House of the Owl Review (Episodes 1-5): Tanaka Min, Mackenyu Arata are Memorable in This Political Suspense Series

– No Spoilers –

When the son of the secretary-general of the Liberal Frontier Party, Takeuchi Manabu, is murdered during a night of violent partying, his father contacts Ogami Ryutaro, a close family friend known as the Owl, who is adept at handling the dirty secrets and crimes that take place in Japan from the shadows. However, although he is able to control the happenings in his country, things get much more complicated when his son, Ogami Ryu, comes back to Japan from America and clashes with his father’s way of working.

The dark and dreary underbelly of Ogami Ryutaro’s world is a scary place to take a peek into. The head of the Ogami family holds on to the reigns of his family as well as the country with firm hands. However, both of these parts of his life have their faults and, although seemingly perfect from the outside, are slowly rotting from within. This is, by far, Tanaka Min’s show. As the Owl, he is fantastic at looking menacing and threatening but not in the “thugs” kind of way. His plotting and quiet contemplation is what will get under your skin as he gets what he wants – always.

There are a lot of plotlines in House of the Owl that the plot overview doesn’t really cover. The series is a rundown of Ogami and his family’s lives and how everyone is living a double life while outside forces try to get ahold of Ryutaro. The first five episodes go quite deep into the family while giving us snippets of information about something brewing in the distance. For the most part, the drama surrounding the family is interesting and has some beats that really reel you in. It’s interesting to see how different all of the children are from each other.

That being said, the story is quite slow, at least until now. I can feel the tension brewing on the horizon, but I am not sure where are we going with this at this point. I was made to believe that Mackenyu Arata’s Ryu would have a bigger part to play here but, as of now, we hardly see much of his character and his “dark hero” side. Ryutaro is also showcased as a rather sweet man in some moments, that truly make you see him in a more grey light than completely dark.

The politics, up until now, hasn’t also picked up as much steam as you’d expect and even with the somewhat long episodes, we look at the personal lives of the Ogamis more. It’s interesting, yes, but I can’t help but wait for the shoe to drop and for things to get really shocking. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened yet, which is a bit disappointing. The series also throws several people around who seem like they might just be negative characters but do nothing other than tease that fact till now. Considering we only have 10 episodes, that’s an odd choice to make. Plus, the unnecessary sex scenes also feel really weird.

All in all, I like the vibe of the series and I can’t help but want more from the series. It really amps up on making us get familiar with everyone in the Ogami household as well as others, but doesn’t give us the suspenseful bits even 5 episodes in. You wait and wait for something truly impactful and something that will make you wait till the next episode, but it doesn’t really arrive. Plus, I really am intrigued to know more about the relationship between Ryu and Ryutaro – maybe in the next episode? The series definitely does bring some intrigue but is it enough to keep us truly invested?

House of the Owl Review: Final Thoughts

In spite of an interesting and thrilling premise, the first five episodes of House of the Owl have a suspenseful vibe and you will be sitting on the edge waiting for something to happen but things don’t really go anywhere… yet. I found myself mesmerised by the drama of the messy family, but it’s the suspense that is personally lacking for me. Making the next week will be better! Here’s hoping.

House of the Owl will stream on Disney+ Hostar from Apr 23 – May 8, 2024.

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