I often hear that familiarity breeds contempt. You are too close personally to the subject of pro-wrestling, and that will influence your view. I understand, since I find myself feeling similar thoughts about war movies and military themes. Too close to the subject, so things seem too flawed.
For those who are not in the puroresu ring, this Netflix series is acceptable, entertaining content. The portrayal of Showa era Japan is missing a bit, but once again, I am too close to the subject. I lived through that era in Tokyo and remember it too well. The on-screen portrayal is superficial and misses the real feel of the era.
As for the acting, Japan is known for directors that encourage over-acting. Seems to come from a cultural bias towards stage productions, such as the exaggerated expressions and emotions of kyogen, kabuki, or taishu-engeki. For a Japanese audience, this kind of over-acting is expected. For a non-Japanese audience, it will look odd or even bad. YMMV.
BTW, I was there in the audience during the 80s and saw many of these matches live. The real Beauty Pair performance was a lot better than how Netflix showed it. If you had seen them live, you would know that Netflix did not do justice to their in-ring act. They may not be the best singers, but the atmosphere they produced was top notch for a wrestling fan crowd. At the same time, Netflix portrayed the Crush Gals in a very tame manner. Ayame Goriki was miscast as Lioness Asuka, for sure. Chigusa Nagayo having a hand in the Netflix production certainly had a strong effect in this regard.
I often hear that familiarity breeds contempt. You are too close personally to the subject of pro-wrestling, and that will influence your view. I understand, since I find myself feeling similar thoughts about war movies and military themes. Too close to the subject, so things seem too flawed.
For those who are not in the puroresu ring, this Netflix series is acceptable, entertaining content. The portrayal of Showa era Japan is missing a bit, but once again, I am too close to the subject. I lived through that era in Tokyo and remember it too well. The on-screen portrayal is superficial and misses the real feel of the era.
As for the acting, Japan is known for directors that encourage over-acting. Seems to come from a cultural bias towards stage productions, such as the exaggerated expressions and emotions of kyogen, kabuki, or taishu-engeki. For a Japanese audience, this kind of over-acting is expected. For a non-Japanese audience, it will look odd or even bad. YMMV.
BTW, I was there in the audience during the 80s and saw many of these matches live. The real Beauty Pair performance was a lot better than how Netflix showed it. If you had seen them live, you would know that Netflix did not do justice to their in-ring act. They may not be the best singers, but the atmosphere they produced was top notch for a wrestling fan crowd. At the same time, Netflix portrayed the Crush Gals in a very tame manner. Ayame Goriki was miscast as Lioness Asuka, for sure. Chigusa Nagayo having a hand in the Netflix production certainly had a strong effect in this regard.