Far From the Fall - A Review of 'Fallen Angel'

Before I begin my final review, I would like to thank everyone who has kept up, read or even clicked on these reviews! I'm sure over the course of the next few months this black hole with grow deeper and I hope to continue reviewing as much as possible. 

FINAL REVIEW!

Fallen Angel

Above & Below: The Aiba Brothers - Tsubasa (Kazuki), Riku (Takuya) and Umi (Takumi)

As with Sign, I will not be presenting a full synopsis of Fallen Angel as it is a highly complicated plot to try and explain. If you are interesting from the short synopsis below, check out the series itself which will be linked at the end of this review!

Synopsis:

Umi Aiba has always been different. Sent away by his mother, Umi only knows one thing: he must find his older brothers Riku and Tsubasa. When Tsubasa, a mathematical genius and Riku, a University student suddenly find Umi at their door claiming to be their younger brother everything about their lives change. Claiming to be sent away from a field hospital by their mother, a well known surgeon, and was told to find his older brothers who are to look after and protect him. Weary of his story but wanting to help, Tsubasa and Riku agree to take Umi in but as time goes by, mysterious family secrets are uncovered, dark truths come to light and the ties of brotherhood and family may forever be broken.

REVIEW

The Cast:

Umi Aiba - Kitamura Takumi

Riku Aiba - Uehara Takuya

Tsubasa Aiba - Kato Kazuki

Kuma - Chiba Yudai

Hikaru Kitahara - Sasaki Yoshihide

Kondo - Nakagauchi Masataka

So Kiryuu - Baba Toru

Casting & Individual Performances:

Another small cast like Sign, Fallen Angel's cast was very well chosen and presented in the nine episode drama. Though not as important to the plot as one might think the main protagonist, Umi played by Kitamura Takumi, was very well done. Kitamura's innocence and portrayal of the conflicted and confused Umi held my attention from the start and his character took the series in a variety of directions I was not mentally or emotionally prepared for. Alongside Kitamura, Uehara Takuya as Riku and Kato Kazuki as Tsubasa made great companions and foils to Umi. It should come as no surprise that Takuya was once again fabulous, this time as a somewhat bad boy and smart mouth. Seeing Takuya play a character so unlike those he has played before was very refreshing and his overall performance as the laid back brother immensely lightened up the series from its continuous dark, dramatic and intense tones. Kato Kazuki as Tsubasa also proved a powerful performance for a variety of reasons I can't go into due to possible spoilers. Perhaps the true star of Fallen Angel is Chiba Yudai's performance as the series villain, Kuma. From the first moment he came on screen Yudai proved himself a force to be reckoned with as a great villain with a purpose. I often find myself more interested in the villains more than the leads because of their motives and purposes for their actions, and without giving too much away, Yudai gave great life and reason to the character known as Kuma. The final performance that stood out was that of Hikaru Kitahara as Sasaki Yoshihide. An "interesting" character to say the least, Kitahara's character choices made great impacts on the series despite his small amount of screen time. From its leads to supporting characters the entire cast of Fallen Angel was very powerful and left a lasting impression on me once I had finished the series.  

Other Thoughts:

This series evoked more roller coaster emotions out of me than I ever would have expected. At various times I found myself screaming at the screen (as all those who fall deep into a TV series will understand) and there were many times I couldn't contain my tears. The end of the series was most shocking to me, and though it ended sadder then I would have liked or expected, I'm not sure how else it would have ended had it not done so in the way it did. If you're looking for an intense, emotional series - this is it. 

Final Thoughts:

Interested in learning more about Fallen Angel? GO WATCH IT! I highly recommend it.

The entire series of Fallen Angel can be found on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk8Izz3hz1Q&list=PLzolcttNA5TkSr8D4yFLQEPsjYnz6ZIar

Fallen Angel Theme - The World (Honey L Days)

Above: Uehara Takuya as Riku (*SWOON*)