Burn the House Down (TV Mini Series 2023– ) Poster

(2023– )

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6/10
Decent Japanese tale of revenge
brites-tc19 July 2023
This show feels very soap opera with a hefty dose of melodrama and sentimentality. Is it cliché? Very much so. Is it filled with unimaginable plot holes? Definitely. Does it come with a plot twist out of nowhere? Check. Is it entertaining? Hell, yeah! I was really taken by surprised by the antagonist. Amazing actress! The leading actress was also very compelling. The rest of the cast is... mediocre and unintentionally hilarious at times! Anyway, if you love a revenge tale and just want something simple to relax at the end of the day give this a go! But be aware this may give you a 13 year old stress amnesia.
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8/10
Enjoyable!
christineballone23 July 2023
The plot is easy to understand and easy to get into. The acting is a bit over the top for western audiences but one has to understand Japanese culture which most of us don't! We are made feeling sympathetic for the characters and it it's satisfying to see the villains get their up comings.

Yes the show drags on a bit but since I have connected with the characters I don't mind. I want to see where it's going and what mysteries are going to be unraveled!

The music score is typical Japanese soft piano music throughout.

One of the sisters reminds me of the Japanese series " midnight diner Tokyo" because every time she eats something she shouts out " oh delicious" lol!

All in all I can recommend this series simply because it's non violent, non profane, easy on the eye and easy to follow and understand! I prefer Japanese with subtitles!
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7/10
Decent
eliara37128 July 2023
I typically enjoy these types of dramas. I liked the storyline, but it felt like the creators for this specific series, didn't quite know how to really make this genre. I felt it was mediocre compared to really good revenge dramas, like The Glory for example. Still watchable and I had no regrets for spending my time on it. It was worth the time and I enjoyed it. But lower your hopes and expectations. Will this be a favorite, no. Will this be a perfectly watchable good Netflix drama, yes. I felt like the actors were alright to good. But their expressions and reactions didn't really meet with what the scene demanded.
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7/10
Surprise Ending and turned into a heartwarming show
KatieDuncan4412 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Before I review the show a few petty criticisms. They did a bad job with background music. Is this an 80s arcade? Some things made it seem cheap like the music. I don't know about the acting sometimes. It comes off odd. A little too emotional at times. Like when Yuzu acts excited over something tasting good. The girl from University acting upset over the other girl at the lunch table. The way people act when upset is overdone sometimes.

The show has a very surprise ending and so this show isn't what you think it is all along. It ended up being a very heart warming and inspiring.

It made you see the villains as human and not awful after all. Yes, she was awful, but your see her struggles and human problems.

It was inspiring human growth story too which was also not expected.
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6/10
Japanese TV series reminds of Korea's superior "The Housemaid."
msghall1 August 2023
This is a bit of a predictable series, made quickly with TV-style lighting rather than movie subtlety. But it's the cartoonish music in the background that drives me nuts. Why is it there? The 90's are long over; why the cheesy synth sounds. Cheapens the whole shoe.

I've enjoyed two Korean comedies recently, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "Mr Queen," both of which are wonderful shows, complete with excellent translation and tight scripts. Not so with "Burn the House Down." It's definitely not as finely-tuned as "Kingdom"

Still, I enjoyed it for what it is. But while I was watching it, I couldn't stop thinking about the Korean "The Housemaid" and how it ended with a house (and living room/staircase almost identical in both) burning down. Weird how close these shows are.
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8/10
Who burned the house down?
magnoliacream28 July 2023
Anzu Murata (Mei Nagano) applies as housekeeper for the wealthy Miratai family that owns a hospital. Unknown to the mistress of the house, celebrity homemaker Makiko Mitarai (Ren Hanami), Anzu is her estranged stepdaughter who is trying to find out who burned her family's house down 13 years ago.

Back then, Anzu lived with her father Osamu Mitarai (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), mother Satsuki (Elyse Dinh) and younger sister Yuzu (Yuri Tsunematsu) happily and luxuriously in a mansion.

