True Detective: Keibuho Daimajin

 Absolutely KNOCKED OUT by the first episode of the crime thriller “Keibuho Daimajin”, following the exploits of a detective nick-named Daimajin and his venture into the underbelly of crime. From the GET GO this show pulled no punches and hit the ground running, taking me on a journey I had no IDEA where it would lead!

Ikuta Toma stas as Daiba Jin, an all-star ‘ace” within the Police Department for his record of arrest rates and his singular passion to punish the evildoers. But his dedication to the cause goes deeper than anyone might suspect.

When we are introduced to Daiba, he has caught up to a powerful leader in the force named Amo Dai, who has been leading a child abduction serial case for years, without success. The reason becomes clear to Daiba when he discovers that AMO HIMSELF has been the child murderer, and, knowing full well that because of his power and authority, will get off scot free, Daiba metes out the ultimate punishment- by KILLING HIM with his own hands, and setting it up to look like a suicide.

Later Daiba returns to the scene as the lead investigator, and persuades the investigative team to rule it as a suicide, while also trying to steer the team to the proof of Amo’s evil deeds.

There is a kink in Daiba’s plans, however, a keen investigator named Saimon Hirayasu (Osamu Mukai), who isn’t easily swayed by the obvious clues Daiba has left behind indicting Amo as the child killer. He examines the scene and has his OWN ideas of what's happened....

Hoping to show Hirayasu proof of Amo’s crimes, Daiba says they should check Amo’s second home. Daiba has recently rescued a child from Amo’s depraved basement, and wants Hirayasu to discover it on his own.

 They go to the house, where Daiba feigns innocence as they break into the place and make their way down the stairs to the torture room.  Daiba exclaims to Hirayasu, “Amo must have been the killer!” but is met with shock...when Hirayasu not only says that he knows FULL WELL that Amo was the serial killer- but that DAIBA was the one that executed him!

Daiba is in disbelief, but Hirayasu calms him down, stating that he fully APPLAUDS Daiba’s methods. Like Daiba, he knew that Amo was basically untouchable and would never answer for any crimes, so he completely understood when Daiba resorted to murder.

Hirayasu even goes as far as saying he knows of at least three other “murders” of corrupt individuals that he believes Daiba was responsible for, but instead of turning him over to the authorities, he orders him to JOIN his covert investigative team! Seems Daiba is going to be under this guy's thumb for awhile....

When Daiba arrives the next day, he is met with the most rinky dink of a team, with just two investigators there (Kavka Shishido and Kenta Hamano) in a cramped space. But when Hiroyasu arrives, he lets Daiba know that this task force has a secret agenda: to investigate all the corrupt goings on  within the governing landscape by an old cult-like organization known only as the “44”, of which Amo was a part of.

Together the team hopes to work in the shadows tracking down the ne’er do wells, and with Hirayasu, Daiba agrees on a shaky truce as they go into the deep workings of the organization...

Hirayasu meeting with his own  “Deep Throat” informant Taizo Kumota (Ken Matsudaira) for information....

The group may have a perpetual “fly in the ointment” on hand,  with a sharp and compassionate young detective named Yuka Tanabata (Tao Tsuchiya). Like the rest, she is concerned about the child abduction cases, and when the child who Daiba had rescued describes him to her, Tanabata suspects Daiba may have had something to do with the kidnappings!

And with a chance sighting of Daiba at Amo’s house and Daiba’s sudden departure from the department into Hirayasu’s mysterious team, she makes it her mission to pry into their goings on and movements!

MAN, I cannot tell you how jazzed I am for this show, and was CRYING OUT the fact that this first episode wasn’t at least an hour-long, it ended FAR too FAST! I’ve mentioned before how disappointed I am when crime dramas like JOKER: Yurusarezaru Sousakan and ALICE no TOGE portray the leads as cold-blooder anti-hero killers, anly to revela at the end that they didn’t REALLY hurt anybody and it was all for show. 

That’s why I was so BLOWN AWAY by the Oguri Shun crime drama BORDER, where the judgement and punishment extracted onto the villains were so cold, cruel and ABSOLUTE, and with Keibuho Daimajin’s INTENSE opening scene of Daiba STRANGLING the criminal to DEATH…I was GOBSMACKED!

PS: About the post title: This drama’s macabre and surreal vibe REALLY reminded me of the excellent “True Detective” series, especially the first one with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson… and until some station eventually actually makes a Japan version (like they did with Cold Case, Bones, Suits, etc), this one will do nicely!

REALLY excited to follow this one!!!

