Just caught the first episode of "Okura: Meikyu Iri Jiken Sosa" with Takashi Sorimachi and Yosuke Sugino as two unwilling agents put together in a team set to investigate cold case crimes.
WELL, there ain't anything here you haven's seen a million times before in cop dramas like these: the "Loose Cannon" senior (Sorimachi) and the "Straight-Edged Newbie" (Sugino), Both men clashing even as they team up to solve the crimes....
Even the motivations are as overused as they come: the hell-bent agent whose partner was killed in the line of duty, the former ace detective who, due to a mistake, has been demoted to the dregs of the department, the daughter of the slain detective (Mai Shiraishi) who is now a hard-as-nails agent herself, you've seen these characters time and time again....
Takashi Ukaji
Sayaka Aoki
Maeda Oshiro
Avalanche, QUEEN, Crisis, Zettai Reido, etc, etc, we've seen this exact set-up so many times as to have lost count! And YET, despite all of that, I GOTTA ADMIT I actually found myself really enjoying Okura- I like the way Sorimachi and Sugino play off each other, and Takashi Sorimachi seems to be giving his all in the role of the unhinged investigator who has no problem breaking rules if it allows him to get his man!
Yeah, it's all so predictable, yet the journey is completely engaging - looks like this one might work!
Also featuring Shunsuke Nakamura as the "heavy" of the department who is constantly riding the Okura team...
Was also pleasantly surprised to see sweetie Arisa Mizuki here in a secondary support role as the forensics agent Shu Ibuse! Hmmm, after her portrayal of cold case forensics agent Sakurako in "Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru", I'm beginning to see a pattern of roles here....
In any case, I'm Cautiously optimistic for this drama!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
