Trillion Game (2023)

Trillion Game is a hidden gem

"Trillion Game," a delightful Japanese drama, promises to deliver the perfect dose of laughter. Stumbling upon this hidden gem was an unexpected delight and undoubtedly one of the highlights of my September. If you're anything like me, someone who often finds themselves numb to typical dramas and only has limited free time, then this drama is a must-watch. It's a captivating series that can be enjoyed from start to finish.

While "Trillion Game" isn't without a few minor hiccups in its storyline and editing, I can wholeheartedly assure you that investing 10 hours of your life in this series is a decision you won't regret. Meguro Ren effortlessly captures the charisma and poise of Haru, while Sano Hayato perfectly embodies the timid yet brilliantly Gaku.

The show's female characters each possess their unique brand of beauty and charm, with Torinrin and Kirika-hime standing out as my favorites. "Trillion Game" not only offers a refreshing escape from the mundane but also introduces a cast of characters that will stay with you long after the final credits roll.

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"Trillion Game" is a hyperbolic ride of a drama. In probably one of the better manga-to-live action adaptations I've seen in awhile (though I haven't read the manga), this drama brings to life the story of two men navigating the business world, aiming to be trillionaires, and makes it one hell of an entertaining suspenseful ride. It's formulaically cheesy at times, and the characters are a little simplistic, but there's something about the execution that is so compelling. For me, it's really two things - the music (what an fantastic and energetic score!) and the acting. Ooh, do Meguro Ren and Imada Mio pack a PUNCH. Separately, both skilled and enjoyable to watch and then when they get to have scenes together - it is so magnetic! Meguro is really challenging himself with the role of Haru, but after an episode or two, I couldn't imagine anyone else as Haru, laughing and dishing out triumphant high fives. Haru is, by far, the most complex character and Meguro truly gives him that nuance in the moments where it requires it the most. The rest of the cast is a pleasure too! So definitely recommend this if you are looking for a ridiculous and wholesome drama to suspend your disbelief for (but once you do, it is SO MUCH fun!) or if you are a huge fan of Meguro Ren (he doesn't disappoint!).

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A real good series to watch

I accidently found this series on Netflix, while watching an ongoing Korean drama.. i watched episode 1 and then continued watched the rest in two days. This was a real, refresing series to watch. The two main leada with opposite characters, Haru and Gaku, were really fascinating to follow. The two actors did a great job.
Each episode brought a new surprise, a new twist or shocking revelation on who is.playing games on whom. Both sides, the start-up and the conglomerate company were greedy and willing to do anything to crush their rival. I could imagine that such rivary, with all its sly moves, ambitious plans, and agressive competition, exist in the real world.
The only part I didn't quite like was forcing a romantic encounter towards the end, which I found unnecesaary.

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A Fast paced and Enjoyable Drama with intriguing twists

Trillion Game just might be the most enjoyable drama of the year for me. When I first started watching, it seemed somewhat generic (ngl first ep is somewhat generic start ?) but there were several things that worked very well & it's got better and better as story progressed

Firstly... the dynamic between the main characters is fun, especially the tension between Ren and Mio. It adds a hot and intriguing aspect to the show. Secondly...I appreciated that the male lead wasn't portrayed as purely good or evil, instead... he was shown as a complex, grey character with goffy smile

The production value of the drama is quite impressive. The directing make it feel like you're watching a stylish business drama.(which you hardly see in jdramas) Although at times it can be a bit exaggerated ? bt that's part of the show's charm too...just like the quirky nature of the main character.

The story is fast-paced and gripping, keeping you engaged throughout. While some scenes may fall flat here and there, they don't make you feel too bored (at least that was my impression). Now, let's talk about the most important highlight of the show –

IMADA MIO, She steals the spotlight with her charm.. I can look at her for hours haha

However, there are a few things I didn't like as much. The anime-like expressions that the characters sometimes make can put you in an awkward position... but it's a minor annoyance that can be dealt with Additionally... the last couple of minutes before the finale could have been executed better I guess ?

Some aspects of the show may be a bit exaggerated from a business point of view, but that's to be expected in a drama?

