Denei Shojo: Video Girl Mai 2019 (2019)

Most sinister game girl around

What I believe Japan does best is their psychological thrillers. They don't need lots of bloodshed or maniacs cutting people apart to be chilling and dark. The idea of Video Girl Mai is brilliant and exactly the kind of thing I'd only find in an Asian drama. The premise is simple, there aren't many main characters but a lot is done with them with varying developments that really make the show so entertaining. Mai and Taketo also made a surprisingly twisted but somehow innocent (?) pair and the progression in the fatality of devoting yourself to one person was portrayed brilliant. I've never seen the predecessor series (not that you need to to watch this) but this was an exceptional sequel/ spin off

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Memories Restrict Thoughts and Actions

The crux of this drama was to negate this statement, and you bet they did it. But I still stand by their initial message because real life doesn't work the way dramas do.

In a way this is almost ironic. A drama built entirely on a fantastical premise turned out to be so deeply rooted in reality that it made me wish this was better produced and made for a wider audience than it originally was intended to.

Denei Shojo Mai is incredibly different from its predecessor. While the latter was a sweet, heartwarming, light, and also poignant story; this drama maintains that poignancy albeit through a much darker, twisted, psychologically challenging perspective. Some of the turnabouts in this story were so realistic I almost cried out in agony at how this was such a missed opportunity to make this so much more impactful. Denei Shojo Mai could have benefited from sixteen total episodes, or seven to eight, forty minute episodes, for a better fleshed out story with better developed character motivations.

The performances across the board were pretty decent, especially Mai's. Mizuki's eyes hard carried the majority of her acting in this drama and honestly she didn't really need anything else to stand out. Our male lead was a fickle young man and consequently, the actor's portrayal really dampened my opinions of him (the actor, not the character.) Nevertheless, he fulfilled his brief and his portrayal of his character wasn't bad by any means. The two also had a beautiful chemistry, that made it all the more unsatisfactory to see such little interactions between the two. The interactions we did get were rather powerful in their own stead.

The OST was fantastic and since I am writing this immediately after finishing the drama, I didn't yet look it up. If I do end up doing so, I'll update this section of the review.

To conclude, Denei Shojo Mai is definitely a hard pill to swallow if you're a die hard fan of its predecessor, there's no sunshine and rainbows here. If you're like me (and I guess I'll leave it up to you to gauge what this means) you'll enjoy Denei Shojo Mai a lot more than Denei Shojo Ai. I couldn't stop watching this once I started it, while DSA became quite a bit of a chore for me to watch if I'm being honest.

TL;DR Denei Shojo Mai is a (terrifyingly) darker, more powerful (darkest timeline) counterpart to Denei Shojo Ai. Not for the faint of heart or those looking for something similar to the original. Also not recommended if you're not open to the idea of interspecies romance. Highly recommended nonetheless, it's a great mini drama!

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