Now you see me, now you dont
The Evaporated review
Production company – Campside Media
Rating – 
When I first heard about this podcast the premise sounded very dramatic, and quite possibly very spooky. Two things I’m sure you’ll know by now that get me salivating with anticipation.
Nobody is immune to social conditioning, including me, so when I saw that this took place in Japan, my mind immediately jumped to some very dark places indeed. Seemingly in spite of my predictable trope guessing, the story completely went in the opposite direction.
So what’s it about?
The Evaporated follows the story of mild mannered Japanese accountant Morimoto. As the day approaches to submit his clients tax returns, he seems to vanish into thin air. This is something of a problem for the people who are relying on him, and so begins the hunt to establish exactly what happened to him.
The podcast is presented by Jake Adelstein, an American reporter who has lived in Japan for years. Specialising in researching criminal activities in Japan, he seems perfectly placed to investigate this strange event. As the plot thickens, a whole new world is exposed. A world where it is possible to just vanish. And as it turns out it’s easier than you’d think.
With the hunt for Morimoto underway, the question is whether they’ll find him alive or not. Or indeed, whether they’ll find him at all.
Is it any good?
I wouldn’t say it was good per se, but it is very interesting. The whole culture of vanishing without a trace, particularly in Japan, is fascinating. It doesn’t always end up the way you expect.
The story is like a cat and mouse, but without the mouse. Morimoto has disappeared, and has left no trace whatsoever. There’s no real drama, and whilst the investigations into the technical aspects of making yourself vanish are interesting, it’s hard to pad them out into a compelling series.
Final thoughts
Everyday’s a school day as they say, and I certainly learned a thing or two here. Despite not being what I expected, it’s an ok series. Unfortunately it doesn’t hold up with other, similar series.
I appreciate that this is a slightly shorter review than normal, but this is quite a hard series to expand upon. If you’re a diehard fan of true crime podcasts, then I guess you’ll like it. It just doesn’t have the drama of series like Deep Cover, True Spies or Hunting Warhead.
You can get The Evaporated here: