Let’s get this out of the way right now. I was already biased against the reset since I loved the original so fucking much. Whenever someone says, “I wonder what to watch?” this is the show I mention. Girl From Nowhere is clever, darkly funny, creative, and ruthlessly entertaining. There are rumors that the original actress, Chicha, stopped due to health reasons. That’s why they did the reset.
The reset doesn’t work. Bless her, Becky is doing her best, but the writing is GARBAGE. Fuck, it’s straight up creepy sometimes. For example, episode 4: “OnlyNanno” is about basically dueling camgirls. One of them calls herself “MyBodyMyChoice” and while I thought that was about as subtle as a brick to the face, I thought it was going to be an interesting commentary about how sex work can be touted as empowering. Yes, you are doing what you want with your body, but you’re also at the mercy of your ravenous audience asking for more extreme things. But uh… No. Nanno just shows she’s willing to do whatever shit the guys want, so she gets all the attention, which backfires in a bloody fashion. And these aren’t college kids; they’re in high school. I don’t get that bit of dread/satisfaction I would get from the original series. I just feel gross, like I’ve been put on a watchlist.
I know they’re doing a Japanese version, and I hope it’s good. There’s something so special about the original series that is not only absent from the reset, but it seems to miss the entire point. It keeps setting up an interesting idea only to either get too pervy for my liking or take a flying leap over the point. And I feel bad saying this because I can tell everyone is really trying. Well… Everyone but the writer’s room, perhaps? I sincerely hope it gets better…
