The closest I’ve seen is The Naked Director, great show. Maybe a little less artsy and some of the dramatizations in season 2 are kinda soapy, but still great show overall. I just added Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new show, Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, to my list. It looks good, but it seems to be a feel-good slice of life with not much of a plot or conflict.
I have some other shows in my backlog, as they’ve been recommended in previous threads:
* Stay Tuned!
* Ikebukuro West Gate Park
* Jimmy: The True Story of a True Idiot
* The Journalist
* Followers
* Million Yen Women
* Samurai Gourmet
are any of these as good as Hibana or The Naked Director? I just tried Scams, which gets recommended often, and the first episode was awful. Like most Japanese live action shows: terribly acted, cartoonish and exaggerated dialogue.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/14fw98c/any_new_japanese_shows_that_match_hibana_sparks/
4 comments
i wish i knew others like it but im pleasantly surprised someone else has seen Hibana Spark. Gonna come back and see if one show comes to mind
I like 闇金の牛島 its the same guy from the Naked director.
I liked Erased, but it’s very dark. It’s a time travel murder mystery.
Stay tuned, on your list, starts silly and goofy and over the top but gets more serious as the show goes on.
Samurai gourmet is good if you like food shows. Long slow loving shots of food being prepared, mixed with a fluff story about an old man getting used to retirement.
I liked Hibana a lot as well.
For me, nothing is better than Tiger and Dragon and I feel like you can’t go too wrong with old Kudo Kankoru shows in general. IWGP, kisarazu cats eye, Manhattan love story, Go.
For newer stuff, Up until the last few episodes, I really enjoyed Lost Man Found on Disney+, there are a few good Japanese shows on there actually.
For a comedian related show like Hibana, there’s Jimmy and Arigato: Jaru Jaru Tower.