Monday 5 January 2015

Recommended: Suteki-na Sen Taxi

This series is about a taxi that has the ability to go back in time (for a fee) to a moment just before a pivotal choice, so you can try it again. It’s a simple idea, and but is played perfectly. The absurd notion of a time-travelling taxi soon becomes accepted.


A lot of this is thanks to the actor playing the taxi driver - Takenouchi Yutaka. His smooth and laid-back attitude hides a mass of neuroses, which reflects the basis premise of the show: how life is series of choices.


Each episode has a different story, in which someone has a need to go back in time. Perhaps they need to react differently or run faster or change something that they regret. Usually this takes several attempts since making a different choice can change things in unexpected ways.


It's an excellent show, funny and entertaining. Beautifully put together, it's full of nice little touches, such as the customers' disappointment that going back in time is so unremarkable. The driver also frequents a local cafe, and their interactions prompt dilemmas that are reflected in the main story.


The moral of this series seems to be “Be careful what you wish for.” Not everything ends as desired, although it's usually for the best.

3 comments:

  1. What a fun series! Thanks for the recommendation.

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  2. it is available on crunchyroll with english, spanish, french, portoguese and german subs

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    1. That's good. I'm glad that Crunchyroll are subbing more J-dramas. And the quality of subs is higher than your average fansubber (including me). Pity about all the adverts, though.

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