Now.... onto the verdict. "Trillion Game" is a fun and relaxing watch. Just sit back... relax & grab some chips or popcorn and enjoy. If you don't watch it.. you won't be missing out on much.. but if you give it a chance you will certainly have a good time.

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A very different but more enigmatic and charismatic Meguro Ren

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25

“Trillion Game” shows us a different side of Meguro Ren. He’s no longer the gentle, quiet or shy character that we know in “Kieta Hatsukoi”, “Silent” or “As Long as We Both Shall Live”. In “Trillion Game” he’s the ruthless, calculating and scheming Haru. It does take me a little bit to get used to this new Meguro Ren. I’m glad he branches out to different roles, but personally, I am not a big fan of over-the-top anime/manga acting. So I much preferred his shy roles. Having said that, Meguro Ren is charismatic and really does shine in this drama. It’s hard not to focus on him when he’s on the screen.

His counterpart/business partner/friend is a total opposite of Haru. Gaku is a shy and introverted computer geek. As the genius hacker, he complements Haru very well. The duo tackles the internal and external crisis of building a business seamlessly. I have enjoyed watching their friendship and partnership grow, and especially the trust they have in each other. Although Haru is more enigmatic, we do see character development from Gaku and how he’s slowly changed.

Playing Princess Kiri is the beautiful Imada Mio. Kiri is sassy, cool and sassy. You won’t see a trace of her shy portrayal of Miyo in “As Long as We Both Shall Live”. When she’s alone, she dazzles. When she’s with Haru, the chemistry is there, even if there’s really no romance in this drama. It’s lovely to see both Menguro Ren and Imada Mio play such different roles together. I always look forward to the eye-catching and somewhat over-the-top outfits that Princess Kiri wears. Every time she shows up on screen, she has a different outfit. It’s like her own fashion show.

Rinrin the human AI is the moral compass of Trillion Game. She steers the ship through rough waters and keeps it on the right path. As the honest, ethical and passionate President, her character might be more one-dimensional than the other three.

This is not a serious business drama, nor a romantic comedy. Comparatively, it’s not as overdramatic as other anime/manga live adaptations I’ve seen. It’s fast-paced and with a decent supporting cast. The two veteran actors are great,and a good contrast to the younger cast. In order to build the Trillion Game, you will see Haru and Gaku overcome each challenge and build the company one piece at a time. These building blocks can seem repetitive at times, and also appear to be quite easy. You can also guess where Haru is going and that he's always 10 steps ahead of everyone. I would have liked to see more backstory of the supporting cast, but there isn’t enough time for that. I think I enjoy the second half of the drama more than the first, when the stakes are higher and Meguro Ren’s character is less over-the-top but has become seriously manipulating.

With 10 quick episodes, this is an easy and enjoyable binge. Would I have loved to see a little more romance developed between Haru and the Princess? Yes. But sometimes, the unspoken but obvious affection and interest could be just as sizzling.



Completed: 12/13/2023 - Review #382

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Entertaining and Worthwhile

The title “Trillion Game” intrigued me, but was far from what I’d envisioned. I found it to be entertaining and refreshing. The characters were played well, and I was especially fond of the main characters: Haru (played by Maguro Ren) and Taira (played by Sano Hayato). Both-really-all the primary players were new to me; at least, they were not in my memory. But these guys, I won’t forget! Immediately, Haru’s mischievous smile and cunning laughter drew me in, compounded by his sway, swagger, self-confidence, and shrewd antics. To talk about Taira’s character would give too much away, but he was the perfect pairing for Haru. I liked the storyline, and how Director Yoshiaki guided us through each episode with resolve. It is fast-paced, a mixture of comedy, drama, suspense, and romantic waverings. Of notable mention, Rinrin (played by Fukumoto Riko). My research of the leading actors revealed a very youthful bunch, which I found shocking, because their acting abilities were seasoned and mature. “Trillion Game” is already on my list for rewatching.

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Started Promising but Ultimately Falsely Advertised.

I enjoyed the first episode of this so much, so much so I immediately messages my friends and forced them to watch it too. The first few episode of this show are absolute gold and seeing Haru and Gaku's friendship build and grow was wonderful to enjoy. The fun rivalry with Kirihime had a great introduction too! But unfortunately, by episode 4/5 this show very quickly moved away from Haru&Gaku's friendship and development, and Haru&Gaku versus Kirihime in a "mutually respectuful rivalry that could very well turn into a great powerful friendship", and ended up being a "let's super rush through this company's growth progression on max speed in becoming a media giant" and by epispde 7 I was so incredibly disappointed and bored with this show.

