Yoshimoto Koya becomes a tutor to a student, Numata Shigeyuki, an underachiever on the verge of dropping out of middle school. Expecting immediate results, Shigeyuki’s father makes a deal with Koya that if he could make Shigeyuki return to school within a week, he would receive a 100,000 yen bonus. Koya accepts the offer, replying that he would only need 5 days to complete the mission but demands that no one should interfere with his methodology in doing so.
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The first episode suffers from the "slightly different than the rest of the series" syndrome. I'm pretty sure some of you are familiar with this concept, like Samurai Champloo's first episode seems and feels different from the rest of the series in a lot of ways. With Family Game, though that's noticeable, it's not a harm to the series itself and actually manages to expose the characters in a great fashion. It seems to me that they wanted to get that surreal feel of the picture on the first episode but as things progresses, and the stakes takes shapes, the surrealness takes on other forms leaving the _over the topness_ of the first episode behind and focusing mostly on staying right on top (and never over it again). Before starting the series, I thought they were going to play down the violence and psychological terror on children for obvious reasons but to my surprise the stakes actually rise! And not only that, it goes _way_ beyond the movie. The characters basis are all there but here they go deeper; and instead of weak, they go wicked. If on celluloid the teacher was a sociopatic badboy highlighting the new-type-of-comfort of the 80s nuclear japanese family, on digital he goes full psychopathic to expose the consequences of it. As most of you might be aware already, Sho Sakurai destroys it as the tutor but I think it's important to highlight how great the whole cast is specially Honami Suzuki as the mother, she deserves standing ovation for this one. If I had to complain about anything it would be the _explanation_, the characterization feels a bit anime-esque and the overall feels over-explained but Shugo Oshinari holds it all together just by moving and talking and simply existing, as always. The series is quite short and really deserves a chance, it does not behave as your _usual_ drama and actually hits the right places without pulling punches (literally). Whenever the characters have a chance to shine and show their worst you simply can't help but laugh on how unlovable they can be. The climax is spetacular and emotionally exhausting, being completely worthy of such a weird and unpredictable build-up. And after the credits there's a final scene, so mind that.