Oi Handsome! 終わり

JUST wrapped up "Oi, Handsome!!" tonight and oh my GOSH, was it a WONDERFUL little drama! This show really took everyone by surprise, I think. I only grabbed the drama initially out of mild curiosity, little did I know it would become my FAVORITE drama of the winter season lineup!

Though its synopsis was described as "Strict Father has to deal with all three of his daughters moving back home", it's plot actually belied any conventional description. Oi Handsome was one of those shows that was more about all these little moments that make up a life than one big story, small passages that when added up become one of the most CHARMING and WHOLESOME dramas out there!

Though there were man, many MANY reasons to love this show, here are just a few of the wonderful moments and things that made Oi Handsome such a GREAT show!

 Papa's Kettle

One of the first scenes that made me realize this show was going to have a lot of heart and not just silly shenanigans.

Mika has just moved into her new apartment when her dad shows up with a housewarming gift- a brand new kettle. This bums out Mika because she wanted to buy all-matching housewares and the kettle sticks out like sore thumb.

Staring at the kettle after her father has left, she says, "Oh well, I can just get rid of it later and buy a kettle that I really want."

 

The next morning a still-half asleep Mika sets the kettle to boil for her tea and its whistle helps wake her up and get ready for the day. Once dressed and ready to go, she sits down to enjoy her cup of tea before work.

Looking over at the sink, Mika muses, "That's the tea kettle Papa gave me."

Then with a smile, "Papa's tea kettle."

It's almost like the kettle represents her dad watching over her.

I thought this was so sweet and touching!

The Running Gag about Yuji’s Crappy Manga

Mika's lowly boyfriend Yuji has "staked his life" on his manga, but upon reading it, it's so awful that Mika realizes she's with a loser and immediately begs to break up with him, AHAHAHA!

She accidentally brings the bad manga home with her and Gentaro finds it and reads it. Later that evening, Mika has to listen to him complain about how dumb and inconsistent the comic is.

And if that weren't enough, a  few days later, older sis Rika happens to read the manga too, and also confronts her with all the contradictory things in the badly written manga, LOL. 

Poor Mika says, "Why are you all telling ME about this!" AHAHAHA

Yuka's Wonderful Comic Timing

An understated gag in this drama is Yuka's ability to react hilariously to conversation- 

When she talks to her blowhard supervisor at work, she makes this saccharine girly voice and when talking to Dad makes an obedient little kid voice.  

I love this passage where Yuka is  complaining about her life to her ex Omori at a restaurant, and is incensed when he walks out on her. When she says “How dare you leave when I’m telling you my problems!” he takes his umbrella and brandishes it like a sword at her. 

Yelling,“You’re the one who dumped ME!”, he makes a slashing motion with it at her, and without missing a beat, Yuka goes, “ARGHHHHH!” in reaction to it, AHAHAHA, PERFECT timing!!!

Papa's Stomach Band

This is a great scene because not only is it funny as hell but once again shows the kindness and heart the show has.

When Gentaro catches Mika wearing a skimpy (to him) dress, he shucks his clothes and pulls up his stomach band, saying "THIS is what you look like walking down the street!" HAHAHA

Mika counters Papa by saying, "What about YOU? Why are you still wearing that dirty old stomach band? Now THAT'S embarrassing!"

Gentaro looks wounded by Mika's words and Mama has to pull Mika aside and remind her that Mika herself had bought it for him on a school trip as a child and he's always cherished it. Mika then feels bad and sheepishly peeks back at Papa. HAHAHA

LOLOL

Yuka’s Meltdown at her Lover’s House.

Yuka's love life seems to be cursed with getting picked up by guys who are already married. She knows she's at fault for not breaking it off as soon as she found out but is too weak to act. That is, until she sees her partner...with ANOTHER girl! 

She confronts him at his house later with his wife and when he gets belligerent with her, demanding "What the hell are you doing here?" she snaps, and in a hilarious fit of spazzery, begins trashing the house, swinging a potted palm round like a baton and brandishing a TV remote controller like a knife, HAHAHAHA

I love that Yuka manages to get out her aggression to this jerk boyfriend of hers.

Rika’s Adventure with the Out-of-Print Book

Due to one of her drunken blackouts, Rika ends up in a stranger’s house the next morning. Embarrassed, she grabs her things and flees, unwittingly taking a book that was on the table with her things.

At first only flipping through it, she soon becomes engrossed in it.

Unfortunately when she gets to the end, she finds out it's part one of a series and DESPERATELY needs to find out what happens next, going to bookstores and trying to get herself a copy.

