Minami Hamabe’s Delightful Return to the Absurd with “Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari: The Eye-For-An-Eye Revenge Agency”

Minami Hamabe and Masaki Okada

 After Minami Hamabe’s dark and serious last drama “Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru”, I was eager to see her return to her fun ’n’ wacky roots, and her new drama “Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari” with Masaki Okada is JUST what the doctor ordered!

Mami is a spry upcoming lawyer who is too overconfident for her own good, but her sense of justice is unparalleled, and she always gets to the bottom of things! “I’ve never lost an argument in my life” she confides as she boasts “I'm a First-Class Graduate of the Legal Training Institute!”, but her latest case may prove to be too much for her! 

As a child, Mami was like any ordinary girl, but when her hard-as-nails lawyer father Masahiro Shirasawa (Kenichi Endo) is framed by the mob, she grows up with a determined sense of justice and by 20 years old has already become a keen lawyer for the people.

The latest case she’s taken on is an unusual one. A woman named Watanuki has accused Zaitsu, the heir of a huge development corporation, of assault, but when he is cleared of charges and set free, she is contacted by someone who offers to get revenge for her at the sum of 100,000 yen!
Watanuki pays the amount, but is then told she must give an additional amount for him to proceed. She realizes that she is being scammed, and it’s here she hires Mami Shirasawa to look into things and hopefully get her money back.

It doesn’t take long for Shirasawa to track down the con artist machinating the scam, a weasally young bloke named Kensuke Kuroiwa (Masaki Okada). Using her sense of the law like a weapon, she beats the man into submission, has him return the money and then tells him to prepare to go to jail.

Kuroiwa begs off the police station, telling her that the Zaitsu case is darker and more corrupt than she can guess and that she needs his help to get to the truth of the matter.
Mami initially refuses, saying it wouldn’t be prudent to align with such an unscrupulous man, but when she digs deeper, she finds this Zaitsu more corrupt than she can handle, and soon the two are in an uneasy alliance to bring the man to justice!!!

A real joy to watch the two characters in action, and OH- if that wasn’t enough, why, the Apartment where Mami lives is none other than that all-familiar LOVE DISTANCE Apartment Complex used by so many tenants lately!

Aw man, so far a really FUN drama and if I may say so myself, the prettiest Minami Hamabe’s been yet! After Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru, she established that she was an actress to really keep an eye on, and with this I think Minami’s one her way to becoming one of the brightest new stars!

PS: And YES, Sabu, it’s yet ANOTHER drama with your favorite actor Kenichi Endo!!!