While their house was mysteriously engulfed in flames, Anzu saw Makiko, her mother's friend, among the bystanders, smiling triumphantly as she watched the house burning. Anzu therefore harbored suspicions about the tragic event.

Satsuki became depressed with guilt about being the culprit, thinking she left a stove on and caused the fire. At the same time, Makiko became close to Osamu, comforting him as needed. Eventually, Osamu and Satsuki divorced. Osamu married Makiko and abandoned his children. Satsuki developed amnesia and has been bedridden in a hospital. Anzu believes that her mother's guilt caused her health problems and that an apology from the real culprit would heal her.

This is an interesting watch. There is twist after twist towards the end that leaves one feeling breathless at the ride the writer takes viewers on. The romantic angles are not bad, either.
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5/10
Good Enough
PennyReviews26 July 2023
Japanese Drama " Mitaraike Enjou Suru " is a revenge family drama.

The story is pretty basic and, in theory, it is enjoyable, but it goes astray in the second half. Plus, things get out of hand and the result is so-so, kind of unsatisfying and anticlimactic, but okay overall.

The performances, on the other hand, were pretty enjoyable and everyone handled their characters masterfully. The characters, in addition, were interesting, especially the side characters that really did great and supported the main ones that often were too stereotypical melodrama characters.

So, overall, five out of ten.
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8/10
A great drama worth watching
nigel88617 July 2023
Overall, it's a show worth watching. The plot, acting and structure are great. From the beginning to the end, there is no bad episode, no fillers and a total of 8 episodes is sufficient to enjoy this. The star of the show is definitely the stepmother, she played an excellent role and acting was excellent.

However, it does suffer some drawbacks, like parts of the plot could have been expanded on some characters, parts of the plot felt a bit rushed and lacked build up, and the background music could be better - it doesn't blend in with some scenes.

An extra episode or two would have been perfect and I would probably given it a 9.

I watched this all in one setting and each episode kept me hooked. I recommend anyone to give this a go, you won't be disappointed.
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2/10
Not worth watching
nicowa-7922720 July 2023
A huge let down. I stopped watching after five episodes. I did not get this show. During those five episodes, I kept losing interest over and over.

Most of the characters are just weird and unbeliveable, and the bad acting did not make them any better.

The plot is not believable either.

I have watched a lot(!) of Korean shows lately, and very few Japanese. I am not sure if this is a typical Japanese show, or if it is just bad in general.

The sister might be one of the most stupid characters I have seen this year, and it is very annoying to watch, and that is one of the reasons I just could not waste any more time on this.
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8/10
Nice Story, Enjoyable Performance
xmasinswiss28 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I binge-watched this show in one sitting, couldn't turn it off.

The story is basic and with many plot issues, but the actors offer a nice performance which is pleasing to watch.

I'd suggest that this show has a lot of influence from manga (some characters and imagery seem be very manga-like). The over-acting probably goes back to the kabuki influences. One or two characters, such as the father, come across as theatrical clowns, not unusual in Japanese and Korean shows.

The younger sister's squealing of "oishiii!!!" at every bite is, unfortunately, typical.

The ending was nice.

Having said that, I did notice and didn't appreciate some massive plot holes.

For example, the house is repeatedly shown as totally burned, yet inside everything is just as it was, complete with clothes, shoes and bijouterie?

The father divorces his wife over an unproven allegation, leaving per penniless? Keeping all her clothes and shoes? Never once bothering to contact his 2 daughters? Only to marry an impoverished friend with 2 kids?

The police drop their investigation half-way, only to pick it up 13 years later with a valid choice of suspects?

How are the poor sisters paying for their mother's prolonged hospitalization?

The woman obsessed with tracking and watching everyone doesn't have a security camera in her home?

The agency doesn't verify Anzu's passport details?

And on and on.

Still, if you suspend disbelief, it's enjoyable!
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1/10
Why the pointless and ridiculous twist
barrytookas17 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
We watched this and although right from the start it was a pretty senseless plot, we persevered and were hoping for a satisfying ending.

