I would bet good money that Kim Ji Woo watched "One Million Stars" before writing "The Devil". There are numerous parallels between the plots, characters and themes as both shows explore issues of moral culpability and the lasting impact of violence. There are significant differences as well, and it's fascinating to watch how the shows diverge despite starting with similar premises.
One night, Amemura Shinsuke, a bartender at a Nishi Azabu bar in Tokyo, is attacked by a male stranger and loses a part of his memories. However, he soon learns that he caused the death of a woman called Kishinaka Minae in a traffic accident one and a half years ago. And the man who came to attack him and later committed suicide, was her husband Reiji. For some reason, Shinsuke is frequently advised by the people around him that it is better not to recall bad things. He begins to have misgivings about the truth of the accident. Then when Shinsuke returns to the bar on one rainy night, Ruriko, a woman in mourning clothes and of unwordly beauty, shows up all of a sudden. From the time of her appearance, Shinsuke descends into a world of madness and anguish. Does she truly exist or is she a figment of imagination conjured by a guilty conscience?
Sakuragi Shun is a salesman who works for a Sunbath Home Housing, a house manufacturing company. He enjoys a happy life at home with his wife and daughter. Due to a sudden personnel change, he was assigned to transfer to Kagoshima, a city he was familiar with from his junior high school days. There, for the first time in 17 years, he is reunited with his first love Takeda Hana. She works as a junior high school teacher, while her husband who works as first mate, spends most of the year at sea, so she usually lives alone. While reminiscing the bittersweet memories of their high school days together, a hidden Pandora's box begins to open...
Furthermore, sparks also fly with Katoyama Naoya, Shun's friend and former love rival from their junior high school days, who now works for another company in the same industry. Although Shun has a beloved wife, the flames of jealousy quietly flare up. Meanwhile, Sakuragi Shun's wife is trying to suppress her anxiety. Based on their phone calls and emails, she becomes suspicious that her husband is cheating on her, and in order to eliminate her fears, she takes a trip to visit him in Kagoshima. As the slight lies begin to pile up, the truth becomes complicated, and when the lies are exposed, how will the relationship between the four of them
change?
Furthermore, sparks also fly with Katoyama Naoya, Shun's friend and former love rival from their junior high school days, who now works for another company in the same industry. Although Shun has a beloved wife, the flames of jealousy quietly flare up. Meanwhile, Sakuragi Shun's wife is trying to suppress her anxiety. Based on their phone calls and emails, she becomes suspicious that her husband is cheating on her, and in order to eliminate her fears, she takes a trip to visit him in Kagoshima. As the slight lies begin to pile up, the truth becomes complicated, and when the lies are exposed, how will the relationship between the four of them
change?
