Don’t worry, this won’t be a philosophical piece about whether the judicial system of any country is good enough to bring justice to rape victims. Just thought it was a good title since this story focuses on a victim of sexual assault and her way of getting justice and some peace. I’ll include SPOILERS, be FOREWARNED. And this is my first Jdrama where they focused on rape, I’ll be talking about that a bit because it’s a lot to process.

Plot: 10/10
While what happened to Shouko was awful, and her story of how she gets revenge is that much more satisfying. The story begins 10 years ago when Shouko was in high school and stumbled upon momentary fame when she met Tokumichi, a makeup artist streamer, who chose Shouko to be his model. She became famous and was featured on magazine covers at a young age. But, the world was cruel and everyone envied the young girl’s happiness and wanted to bring her down from her glory.

Three of her classmates, jealous of Shouko’s rising fame, trapped her and posted a video of her getting raped online, and every good thing that Shouko had in her life came crumbling down with it. The world blamed everything on her, thus giving her a digital tattoo that she had to carry for the rest of her life. Too afraid to go to the police, Shouko closed herself off before having the courage to tell her parents. And after she did, they ended up dying in a fire accident that burned down all that she had left in her life. She quit school and moved to the countryside to live with her grandma, spending the next 10 years, till her grandma died. And with that, Shouko gave up all hope of living.

On the verge of death, she saw that the perpetrators of her rape were living happily, while her life was almost ending. Revenge became her new purpose in life and there the story began. She coincidentally reunites with Tokumichi, who turns down her request for help multiple times, but finally agrees. One by one, Shouko finds her targets, gives them the taste of ultimate happiness, before sending them to the depths of hell. And during this journey, she reconnects with Tokumichi and her best friend in high school who is now a detective.

And while it was very entertaining and engaging, the ending is sad, because while in retrospect, Shouko and Tokumichi didn’t do anything wrong by bringing the criminals to justice, they involved some innocent civilians (that story continues in the HULU epilogue special). And therefore, she and Tokumichi make a pact to never be happy in their lives. This is tragic because, at that point, they only had each other to call dear in their lives, but since what they did were deemed as crimes by the system, they had to go their separate ways, and atone for their ‘crimes’.

Cast/characters: 10/10
I haven’t seen Shida Sara in many other roles, thus this is the first time I’ve officially watched her, all the more so in a lead role. She nailed it. From the peppy, innocent Shouko in the spin-off and the flashbacks, to the cunning and vengeful Shouko in the present, all of it was good. Hongo Kanata is a well-known actor, no need to say what everyone already knows. He can play characters of all ages and ranges due to his interesting looks, face, and obviously skill. Although, blonde hair is not for him- my only complaint about Tokumichi.
Katayama Yuki as a detective.... I don't know what kind of cop they were going for, honestly. The sympathetic best friend? That part was alright. But very different from most female cops that I've seen in Jdramas, not that I've seen more than a handful. Definitely not the normal kind of detective, that's all I can say.

The villains were fine. And probably villains are all Yoshimoto Miyu has to play for a while, who knows? She’s dang good at it. It’s probably just me, but Kohinata Yuka’s face looked an awful lot like Arimura Kasumi to me here. Again, just my opinion. My other big regret is Sora-kun. God knows he was innocent, and didn’t deserve to die.
The one character I hated with every fiber of my being- Watanuki Ken, whose douchebag opinion no one freaking wants to hear! I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a villain this much before! God knows why people like these exist and there should be laws in place to shut these dirt-bags up.
Music: 10/10
Japanese music is some of the best in the world imo. Why? Because they’re well-fitted to the context, or even out of context. This show had 2 songs by the same artist, NAQT VANE, and both were excellent. Again, in or out of context. Accompanied Shouko’s journey perfectly.
Rewatch value: 7/10
Definitely worth a rewatch if it doesn’t cause you pain to think about the sad parts of this drama. I probably won’t because I can’t take the sad parts of this drama. Too tragic to relive.
Overall: 9.5/10
Some of the best revenge Jdramas I have watched. Hard to top this one, and I’d like to see people try.