The pace of the plot revelations were a bit off as well. For someone to wait 13 years for their revenge, only to confront the perpetrator with very few real facts, made no sense.

The final episode must have been given to another writer, (possibly a junior school student), who had no idea of the original plot and was told to just end it somehow.

So the main antagonist, who lies, gaslights, steals, is an attention seeking narcissist, and ruins her sons lives by controlling them and robbing them of their self esteem, is somehow painted as a sacrificial mother who just loves her kids in the final 5 minutes. The two daughters who were robbed of their mother, their father, and their home by the antagonist and her family, both end up in relationships with the two sons. The father was a horrible weak, and spinless character, who abuses his first wife, and is then convinced by the jealous so called friend of his wife's that his wife deliberately burned down the house. He then evicts his wife and two daughters, marries the jealous friend who is no where near as attractive or genuine as his wife, the goes 13 years without contacting his daughters. After all this, he just carries on with his life as if nothing happened, and the gaslighting ex wife becomes a hit on social media again. This is genius writing if your goal is to make the story as unbelievable as possible and make the viewer regret the time spent watching the series.
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9/10
Pretty decent don't understand the low ratings.
kmhlbeavis27 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This was a pretty decent series. You have two sisters Anzu and Yuzu. Trying to uncover the truth about the fire in their home 13 years prior. This led to the wife being thrown out with the kids and the husband marrying the ladies friend. The friend is really devious and will stop at nothing to get and keep what she has. The truth is finally uncovered and It was an accident after all. This is where I deducted a star because either the translation was wrong or the writer had a brain fart about the ending. They said that the boy would not be charged because he was under 14 years of age at the time. In reality he shouldn't be charged because he accidently set the fire while trying to heat up the curry beef that he was looking foward to eating. At least the ending was a happy one as they all including the evil lady were able to rebuild their lives and also this only took 8 episodes !! Netflix are you reading this. The series on Netflix should all be this way. It's worth a watch even though Yuzu character can be annoying.
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3/10
Weak plot with overacting casts
realnoi23 July 2023
Revenge theme can be so much fun, juicy, over the top and dramatic. This one is so weak at managing storyline and continue to go weak all the way.

After episode 4, it feels like the script writer has some mixup sub-plot. It has some negative consequences regarding the core storyline. Episode 5 new character is added to create more confusion.

The acting is so funnily overacted , surreal while some are weirdly comical act. The good things about this show are the lighting, costume and hair design with cool wine glasses.

If you have free time with nothing to do, then just watch and laugh at it, overall.
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8/10
it was good
nsbsnvp16 July 2023
It was so good, i loved it, the actors were good, the aesthetic could have been better, the actor who played the step-mother was phenomenal, she gave the vibes that were needed, personally i think some of the actors overplayed there roles and turned into a bit of an " ick " moment, but besides that it was really fun.

I personally would say that's definitely a binge-worthy show, there's a lot of plot development and it'd be better to watch it all in one go. To be honest, the plot wasn't necessarily the best, it was a little lacking but it's still good, however i feel like some parts of the plot were under-developed and could've been expanded upon, and i feel like there should've been more to the plot but for what it is, it's a genuinely favourable and fun show to watch.
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4/10
The father is frustrating
pawq-5205821 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I am quite amazed by the fact that reviews here are positive. Maybe I am not so used to Japanese series but this one just felt frustrating by the stupidity most characters are showing. You know since the beginning what the ending will be which I would not mind if the twists were great.

After the two first episodes of introduction, whenever characters are finding great evidences that could make them win, they keep messing up in absolute dumb ways because they are so weak/stupid? They have no self awareness, they feel like a bunch of dumb robots that anyone can control.

I personally wouldn't mind if the main character mess up because the « bad guy » was doing smart move / was really ahead but here... the « bad guy » doesn't even feel smart at all... it felt like this could have been a 4/5 episodes serie but ended up getting 8 because the « good guys » have a 5 yo kid IQ. I dropped on the 7th episode because the MC was too stupid and I couldn't bear how long that serie was getting.

