TV Review | Re:Mind / リマインド (2017)
“I Guess Everything Reminds You Of Something”
I don't know why I decided to watch Re:Mind at 11 o'clock at night, but I have no regrets. Well, that's a lie. At 1 AM I questioned why I had started this in the dead of night when everything seems that much creepier, but now that I've finished it, I'm happy I watched it. So glad, in fact, that I was inspired to write this review to tell you about it.
Summary
"Netflix Original TV Series Re: Mind / リマインド is a mystery that follows eleven female students as they try and find a motive behind why they have woken up bound to a huge dining room table. Written by Akira Uchikata, Yusuke Ishida and Yusuke Koroyasu and features thirteen episodes in the first season. It was released in the US on February 15, 2018."
Thoughts
I first heard about this show from one of Netflix's "Hey! Look at this show we just made and think you might like!" emails, and as usual, they were right. It did sound interesting, so I added it to My List for later viewing.
I started the show mostly out of boredom - I figured it would be nice to fall asleep to. Instead, it ended up keeping me up because I just wanted answers so badly! I'll admit, some of the things the girls are "tortured" by in the room they're trapped in made me roll my eyes a little bit, but the real threat of being kidnapped and locked away with no idea why or how was a real underlying threat that made me let that slide.
I quickly became immersed in the lives of these girls as things ramped up very quickly. As they become more suspicious and crazy, so did I, as I tried to figure out who was behind it all right along with them. The themes of the show centered on bullying, lies, and secrets and while the plot and motives could be clumsy at times, I loved it almost every second of it.
I found out after watching it that the entire female cast was a part of a Japanese idol group, "Hiragana Keyakizaka46" (an unders group of “Keyakizaka46"). While the acting wasn't the best, it was still better than I would have expected from a group just getting into acting. I related to a few of the girls quite a bit and found myself enjoying each of their quirks.
If you decide to give this a watch, I recommend not looking into it too much. After watching I read some reviews and found they were mostly mixed. People either enjoyed it or hated it. Also, I felt they gave too much away. While they weren't spoilers exactly, I still felt that they were things that were great to discover along with the girls and not in some random review.
Final Thoughts
While I'd love a season 2 of this show, I have no idea how they'd be able to pull it off and get the same feelings this season was able to provoke. Reviews have been mixed, but I highly recommend watching it yourself and coming up with your own views. There are only 13 episodes that are relatively short (~30 min.) and they fly by pretty quickly. If you've seen it already, let me know what you thought of it! I'm dying to hear what people think of it!
AG rating: ★★★★
★ terrible, ★★ below average, ★★★ average, ★★★★ good, ★★★★★ excellent
CONS
Some minor plot holes
Some questionable lines at times
Not all questions are answered
PROS
Strong female leads and directors
Manages to remain interesting
Remains a mystery until the end
