Fishbowl Wives review: Welcome to Japan's Lust Stories

3/5

Six wives deal with infidelity. While a few cheat on their husbands, many others cheat on them. Most of these wives live in a loveless marriage and move out to fulfill their desire and in turn, find the one for them (which sometimes is in their husband only).

Fishbowl Wives is about lust, about couples breaking out of their marriage and dealing with infidelity in their way. Six wives go through something similar, and there is one thing that connects them—taking care of a goldfish.

The series begins with an intimate scene, hinting at where the story is headed. With that, the drama around an extra-marital affair and infidelity begins.

The story tries to develop into something beautiful and does so very slowly. We get to see flashbacks of the female lead Sakura (Ryoko Shinohara) and slowly understand her story.

Sakura is a woman who believes in old-school love. It is what sets her apart from the other women in the series. Her story comes along beautifully as the series progresses. It is almost dream-like through a game that destiny plays.

However, there are moments when her actions are too questionable. This especially happens as the series nears its end.

Takanori Iwata as Haruto is equally impressive. On the other hand, Masanobu Ando, in the role of Mr. Hiraga, is quite evil. He plays his part well too.

The music tends to play an important role in such a series, and it doesn't disappoint with Fishbowl Wives either. Whether English or Japanese, the songs do not disappoint you.

Shizuka Nakamura in the role of Yuka is good. She has a bold role and plays it with perfection.

Wakana Matsumoto and Yuki Kabota's scene is something that you wouldn't feel like watching. Every moment with them just gets weird and cringy.

Shingo Fujimori (Taro) and Atsushiro Inukai's (Tsuta) section in the series is both hilarious and yet, very relevant. Saori Seto's Noriko, on the other hand, is very adorable. Her puppy eyes are a speciality in the section.

Souta and Saya (Anna Ishii)'s married life is quite realistic as well. Anna, especially, performs brilliantly. From having gone into depression to leading a confused life, she is a broken mess who is more real than any character in the series.

Masako is a character who stirs up trouble with her surprising entry. She comes like a storm and manages to stay that way.

Hidekazu Mashuma (Baba/Takuchi Taguzo) also comes as a surprise. Despite being one of the most well-known actors, he plays a rustic role in the series. His story is the most surprising of the lot.

The scenes in the series are shot well. The makers are to be especially credited for using shadows the way they do. They create a lasting impact through the shots.

The series beautifully mixes business with pleasure. It puts them both differently and yet merges them in a way that is efficient for the storyline.

Kyoko Hasegawa's part in the series is cool too. It shows just how happy you become once you find someone who accepts you as you are. No make-up or masks are required at that given point in time, which makes the relationship special.

The series ends on a bizarre note. It hints of a new season but then again, this season has covered a lot from the manga it is adapted from so there isn't much content for a new season. Given that, the end is borderline disappointing and does not answer questions.

Fishbowl Wives has nice packaging and powerful content in many places. However, there are a few bizarre elements that ruin the feel of the show. The main female lead Sakura, whose growth was constant in the series, suddenly falls back drastically which is not very appealing. While most of the character stories are wrapped up well, hers is incomplete and while that might have been the beauty of the manga, it is not as beautiful in the J-drama.