Cherry on the cake, the father hearing from his new wife that she, herself, destroyed his family, his ex-wife reputation and burnt his family house and he drops a « oh, let's calm down here, let's take time to think it through tonight... » like sorry what??? I mean dude react, be mad, even knowing that Japanese are not supposed to be that expressive physically, I am 100% positive that anyone in that situation would be mad and raise their voice. I am so salty. I spent nights on this serie and feel not rewarded at all. 😭
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10/10
Good short melodrama
balletteacher29 July 2023
This is only my fifth Japanese drama and I must say it was a short, but interesting, binge. The plot kept me going and the 8 episodes were just right. The actress Mei Nagano was fabulous! Horrifyingly evil and beautiful at her age! Kyoka Suzuki was also formidable and very convincing as the young woman with revenge in mind. The co-stars were all good, although the most inconsistent was the younger sister, Yuzu. The young brothers were also quite convincing and handsome, but their characters were weakly-written. There were some plot holes at the end, but there was good closure. Overall, a good watch!!
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5/10
A Revenge drama with not much revenge!
vigneshvinod-5547115 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Burn the House Down is the story of a girl named Anzu Mitarai to finds the culprit who burned her house 13 years ago. This J-Drama has 8 episodes with each being 45-50 minutes long.

First of all, They could have executed the plot a little more nicely. There were tons of plotholes and many questions that were answered but not in a convincing way. Many characters exist to carry the plot and have zero development. There are the primary faults of the drama.

The male lead, Kiichi is for me, the best written character in the drama. His internal conflicts, eerie presence, his emotions all were executed and done properly without any mistake. His character development is also not very problematic.

Another cons of the drama is the unnecessary and unconvincing plot twists. By the last episode, the show will have many twists and turns which is not at all convenient for the general audience.

Aside from the revenge story, the one that attained most of my attention and the one that I loved the most to see on screen is the romantic dynamic between the housekeeper Anzu Mitarai and Kiichi. Their screen presence was purely fantastic. There is one dialogue that Kiichi say to Anzu and it goes like this, " I don't care about what others say. They can say what they want. But I do care about what you say."

The ending of the drama was soothing and refreshing. All the problems have come to an ultimate end and all the characters, especially Anzu and Kiichi live a happy life.

It's Good.

5/10 Signing off, Thank You.
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8/10
BURN THE HOUSE DOWN: Low-Key Revenge J-Drama
Jinxxa_Wolf13 November 2023
BURN DOWN THE HOUSE (Mitaraike, Enjou Suru) was an interesting Thriller / Mystery Revenge J-Drama series, but ultimately felt lacking to me. It started out with thrilling promises and a darkly intriguing premise, a mysterious house fire that tore a family a part and a girl seeking revenge and redemption for the life that was stolen from her, by a conniving future stepmother. This series seemed so fascinating but ultimately didn't really live up to the promises it made. It moved slowly and the "thrills" just weren't really there for me.

"Follows Anzu Murata, who- thirteen years after the home of the wealthy Mitarai family was burned in an mysterious and devastating fire- infiltrates the house of the Mitarais as a housekeeper in order to reclaim the house and family that was taken from her."

Overall, it was a cool series, but not quite as interesting as it had initially seemed it would be. I frequently felt distracted and uninterested as the series went on and its slower pacing came unexpected for being advertised as a thriller. The acting, settings and visuals were really good and the main character Anzu Murata was likeable and relatable as well. It was still worth a watch, but just expect something a bit more mild for the thriller genre.
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3/10
Absolutely pointless plot.
geewhiz4614 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Anzu embarks on a mission to find out who burned down their house thirteen years ago.

First question - given a blaze of that intensity how was anything left standing - it would have been reduced to rubble.

Her mother kneels in the road and says "I'm sorry" - so father divorces her?

The father is painted with such a black brush that he is a villain to be hissed at every time he appears.

