/situations and wanting that love or connection with someone. These stories even made twists with this statement so it was interesting to see how many times the writers could write about this idea and make it seem new with every wife featured.
THE CHEMISTRY - The chemistry between the main couple was SO GOOD! Even when they were in the same room but just looking at each other or interacting with other people, you could just see how good their chemistry was. Even with the wives featured in each episode had chemistry with the people featured in their episode and story. With Japanese dramas, you got a lot more intimate scenes and with Fishbowl Wives, that wasn't just with the main leads. This just added to my investment in this drama because you started to care how these couples ended up at the end of the drama and could stay together with the chemistry they had on screen.
THE ACTING - Given some of the subject matter in this drama, the acting really stood out to me. This cast was dealing with topics of domestic violence and cheating which isn't the easiest to act out and deal with. THE CAST WAS FANTASTIC IN THIS DRAMA! Everyone did a great job with their characters and portraying their story. You could just feel the emotions being evoked by the cast as they acted out their parts and told their characters' stories.
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY - I loved the posters of this drama when I saw them so I was looking forward to the cinematography of this drama when I clicked play. It did not disappoint. The lighting and the shots of this drama are beautiful. The title sequence of this drama was beautiful as well. I like how this drama also kept with the title and theme and used the fish eye lens in some of the scenes. There was just a lot of creative cinematography and lighting choices in this drama that I appreciated.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
THE ENDING - The ending to this drama will not be everyone's cup of tea. I am not going to spoil it but it was an ideal ending. I personally did not mind the ending because it made sense to me. I understood why the writers chose to go that direction and it made the drama more realistic. The ending wasn't a favorite with everyone who watched this drama. If you are a person who wants a happy ending for everyone and don't want an ending that has a more realistic look at a relationship or life, this drama might not be for you.
TRIGGER WARNING- As I said earlier, there is a trigger warning for this drama. If you can't watch dramas about domestic violence or cheating, this drama is DEFINITELY not for you. This drama has a lot of both topics and it isn't just one couple so you can't avoid either one very easily. This drama might also shock you if you aren't accustomed to Japanese dramas but this drama also has a lot of intimate scenes so, I am just warning you if you aren't expecting that as well.
Rating: 9/10 (Streaming on NETFLIX now)
If you are curious about my reaction to the drama IN REAL TIME - here is my tweets/watch thread for the drama
THATS MY REVIEW OF FISHBOWL WIVES!
Have you seen Fishbowl Wives?
What did you think of the drama?
Is it on your list to watch?
Had you heard of this drama before this review?
Will you watch this drama now after reading my review?
WE NOW ALSO HAVE A DISCORD SO TALK TO US ON THERE AS WELL!?