“Detention” Condenses the essence of The Game, and the possibility of adaptation beyond media

What is the difference between the drama version and novelization version?

Return to School : The Detention was an attempt to extract the essence of the world view, story, and play experience of The Game and transfer it to the media of film. ' can be said to be the exact opposite approach. In order to help you enjoy various ``returning to school'' experiences, we would like to introduce here the drama version and novelization version that can be mentioned in Japanese.

The key point of the drama version of ``Return to School'' is its long-form storytelling, with a total of eight episodes, each lasting approximately 46 to 56 minutes. Because the story can be told in a larger volume than The Game, this work does not adapt the story of the original work ``Return to School -Detention-'' as it is, but adds a big twist from the starting point. The reason is that the setting of the story was moved from the 1960s, when martial law was in place, to 1999, more than 30 years later. In other words, the drama version is a sequel to the original work.

Drama “Return to School” preview

However, the drama version of ``Return to School'' is not a sequel to the original work. It should be thought of as another story, which incorporates almost the entire story of the original work and then writes its own story. The main character of the drama version, Liu Yunshan, begins attending Cuihua High School after moving from Taipei. There, Yun Xiang gradually becomes friends with a female student. As the story progresses, Yunxiang approaches the story of Fan Leixin that happened in the past, and at the same time confronts his own problems.

You can fully understand the essence of the original work and movie just by watching this drama version. Characters from the original work and movie, such as Wei Zhongting and Instructor Bai, will also appear in older versions, so fans can enjoy them in this way. The major difference from the movie version is that it contains plenty of elements of Taiwanese mythology, religion, and folklore depicted in the original work. In the movie version, the story was cut out to condense the story, but in the drama version, you can get a glimpse of Taiwanese culture from a slightly different angle than in the original. The story takes advantage of the fact that Yunshan's friend, Chong Wenliang, is the son of a temple in Buddhism, and the setting extends beyond Cuihua High School.

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In addition, in the drama version, the elements of the family drama and love drama that were also in the original work are expanded to include both Yunshan and Leixin. Although the so-called horror-like characteristics have been suppressed, the fear of the close community has become stronger. The structure in which the mutual surveillance and peer pressure at the time of martial law overlap with those in the society of schools is clever. The play, which is based on the original work and incorporates themes such as talent and jealousy that are relevant to modern society, has a strong taste as a hard youth story, and is probably similar to the works of Shinji Nojima in Japan. It can be said that this is a work that offers complements and new interpretations that can only be expected from a long drama.

Furthermore, the novel version of `` Return to School: Kageshu Novel '' released by Kadokawa Horror Bunko is a novelization of a drama, not a movie. It is characterized by depictions that make it easier to approach the psychology of the characters, and although it was released under a horror label, it is a book that feels even more like a coming-of-age story than the main drama. If you are interested in ``Return to School,'' but are hesitant about the horror genre, the novel may be a good place to start.

Enjoy the depth of adaptation