To say Meme (Haru's actor) is the main person on the poster and is pushed as the protagonist, there have been whole episodes where he's only been in it for like 5 minutes - he's always working behind the scenes and especially in the beginning we never see what he's doing or where he is. He is hardly in it. Dear TV show runners: Don't push the show as a Meguro Ren show if his character is disappearing every episode for massive chunks of screentime.

And then they started pushing 2 "romance storylines" midway through episode 9 (the second to last episode!) which was so stupid - if they had introduced romantic feels from around episode 4, I would've supported both without complaint but suddenly pushing them in the second to last episode was awful.

I regret telling me friends the first episode was amazing and getting them to watch it.

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Unexpectedly getting better as the series progresses

I am probably the anomaly here thinking that the series gets better as it progresses. I understand some of the reviewers criticisms that it gets more boring and predictable at the end as the dramaturgical structure becomes repetitive in every episode. It first begins with the challenge and Haru and Gaku miraculously overcome the challenges in the end. But I personally feel that the later half of the series gets more exciting because the stakes get higher and it helps that they added the future scenes so that I am interested in how they eventually lead to the future.

In the beginning, I almost dropped the series because I feel Meguro's acting was pushing it unnaturally. But I was captivated by his charisma as he started to show his bad side. The side characters were adequately shown and Gaku did well as a timid character who can also overcome his challenges on his own without the help of Haru. The only character that I felt is a bit of a waste in terms of development is Rinrin, which I felt like she is a wallflower without a purpose in the drama.

The music was quite lacklustre. If there is better OST and background music, I think it would make the drama better.

Overall, I think it is surprisingly a good watch and good rewatch value.

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I made a MyDramaList account just for this incredible drama

Simply amazing, right from the start the story is getting better and better. Perfect cast i would say too, will be watching the dramas of the casts after this. Lots of moral in the story that we can learn and take notes. Just learned that the author of the original manga is Inagaki-sensei who wrote some of my favorite manga named Dr. Stone and Eyeshield 21 and yes both of the series revolves around the same kind of selfish people in the world which makes me hooked on this work of him. Hope we can see season 2 if any, such an incredible journey of 10 episode, BRILLIANT!!!

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Trillion Game - an exhilaring fun ride from start to finish

I watched like four Japanese series in 2023 so I'm not sure I'm qualified to rank anything but for me personally, Trillion Game is the BEST Japanese series of 2023. The story and solutions felt cheesy at times but pacing, acting/cast, music, rewatch value. 10/10. I am so happy I decided on a whim to watch this after being in a slump of not being able to truly enjoy any series after I finished another drama which I considered my favorite series of 2023.

STORY
We follow Haru (Meguro Ren), an extremely charming communicator and Gaku (Sano Hayato), a brilliant IT engineer as they encounter obstacles on their start-up journey together. It is VERY fast paced drama with each episode following a certain formula that you'll figure out by the second episode. For the majority of the series, each episode starts with present Gaku, CEO of Trillion Game, reminiscing his and Haru's past adventures in the early days of their start-up business. While each episodes may seem formulaic, the stories are never boring and I found myself binging everything from start to finish, not being able to stop for a second. We've seen the unhinged genius x sane down-to-earth duo a bazillion times before but I think what makes this particular story so charming is the characterization of Haru who is self-proclaimed "the most selfish man in the world" but all his actions are completely contradictory, always self-less and putting everyone's needs above his. I love Haru so much. I don't know what they laced in the series but I am down bad for Tennoji Haru and I get why Princess Kiri wants Haru so bad as well, like same here sis.

