10-02-2025
‘The Hot Spot': Close encounters of the mundane kind
[Editor's note: The following article includes spoilers for Nippon TV series 'The Hot Spot']
The premise of Nippon TV's new series 'The Hot Spot' points toward intergalactic drama. A woman living in a Yamanashi town in the shadow of Mount Fuji discovers her co-worker is an alien. The extraterrestrial-in-hiding boasts inhuman abilities — super strength and speed — and his very presence hints at more secrets lurking in the sleepy locale.
The show does not, however, transform into an action-packed adventure or a suspenseful dive into galactic mysteries. 'The Hot Spot' instead uses this supernatural concept to explore the everyday — the alien's abilities are utilized to solve problems such as getting volleyballs unstuck from a gym roof or delivering lost items to guests at the hotel where he works. The bulk of a single episode primarily revolves around funny chitchat.
