Samayou Yaiba 終わり

 Just finished the extremely dark  “Samayou Yaiba” the story of a grieving father who takes matters into his own hands to seek revenge when his teenage daughter is brutally drugged, raped and murdered, and though I initially worried about the tack the writers might take (i.e. focusing on the murderer delinquents’ side of things, painting them in a sympathetic light), in the end it came down to a moralistic judgment of the Father returning murder with murder rather than leaving it to the authorities to sort out. And with a full cast of characters falling to one side or the other of the argument, it resulted in a rich, thought provoking drama a tragedy that left you with lots to think about.

The cast, as I mentioned before is excellent. Both Yutaka Takenouchi as the grieving father, and Yuriko Ishida as a bystander caught between doing what the law says and following what her heart wants.  Very little dialog, most passages expressed with looks and head nods, but very powerful.

As well, Kanji Furutachi and Takahiro Miura were great as the detectives tasked with tracking down both the teen delinquents and the revenge-seeking father. Been seeing so many drama with incompetent detectives lately, was good to see one where the men on the case were thoughtful, methodical and full of empathy for the victims.

But the character that really stood out for me and stole the show was Kumi Takiuchi as the intrepid journalist reporter Odagiri- From the get go she was larger than life, at first appearing as a nuisance to the cops and meddlesome to the victims, she seemed to be the only one not afraid to stepping right into the case, stirring things up and exposing those involved, all recorded with delight at the prospect of the big story she’s going to get! 

There’a a scene where she’ recording a huge, violent confrontation, and she’s concerned but at the same time can’t suppress a smile for the scoop she’s about to get, LOL.

At time courageous and equally cowardly, honest about her research and at the same time concerned about getting good ratings. Seriously, they could make a spin off show with this character, she’s so charismatic and complex!!

In summation, this was one hell of a show. Samayou Yabai ran at a tight 6 episodes, a trend I’ve been noticing more and more. And after seeing how much excess the drama Saiai brought into the show to stretch it to 10 episodes, I’m beginning to think 6 or 7 episodes is a good amount, just enough to tell a lean, focused story without all the “extra” side storylines.

PS: There is a lot of symbolism within the show, some of which I get (like the ketchup spatter foreshadowing blood and the centipede crawling all over the father’s rifle) and some which are vague. Does anyone know the symbolism of the dead cicada when the principle members of the show are converging at the park to the final confrontation? They make sure to focus on it and show when someone steps on it. Been wracking my brain but have no theories. Does anyone know the meaning?

PPS: Just the other night, me and a friend were talking about how Yuriko Ishida had eclipsed her sister Hikari in acting and indeed clout with regard to dramas. In the 90’s the sisters were pretty much equal, but in recent years Yuriko has pulled away as the greater actress of the two. As a huge Hikari fan it was hard to see her star diminished (somewhat), but when you see Yuriko in vehicles like Samayou Yabai, it’s clear why she’s moved up so much. She’s really, really great.

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

June 2023 edit:

adding the Keigo Higashino tag to this post as it is yet ANOTHER awesome novel adaptation of his works!!! Guess I should have guessed since the drama's full name is "Higashino Keigo's Samayou Yabai"