ACTING/CAST
Meguro Ren and Imada Mio are just the most enigmatic actors, truly powerhouses. From edits on Youtube on Tiktok, you'd think these two have a lot of screen time together but they DON'T. Regardless, even when acting separately, they are bringing everything to the table and when they get scenes together, the chemistry is CHEMISTRYING. The sizzling tension between Haru and Princess Kiri are just top-notch. Sano Hayato and Fukumoto Riko are also just the most adorable nerds as Gaku and Rinrin. I love our four main leads so damn much. There's this one scene from Episode 2 where the first thing Haru does after receiving their initial 30 million yen investment is to bath in money and I remember thinking this is so nonsensical but at the same time found myself with the stupidest grin on my face watching Haru pushing Gaku out of his comfort zone to do all these insane things with him. I LOVE THEM. Meguro Ren is truly an enigmatic powerhouse in this one. I have only seen Meme in like three other dramas but Haru is definitely my top favorite Meguro Ren role ever.

MUSIC
The score is so energetic and fun. I love the main theme song of the series which is Dangerholic by Snow Man. The song is SAUR good I haven't skipped single outtro of any episode just to listen to this song. I watched a lot of series this year but Dangerholic is probably taking the crown as my favorite OST of 2023 in this very last minute race. As previously mentioned , Trillon Game has very exciting and energizing score and I'd argue that many business/office scenes are hard-carried by the score and excellent editing.

REWATCH VALUE
This series get a 100000000 for rewatch value because I just finished it and I'm already considering for another rewatch just because of how much fun I had watching it. But also because each episodes are so self-contained, Trillion Game will be fairly easy to rewatch any random episode in this series because you don't really need to the past episode to enjoy one, a recap at the beginning of each episode will do just fine. The tension between Haru and Princess Kiri is so insane even though there's no explicit romance going on. I think I need to rewatch it just for THEM.

PRODUCTION
This was definitely a low budget drama but TBS definitely made do with what they got. I understand if Princess Kiri's wardrobe alone was where most budget was allocated to. Like deserved! Trillion Game's strength lies more in the acting and story department so I wouldn't say this was a high value production but I will say I love all the rooftop scenes between Haru and Gaku. Those rooftop conversation scenes between them are just beautiful and heart-warming.

OVERALL
I love Haru with my entire heart. WATCH TRILLION GAME FOR HARU PLEASE.

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What a ride!

You think, yes, now I know what will happen next, now I know how it will end -- and no, you probably don't. While it was always clear that Trillion Game would win in the end, the "how" was very much not clear. I thought I'd know how Haru would do it, but, as it turned out, I didn't. Even at the last scene, there was a bit of a twist.

That said, the obstacles were overcome a bit too easily; and even now, I'm not clear about Princess Kiriri's motivations at times. I'd have liked to see maybe one or two fewer obstacles but better ones, or at least I'd have liked to see Haru having a bit more trouble in succeeding. As it was, his plans were a bit *too* perfect. More attention to details would have been a benefit to the story.

Speaking of details, one aspect that continuously irked me: The way that the actual *doing* was just disregarded.
For example, the opening of an e-commerce flower delivery: Where do you get the flowers from? Who will do the actual arrangements, even if they are planned by an "AI"?
Oh, and "AI", as Haru said himself: "It's a buzzword." Even if you can program an AI to do the things it does in this series, the costs for building and maintaining servers with enough processing power are enormous! Not only the material cost, but also the energy cost needed.It's why any company investing in AI has not seen a penny of return investment and it's expected to remain that way in the forseeable future.
It's a shame that the series doesn't pay attention to this sort of details.

Another aspect I found disappointing was the writing of the female characters. Yes, it's the story of the journey of Haru and Gaku -- but as the third partner Rinrin deserved better than to be used as scapegoat (even if she got her own happy ending), and that Princess Kiriri had to submit was also disappointing (even if it was for character-appropriate reasons). I would have liked to see them both put on a more equal footing with the men.

What I really loved though, and what made everything I just said insignificant overall, was the excellent acting -- by all of the cast. Meguro, of course, as the inscrutable Haru -- and until the last show-down I wasn't quite sure what exactly went in in his head -- but also Imada with her cool and calculating presence as well as Sano's depiction of an awkward nerd. I could list all of the actors, but then this will get too long.

Another plus in my book, there's only a hint of romance towards the very end, and even the sizzling chemistry between Haru and Kiri is always turned into rivalry, never romance.

The actors, together with the outstanding music choices and the fast-paced editing made the drama a wild ride, and I was hooked from the first to the last minute.

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