Pending Train

Fun premise, ruined by absurd actions (as mentioned by other reviewers) of the lead characters.

GUY WHO DOESN'T TRUST PEOPLE - Gets life saved, has his precious tools returned, convinced not to stay behind.... still treats people like pests.

GIRL WHO THINKS SHE'S INVISIBLE - Helps everyone, plays critical role, eventually loved by all... still acts like a wet noodle.

GUY WHO THINKS HE MUST SAVE EVERYONE - Kinda does, still mopes around like a clueless tool.

They are just so unlikeable in that this traumatic defining period in their lives doesn't seem to affect them, or improve them, or change their behavior in any way. Normal people don't behave like this. Well written characters don't either.

And then the ending...oh lord the "ending". Can't really call it that. More of a two episode slog of people running around aimlessly doing their own thing without any coherence as to why it was being shown on screen. I felt like I was watching water molecules exhibiting Brownian motion. The whole, "you take her! No, you take her! No, YOU take her!" hot potato between the two male leads was nauseating as well.

By the end, I thought I was watching a really bad Korean Romance Drama, and not a "pseudo-sci-fi" show.

What we have here is basically the Asian version of the TV show "lost", but with an explanation for everything within 1 season of 10 episodes. Japan is hit by an earthquake event that somehow triggers a moving train to be thrown into another world. In this world, the passengers of car 5 must find a way to get on with each other and survive in a strange territory.

I was initially intrigued by all of this, until I realised I would be spending each episode listening to the same piece of music over and over that tries to rouse some emotion out of you.

Characters achieve something towards survival, play music, show show mo emotional faces.

Characters realise a new strength, play music and show emotional faces in show motion.

Characters sneeze, play music and show slow mo faces.

It's terrible and makes up the overwhelming playtime of the show, especially when throwing in a love triangle and people delving into flashbacks of their previous lives. It's even funny when something bad is happening, yet upbeat sounding music starts playing

If it were shortened to just the bare minimum melodrama, it would be alright.... ish. The last 2 episodes do a lot more for me but I can't really spoil much. Was the stock footage at the end necessary though, it's more cheap cheese thrown on top.

Barely a science fiction except for the plot and a few rare strange things here and there.

Basic common sense things missing, actors are always fresh, wearing new clothes, survive just fine not feeling hungry for extended period of time. Some character development is the only thing that is not so bad. Strange unnatural emotions such as not being grateful for someone saving your life! Overall not very entertaining, if you have nothing else to do and you are extremely bored you can watch it in 1.5x speed. Don't let "japanese" mislead you, they can be bad too :) Highly doubt there will be a second season any time soon, if at all.

I've watched the entire season and loved it.

It's a great show if you feel like watching something without swearing and nudity.

There are fantastic themes about life and we were on the edge of our seat for the next episode.

You grow to love the characters and some really great acting in some of the scenes.

It also had such touching moments which made me tear up.

It played out, I think, very realistically. It was interesting to see the ways each character dealt with such a situation as the show progresses...how most of us have things we deal with in life that others don't see.

Good and bad in all of us.

Finally, something other than garbage on NetFlix.

Not for people who can't appreciate a story without trashy scenes!

Wow why are some people so angry about this show!? Some hate reviews are really hostile, surely there's been worse shows than this so why!?

In any case, I liked it. I watched Lost years ago so I barely remember it, yes I can see the similarities but even though it was strange at first, somehow I prefer an upbeat random daijobu Japanese song playing whenever something bad happened rather than the usual doom music that sets us up for a heart attack or depression in most US shows. In general, there was no overall sense of doom and terror which personally I appreciated, but I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea. Maybe all the hate reviews are from die hard Lost fans? That I'd understand, but still, expect the concept to be repeated again as it has been in the past too.

This is the Japanese version, with all the usual tropes, we have the option to skip or fast forward the super slow melo scenes but we also get to see that side of the world. Which means no sex, drugs, nudity, swearing, etc and it's refreshing for some of us. Overall this was an exciting and entertaining family friendly show that also tries to make a point about being grateful for what we have.