J-drama Review: The Hot Spot

English Title: The Hot Spot

Japanese Title: ホットスポット

Director(s): Mizuno Kaku, Yamada Nobuyoshi, Matsuda Kento

Screenwriter(s): Bakarhythm

Studio: Nippon TV

Released: 2025

Runtime: 10 episodes, ~45m.

Starring: Ichikawa Mikako, Kakuta Akihiro, Suzuki Anne, Hiraiwa Kami, Kaho

Set in a town in Yamanashi Prefecture at the foot of Mt Fuji, the story follows Endo Kiyomi (Ichikawa Mikako) and her circle of friends. One night, after her shift at Lake Hotel, a colleague named Takahashi Kosuke (Kakuta Akihiro) saves her life, displaying superhuman speed and strength.

He later explains to her that he is an alien. Kiyomi, of course, cannot keep the secret, telling her two friends and Takahashi is forced to go along with that. Although he wants them to keep it a secret, he is also anxious about whether they believe him, making an effort to prove it when he could simply tell them to keep quiet regardless. This is the sort of humor the series has.

Over time, the ladies rope Takahashi into doing favors for them using his abilities, risking exposure. This risk is the source of tension and suspense and one can reasonably predict things getting out of control.

Kiyomi and Takahashi are mostly the viewpoint characters with Kiyomi providing most of the voiceovers. Given Japanese politeness, she and her friends and colleagues often complain about their code and its expectations and yet, paradoxically, also about the behavior and hypocrisy of others given the code and their own expectations.

So, despite appearances, the Japanese (simplistically represented by Kiyomi) are just as human as anyone else. It’s tiring to be constantly polite and they like to complain as much as anyone else. Both she and Takahashi, and indeed much of the humor, are deadpan.

Given that we see Kiyomi’s and Takahashi’s judgements of others, the unlikeable traits of most characters (including those two) are shown without necessarily making them unlikeable. For example, Kiyomi and her friends are “shameless” as they nag Takahashi for favors and he grumbles on and on about it, but it’s not as if they are unkind or totally inconsiderate either.

Obviously, one of the themes is about keeping up appearances and to what extent it is necessary and honest. Another apparent theme is friendship and loyalty despite character weaknesses and idiosyncrasies.

A secondary theme is the environment but this is thankfully not dwelled on. According to Takahashi, his grandparents left their home planet due to the usual environmental problems, which is common in the sci-fi genre. The development of the town is also a question.

As for the plot, it lacks a strong thread as it intentionally tries to be ordinary, almost slice-of-life in its approach. Although the elements are signposted from the first episode, the “problem” for the final act of the series doesn’t become apparent until… well, the final act. In this regard, the progression is somewhat crude even though the overall story is thought out well.

The tone of the series goes for subtly weird and quirky. Given that an alien is involved, it vaguely resembles the few comical episodes of The X-Files although this series is overall subtler and more deadpan.

It also relies much on dialogue. Although too much dialogue can be tiresome, it mostly works because the dialogue is chirpy without being rapid-fire.

Visually, the series can use more style given the premise. It is trying to be subtle so hard cuts for comical effect are mostly not used which is understandable, but there could be more “weird” angles and compositions. This is not to suggest it is not nicely shot and edited. There is a good balance of wider shots and one-shots on the reactions with seamless editing.

The music is casually upbeat and does not take itself seriously. It is deliberately B-grade in its composition but thankfully, unlike a lot of J-dramas, not B-grade in its execution and mix. The score is actually quite apparent but it is never unfitting or jarring. On the few occasions that it blares, it is fitting to the context.

Overall, the series is solidly produced with good performances, particularly from the two leads. The writing is mostly good with thorough signposting and chirpy dialogue. Despite initially lacking an apparent plotline, it does build. It could use more dramatic action but, to be fair, it is trying to be ordinary. There are a couple of points not addressed and the epilogue neglects to cover the minor characters who feature quite a lot, but the series does end properly.

On balance, it is an amusing show that tries to strike the balance between being fun and a parody of the genre whilst also being serious enough without being dark and gloomy.