家族ゲーム (The Family Game) was originally a novel by 本間余弊 (Honma Yohei) that was eventually made into a television drama and movie. 30 years later, Fuji TV based out of Japan does it again.
Yoshimoto Koya, the troubling tutor who is in search for work. He becomes a tutor to a student, Numata Shigeyuki, kid who is on the verge of dropping out of middle school. Shigeyuki’s father makes a deal with Koya that if he could make Shigeyuki return to school within a week, he would receive a ¥100,000 bonus. Koya accepts the offer, replying that he would only need 5 days to complete the mission but demands that no one should interfere with his methodology in doing so.
This is where things turn crazy. The show goes off the rails as you see Koya begin to implement his methods of getting Shigeyuki to return to school. As the series progresses, it appears that Koya is determined to ruin this entire family eventually making everyone in the house commit suicide.
Koya seems to treat his whole job as a game and continues to appear to make things worse for everyone. There are even scenes where you think he is possessed by a demon or into a Voodoo Dolls. I am in about 4 episodes and i get the vibe that he is actually good, but just had some stressful things happen in his life due to the methods he has used in past scenarios. I honestly think his methodology is a little unusual but i feel his intentions are pure and i believe we will learn that by series end. I also feel I can relate to him a little bit because there are times
when i use Unusual methods when i feel that a point is needed to be driven home and i feel that this is what he is doing, Just a little more off the rails than I would go. Most Japanese series end after 11 - 12 episodes so i honestly feel we will see he is not all up to no good as it is put off as.
This is definitely a show i would recommend to all people who like to watch international shows, and more specifically J-dramas. It will keep you intrigued and make you want to see more without the over the top climaxing that you see on Traditional American Television.
