Pachinko adaptation

Last night I finished season one of Pachinko. Gorgeous!

It was beautifully done in every way. Just a pleasure to watch.

Interestingly, they don't translate anything. People speak Korean, Japanese, and English (sometimes in the same sentence). If you don't understand all three of those languages, you can turn on subtitles in a variety of different languages. If you do, they show translations of Korean in orange, Japanese in blue, and English in white. Sometimes the language multilingual characters choose to speak is important, so these are essential clues. It was really well done!

I read the book by Min Jin Lee a while back and I loved it. I recently subscribed to Apple TV+ in order to watch the upcoming Murderbot adaptation, so I took the opportunity to watch Pachinko while I have it. I'm so glad I did.

On to season two!

Update (2025-05-10): I just finished season two. So good. They did not finish the book. If there is a season three, I will buy Apple TV+ again.

Near the end, a jazz singer in a bar is singing the Grass Roots song from the season one opening credits (much more slowly…and in Japanese). Nice call back!

The season one opening credits were Let's Live For Today and season two was I'd Wait A Million Years also by the Grass Roots. If there is a season three, I wonder what the song will be. Temptation Eyes?