The Days

Quite disappointing compared to « Chernobyl » which was more complete, although shorter (5h30).

Although this series lasts 7h, it omits several important information: -when the radioactive cloud escaped from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, favorable winds sent it towards the sea. But if winds had sent it towards Tokyo, then Tokyo should have been evacuated, as said Naoto Kan, the Prime Minister at the time.

• In 2009, two years before the disaster, a report had stipulated that the dykes of two power stations had to be raised because of the risk of a tsunami: the Fukushima power station and the Onagawa power station, further north which did not depend on Tepco. But it cost millions, and Tepco buried the report. On the contrary, the Onagawa power plant raised its dikes and was therefore spared during the tsunami.

If you are expecting a Japanese Chernobyl then this may not be for you. This is a much slower more considered portrayal of a nuclear accident which could have been 100 times worse than Chernobyl. Layered and highly observational The Days is just as much about Japanese hierarchy and customer than the disaster itself. Personally I felt watching in Japanese with subtitles was much better than the terrible dubbed english. The quality of the Japanese cast comes through in the original language. A salutary lesson in how corporate greed and arrogance can be completely and literally overcome by the power of nature. Koji Yakusho is stand-out as station manager Masao Yoshida. Settle down and immerse yourself in this high quality drama that will stay with you long after viewing.

I was fascinated with the idea of a view of the Fukushima nuclear disaster from the Japanese point of view. The event is presented from the views of the nuclear plant operators, management, the federal government and various agencies. Individual characters have some development, and you can see what they may have experienced. Unfortunately, each episode developed very slowly, and it was obvious to me that there wasn't enough material to really flesh-out 8 episodes. It's a shame because this was a monumental event in modern Japanese history. After three episodes, we started fast-forwarding and finally gave up in the fifth episode. Loved HBO's Chernobyl by contrast and I could see there is opportunity for a worthy dramatization of this disaster. I have seen documentaries, and it should be noted that this is still unfolding, and the environmental damage is on-going.

Could be a bit tighter, but the comparisons to HBOs Chernobyl are a bit unfair.

This mini series takes a more documentary/historically accurate approach, with drama being secondary. Nothing wrong with that approach, with this series I felt like i was in the control room and on the ground with the responders. Sure there were times it dragged and at times they did not need to show ALL the failed attempts and ALL the repetative discussions, but it added to the authenticity.

It wasn't a clean/typical, "found the issue, ok we solved it, day is saved" story, it goes through the numerous theories/trials/surprises/let downs that would naturally occur in a situation such as this.

If it is taken as a hybrid documentary/drama, it works well. Take it as a drama or documentary by itself and it becomes either dry or too drawn out.

Solid 7/10.

The biggest problem I have with many of the series based on true events is that they are overly dramaztized to the point that they appear more like hollywood thrillers than a theatrical account of true events.

This is where The Days shines. This series is credible. One can totally imagine that that's how the real situation must have unfolded. Of course, the events have been stitched together to create a narrative that the vieweres can follow but it doesn't betray the authenticity of the events.

We see the characters only within the confines of the Fukushima station but the characters develop nicely even within this limited space and situation. As a viewer, you start to feel their frustrations, fears and trepidations.

The only notable shortcoming that I can point out is that some sequences are unnecessarily long because of which the time urgency of the situation may either be lost on the viewers or may lead to a disconnect for the viewers between time urgency and the actions of the characters.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who is looking for a break from unrealistic, incredible and untrue stories based on true events.