Why does this make me so happy watching this play out I have no idea.

BTW, this role of Rika has got to be one of Yui Sakuma’s best roles yet- lots of unspoken scenes with just her reacting to things and even her inner monologues are a treat. Out of all the daughters, she's the one I feel had the best arc and growth throughout the show- really a great character.

Mika’s Double

After finding herself who she thinks is a good man, Mika changes her entire outlook to appear composed and demure for his strict sensibilities.

 When two of her friends see her on the bus, they laugh, “Hey look, that lady looks a little bit like Mika!” They crack up looking at this professional woman who looks like their friend, pointing out that the real Mika is always a tacky mess.

"Hahaha, we have to tell Mika we saw her double on the bus!” they laugh.

Of course, later when they meet up with Mika for drinks, the two girls are STUNNED when the same lady on the bus shows up! It’s Mika after ALL!!!

 

"Pass"

When the family sits down to play cards, Gentaro will try for a better hand by saying "pass", but then every other person will ALSO say "pass", reverting the turn back to him! He tries to pass again, but the more he says it, the more they all start reciting 'pass, pass, passsss" til he concedes and loses, LOL

Maho Nonami as Mika’s Busty Sempai Shiina.

I don’t know when Maho crossed over into Cougar territory, but she is simply wonderful (and sexy as hell!) as Mika’s kind and caring coworker who is always there to help her with the slings and arrows of romance!

A VERY sassy role for Maho, if this was the first thing I saw from her, I would be convinced she was the maneater older lady type she's playing! But she really loves Mika and always watches out for her.

And of course many jokes are made around Shiina's bountiful bosom!

Rina Ohta as Watanabe

I’m  beginning to think Rina's one of the COOLEST actresses out now, at least if her choice of roles is any indication. I always love her and she's great as the quiet but very perceptive Watanabe, a co-worker of Omori who both assist gentaro with hsi deals. She makes the keenest observations and her succinct summations of their clients even garners the respect of Gentaro!

With Ohta as the steely Watanabe and Kenta Hamano as the uptight Omori, their scenes are always fun  and peppy! I could watch a whole series of just the two of them swinging deals!

Actually, all of Gentaro's subordinates are pretty good and get a fair amount of screen time talking about Gentaro and the business.

The Stunned Reactions to Surprised Confrontations!

At least once an episode some character is caught by surprise by someone and reacts in hilariously over-the-top fashion, and I ALWAYS have to rewind it and watch it several times, too funny!!

Eating!

As some of you may know, I love screencaps of cute gals eating  and even had a seperate blog dedicated to it back in the day. WELL, I would have LOVED this drama, because SO many of the show's scenes had eating or snacking as a backdrop, and we got treated to someone nibbling on something in almost every set-up!

It’s That Apartment Again!

 Thanks to a noisy neighbor outside when Rika is visiting Yuka, the girls venture outside and I found out that Yuka is living in the same apartment  that Asami Mizukawa lived in in Love Distance and Fuka Koshiba visited in Youkai Share House, among others!

Rika’s Double

Rika gets a call from a school friend she had not heard from in years. Seems someone with the same name Rika Ito was lost in a blizzard and has only just been found. Her friend was calling to make sure it wasn’t her, and to apologize for not keeping in touch.

Meanwhile downstairs, Mom and Pop have just heard the news about the girl lost in a blizzard. when he hears the girl’s name is Rika Ito, Papa immediately worries about his daughter, though they had JUST seen her go upstairs not five minutes ago! 

Desperate to make sure his daughter is OK, Papa rushes upstairs to Rika’s room, he has to see her with is own eyes!

? ? ?

“She’s here…she’s OKAY!” Papa yells in relief. 

When Rika sees how worried her dad was, she sees his love for her through it and with a smile, assures him:

“Both the Rika Ito over there and the Rika Ito over here…we’ll both be fine.” 

Papa nods in agreement.

Why did this scene just KILL me…it was so silly and yet so, so, endearing. Got me all misty eyed!!

Gentaro’s Heartfelt Speeches which Anchor Each Episode. 

I thought his long winded lectures were supposed to be comedy relief at first but soon found he always got to the heart of things

In case you haven't guessed, Oi Handsome gets a BIG 10/10 from me!!!

It's for ALL of these little things that I fell in love with Oi handsome, but there's one more BIG reason that I fell in love with the show, and you all probably already KNOW what (or, more precisely, WHO) it is! But for THAT one, It gets its' OWN entry in the post that follows....

My Number One Reason I LOVE this show!