Andrew Cook
The Sealer is a 2022 live-action Japanese miniseries, with all nine episodes directed by Kenji Kuwajima (The Red Apple) and Michihito Fujii (18×2 Beyond Youthful Days). It was originally produced by the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and can now be streamed on Viki, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.
The Sealer tells the story of Kakeru (Taichi Saotome), who works as a “sealer” for a secret society of crime fighters in Japan. Their actions are sanctioned by the government, though completely covert due to the paranormal nature of their work. His job is to carry a scabbard carved from blessed wood and use it to seal Blades of Filth, cursed swords formed as the manifestation of people’s stress and misery after they hit a tipping point, which drives them insane and turns them into largely immortal killing machines. Despite the classified nature of both the Blades and the organization dedicated to stopping them, a sudden uptick in these slayings attracts the attention of journalist Mio Sanjo (Mai Fukugawa), a rare individual who can see the black waves of malice emanating from those who hold the Blades of Filth.
Sanjo serves as our viewpoint character, fighting against an unconvinced editor and actively suppressive upper management to bring this story to light. Her dogged investigation serves as the basis for the show’s procedural format, each episode serving us a Monster of the Week in the form of a new holder of the Blade. Through this format Kuwajima and Fujii’s social commentary rises to the surface, examining the sources of hostility and suffering in modern Japan. They focus on corruption, bullying, toxic work culture, and unresolved contradictions in Japanese society dating back to the second World War, exploring all with a strong sense of empathy. Though these villains may be holding Blades of Filth, the show treats them as human beings as opposed to mere filth. Tragic monsters are the best kind of monsters, and bearing witness to their suffering is both core to Kakeru’s job and a curse he must shoulder, for as he gazes into the abyss of the impure, it gazes into him just the same.
The Sealer has a fascinating aesthetic, at once minimalist and highly attentive to detail. The blocking and staging is highly precise throughout, and Kuwajima and Fujii balance a natural approach to lighting with a surprising impressionistic streak. The series is quite well shot, with stunt choreography and fight scenes punching well above their weight. The Sealer routinely delivers better fight scenes than many Hollywood action films with ten times the budget, and is worth watching for that alone.
The episodes are short, only 30 minutes apiece. Each one is a concentrated burst of action TV you can either easily fit into your day or simply watch in one three hour block like a film. Anyone who loves Asian television, martial arts, or paranormal procedurals like The X-Files is sure to have a good time.
