Detectives For the Deceased: "Go Home~Keishichou Mimoto Fumeinin Soudanshitsu"

Fuka Koshiba and Yuko Oshima are on the Case in "Go Home"

The new criminal drama GO HOME reminds me of unsolved crime mystery dramas like COLD CASE and UNNATURAL, but what it perhaps reminds me MOST of is the 2017 Arisa Mizuki  drama “Beautiful Bones~ Sakurako’s Investigation” (Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru), with Forensics expert Sakurako (Mizuki) solving cold case crimes via analysis of the deceased person’s bones.

GO HOME (or, rather, it’s complete name  Go Home Keishichou Mimoto Fumeinin Soudanshitsu ) concerns the Metropolitan Police Department Unidentified Person Consultation Office, the division of the Police dealing with dead bodies that, for one reason or another, the authorities have not been able to identify. Examining the remains (as well as clothing and other accessories), this specialized team hope to put a name to the deceased and “Send them back home”.

Our main character is the passionate Sakura Mita (Fuka Koshiba), who cares deeply for the deceased, and, experiencing personal tragedies of her own, hopes to ease the pain of the victim’s loved ones and put the spirit of the dead to rest by solving the mystery of the body.

We have her senior Makoto Tsukimoto (Yuko Oshima), a woman who, unlike the exciteable and spazzy Mita, is gruff and no-nonsense. She also has lost a loved one in her past, and, seeing Mita's zeal, inevitably ends up partnering with Sakura to crack the cases even after the department has officially dropped it!

Kotaro Yoshida plays Joji Tonegawa, the girls’ long-suffering supervisor who must put up with their gung-ho attitude and must frequently rein in their overeager activities once they go beyond their jurisdiction! Half his time is spent reprimanding them and arguing with them!

Also on the team we have Naofumi Horiguchi (Shigeyuki Totsugi) and Haruo Muto (Kazuaki Hankai) as sketch artist….

Investigative agent Junnosuke Teshima (Ryohei Abe), the driven "Cop" of the show....

…forensics expert Natsu Serizawa (Miki Yanagi) who is frequently inundated with requests from the overachieving girls, much to her consternation...

She'd just as soon turn them away, if not for the intervention of the Forensics department head Ikumi Hayase (played by the awesome Reiko Takashima!!!) who doesn't hesitate to help....

Reiko Takashima! Now THERE'S a face  I haven't seen in awhile!

Truly a mish-mash of personalities at THIS Metropolitan Station, but when they come together using all their own unique skills, there isn’t any case they can’t solve!

So far a very entertaining show and I like the partnership of Fuka Koshiba and Yuko Oshima as a veritable “Cagney and Lacey” of the Unidentified Person Division! Their colorful banter and cool crackerjack attitude makes for fun watching!

Several "Backstories" to these characters, and though I'm interested in them (especially Fuka Koshiba's character), I'm dreading the eventual corrupt cops cliches and overused tropes that will surely infiltrate the show. Sigh, would be wonderful to have an original ending, guess we can only wait and see....

Notes on Netflix's "Anti-Hero"

 Team of lawyers with mysterious motivations towards defending those on trial for murder in the first degree. At the beginning the fate of the accused is laid out in front of them for those convicted of murder: scorn by the public, struggles with employment, and even the unfair persecution of those associated with them. With this  presented to them, they urge the suspect to invoke their services where they will use all their wiles, both genius and underhanded, to get the results they want.

Led by the calm and calculating Masaki Akizumi (Hiroki Hasegawa), and including Asuka Shinomiya (Mayu Hotta), Rin Shiraki (Yuko Oshima), Kenji Aoyama ((Yasafumi Hayashi)  and newcomer Shuto Akamine (Takumi Kitamura)...

 This is a team who will investigate even scrap of “evidence” that the prosecuting team has and, taking to the streets, analyzes the statements and systematically pokes holes in each shred of evidence to weaken the team’s case...by hook or crook!

But this maverick team of rebellious lawyers have their struggles set up for them, with lawyers and politicians in high places, some of whom will reveal themselves to run opposite of what the lawyers are trying to do, like the svelte Ayuk Midorikawa (Yoshino Kimura) and politician Taisuke Datehara (Nomura Mansai)…

The two sides go to battle in the courts, with a man’s life dangling in the balance…a man who may or may not be the actual killer!

Will Akizumi and his team end victorious? And just what is his reason for defending murderers? All remains in secrecy for now....will just have to watch to find out!