Why - if they were a normal family - did he not contact either of his daughters for thirteen years?

Anzu remembers a woman who made friends with her mother and copied her so closely she became like a clone of her. I can't imagine any woman putting up with that - she would have distanced herself immediately.

The woman's name is Mariko - a model - and celebrity - if you can believe that - they needed a much more attractive woman to pull that off.

Anyway she is a slatternly housekeeper - again the dirt is so overdone as to be ridiculous - and she hires Anzu to be her housekeeper whilst telling her fans she does it all herself.

The plot winds wearily onward to a solution - which wasn't that much of a surprise.

Mariko - she is shamed briefly but soon rises up again.

Very unsatisfactory - it made the entire series pointless.
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8/10
A solid eight part drama from Japan
Tweekums19 July 2023
Thirteen years before the main action of this series takes place the home of the well-off Mitarai family is burnt down. It is assumed that the mother accidentally caused the fire. This leads to the break-up of the family; daughters Anzu and Yuzu live with their mother, who later suffers from amnesia. Their father marries Makiko, their housekeeper, and adopts her sons. In the present the new Mrs Mitarai is looking for a housekeeper; Anzu, using an assumed name, takes the position. She is given certain unusual rules; she mustn't go upstairs and she can't tell anybody she is working there as her new employer is an online influencer who claims to look after her own home. Anzu soon learns why she isn't meant to go upstairs; Makiko's son Kiichi, who she says is working overseas, is a shut-in who rarely ventures outside his room. Anzu sets about trying to find evidence that Makiko set the fire and effectively stole her mother's life.

I thought this eight part series was rather fun. There is plenty of tension without a feeling that anybody will be physically harmed. There are revelations throughout the series some that came as a real surprise without seeming forced. The cast of characters, which isn't particularly large, is interesting; most notably the leads. They develop nicely over the course of the series. The acting is solid. I was relieved when the final episode ended with a sense of closure rather than leaving me waiting another year for a future season. Overall a solid drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
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4/10
person divorces his wife because she burned the house, hahaha, is it possible?
susumm-3763919 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A trivial scenario, I advise you not to follow up and waste time.. The story does not enter the mind.. A person divorces his wife because she burned the house, hahaha, is it possible?

A trivial scenario, I advise you not to follow up and waste time.. The story does not enter the mind.. A person divorces his wife because she burned the house, hahaha, is it possible?

A trivial scenario, I advise you not to follow up and waste time.. The story does not enter the mind.. A person divorces his wife because she burned the house, hahaha, is it possible?

A trivial scenario, I advise you not to follow up and waste time.. The story does not enter the mind.. A person divorces his wife because she burned the house, hahaha, is it possible?
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10/10
Burn the House down
Mstv_movielover14 July 2023
What can I say about the show three episodes in and I'm loving it and then I look up are there more episodes and most likely Netflix is not going to pick it up which makes it really sad because a lot of people from what I see like the show already 7.0 there are lotta Japanese Korean shows that are on and that I want to see More of fun as always Netflix you make it difficult to want to enjoy your show. I love Netflix don't get me wrong, but there are not many shows that I can get into like this one and another one well hope it returns with more. Episodes it would be really nice to see more of this.
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4/10
Netflix AI needs some learning
indojin20043 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Just watched a gem, Trillion Game. Loved it! Pace, wittiness, drama, stereotypes, humor and underdog as themes. Binged it! Last time I binged a J-Drama before TG was My Boss My Hero..I know, a long time. But, it's so hard to find some gems. Ok so NF's AI suggested to watch this one. Wow. What an 180 degrees. I hoped for a vengeful but smart and witty role of the protagonist but instead, I got some messy, broken, weak lead and weak counterparts that it's just a stretched play with zero memorable characters. The pace is really 90's early 2000's like as it was in J-Cinema. Please step it up NF and not only in theme but visuals, script, speed, actors and your wack AI for suggesting stuff. I was in such a flow for once and now I'm like: let's skip NF for a while.
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