Tokyo Flixin'

When I was in Italy, I looked at my American roommate's Netflix and it's filled with movies I really want to watch. TV series that I always want to watch like Parks and Rec or The Office are in the library, arthouse movies are also there, obscure foreign movies too. So, when the Japanese Netflix was launched last month, I was pretty interested. Then just this week I was doing stuff, and I opened Netflix's website and they offered free one-month trial. So, I accepted the offer and was floored with disappointment. Here are my observation about the new service.

1. Limited film library
The Hollywood movies are mostly the new blockbusters like Star Trek, Iron Man, or The Hunger Games. But mostly they're only a part of the trilogy or the franchise. Like only The Fellowship of the Ring is available among the Middle Earth movies, or only Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk are available from the bulk MCU films. No Harry Potter at all. And the older films are also like that. I was excited when I stumbled upon Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior but then disappointed because the predecessor isn't in the library. The classic movies you can literally count with your hands, like Goodfellas or Breakfast at Tiffany's. Disappointment 1, Netflix 0

2. Handicapped foreign films
I'm so happy that there are titles that I really want to watch but might not be that interested to buy the DVDs or even illegally download. These are the foreign titles like Brazil's City of God or Almodovar's creepy-looking The Skin I Live In or Haneke's The Piano Teacher. The original Millennium trilogy is complete in Netflix Japan. HOWEVER, being a non-Japanese it's pretty hard/impossible to watch those movies as they are only offered with either the original audio or Japanese dub and solely Japanese subtitles. I don't know if this is a free one-month thingy or not but if it's not, then Netflix is heading for a very small market. Disappointment 2, Netflix 0

3. Japanese films are meh
I'm not a fan of Japanese films. But when I see Japanese films section, I excitedly search for Like Father Like Son, which is nada. And then the box office smash Eien no zero, which is also another nada. Even if they're available, it would be useless because they're not offered with any foreign language subtitles or audio. MEH. But if you can speak Japanese, I'm happy to tell you that some good films are here like Rashomon, Battle Royale, and the horror classics like Ju-On or The Ring. But I suck at Japanese so, disappointment 3, Netflix 0



4. TV series are pretty ok
The Netflix originals are here like Orange is the New Black, Narcos (which I just start watching), and Daredevil are here. But sadly no House of Cards. Many of my favorite TV shows are also here like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Supernatural and my high school times favorite guilty pleasure Gossip Girl. They bring back good memories but sadly some of them are not updated to their current seasons, like for example Homeland is only available until the 2nd season or Downton Abbey is also until the second. Stray thoughts: so many CW shows..

5. Documentary win
The docs are the good stuff in Netflix Japan, but I must emphasize that most of the potential Netflix subscribers are not doc hungry hipsters. But the titles offered are actually really great like Oscar winners or nominees like Searching for Sugar Man, Virunga, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Super Size Me, and Chasing Ice. Virunga and Jiro are currently on my queue.

6. Beasts Idris Fukunaga
Probably the most legit reason to have this free-one month trial right now. Cary Fukunaga-directed, Idris Elba-starring, serious awards contender Beasts of No Nation has been unleashed on Netflix from yesterday.

Update Nov 11: I have officially cancelled my membership to Netflix Japan, although during the last week they have added a considerable amount of movies to their library. Still not sold. In the end, the programs I enjoyed were the documentaries. Finally watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Going Clear.

In conclusion, Netflix Japan is doing something new by reaching to new market on the other side of the planet. Although they're not new to the streaming game in Japan (Hulu and some Japanese channels are here first), they should be offering something better. As an international company, which has produced numerous exclusive shows and now a ground-breaking feature film, Netflix Japan is not international-minded. They are aimed at Japanese people, while Netflix might pique the interests of others residing in Japan that are not Japanese people. Imma tell you the cold truth, I learned that Japanese people really respects the way of the olden days, new services like Netflix might not be interesting enough. Therefore, the movies and shows offered have to cater to not only Japanese but also international individuals residing in Japan. This can be improved by having at least English subtitles for every movie on Netflix. Otherwise, Netflix's bound to fail soon.