The Days

In the first place don't compare it to Chernobyl.

It wrong to compare it.

Chernobyl has it accident, but Fukushima suufers a huge nature disaster, a historic earthquake of magnitude 9 accompanied by Tsunamis that came not only once but countless times destroying cities...

I completely agree when they say that HBO's Chernobyl is fantastic, that's in doubt. But it is a mistake to say that they completely the same stories and try to compare them.

I think they could have introduced more tsunami scenes around the Power Plant and in Fukushima. Maybe that would have removed this comparison between Chernobyl and THE DAYS.

Anyway, in my opinion, I LOVED IT.

People always expect a production with a Hollywood vision, but you have to remember that not all stories need to follow the same style.

They are different styles an its. It works

Anyway, great story and congratulations to the heroes who gave their lives to try to minimize the damage caused by so many factors in the Nuclear plant, even having lost their families, homes and city.

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.

Yes, it had to have the inept advisors like all the shows of this type.

And it had the questionable politicians and business leaders. That's a given.

But it stays the course and delivers an enjoyable ride of technical expertise and problem-solving. This is NOT the Japanese version of the show Chernobyl. That show was much more focused on government ineptitude. If I had to compare it to another show, I would compare it to the Tom Hanks movie Apollo 13. Lots of "make it work with what we have" and grit and determination.

Sure, the end is a bit soft and a tad anticlimactic. But that's a good thing. A climactic finish to a movie about a nuclear reactor would be...umm...bad. And a BANG!

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.

So I remember watching this on the news and an element of worry surrounding the events but not in my wilderst dreams did I understand the severity of the situation. The series captures the days following the earthquake and tsunami in fukushima with regards the impending nuclear disaster. This is done in almost an hour by hour fashion adding to the suspense and breaking out the complexities surrounding the issues at hand. And how it turns ordinary power station workers into potential and actual heroes with a real sense of duty and honour in the most japanese of ways. The understated acting and what some people here are alluding to as 'wooden' is just the japanese cultural aspect of the series - the opposite of the american over the top drama we are used to seeing in HBO series but powerful and evocative all the same. The tension and the absolute gut wrenching nature of this disaster is more than conveyed and I was left thinking of it for long after I saw it. A cautionary tale brilliantly told. Go and watch this and try not to expect an american thriller and you won't be dissapointed.