Another "Cold Case" Drama: OKURA: Meikyu Iri Jiken Sosa

 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....

Along with them come the usual gang of misfits: the sassy middle aged woman, the absentminded person who doesn't care about the job, the "young whiz-kid" on the computers, even Jun Hashimoto as the kind, eccentric uncle type chief of the department  which harkens back to shows as far as Shomuni!

Takashi Ukaji

Sayaka Aoki

Maeda Oshiro

Jun Hashimoto

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

Da Capo Shimasenka asks: "Do You Want To Play A Game?"

 Part Liar Game, part Squid Game, DA CAPO Shimasenka? tells the story of a mysterious servant named Ninomiya (Takeda Tetsuya) whom, at the behest of his Master, has found a series of despairing individuals pushed to the edge and about to commit suicide due to crushing debt.

Stopping them at the very last second of their demise, Ninomiya invites all of them to the home of his benefactor, where they learn that they have been invited to participate in a macabre and deadly game of chance.

Called DA CAPO, each individual is told to sign a life insurance policy to the host of the game, an unseen individual named only MR.X. The “contestants" will them participate in a series of dangerous games where each round is ended by the death of a member.

Once that person dies, his life insurance will kick in and there will be a payout. And after a fee has been paid to Mr.X, the rest of the money go to the PARTICIPANTS! The more people that die, the more insurance will pay out and the LESS people there will be to split the money with! That means that the more people that DIE, the more you GET!

Normally no one would even think about playing such a deadly game, but these are people whom debt has destroyed their lives, and for even the chance of paying it off and starting again clean, most won’t hesitate for a second to join! And in the end, ALL EIGHT of them take pen in hand and sign the contracts!

Once the legal papers have all been signed, the first of the "games" is introduced: Champagne glasses filled with water for the contestants to drink. But ONE of them is laced with POISON,  a deadly agent that will KILL the drinker soon thereafter!

...Are the guests brave enough to go ahead with such MADNESS???

The Contestants: Otawara (Makita Sports)

Shimon (Takaya Sakoda)

Sakuragi (Momoka Hasegawa)

Masumi (Kei Inoo)

Maeyama (Atsuko Hirata)

Mihashi (Ryoko Kobayashi)

Inaba (Tetta Sugimoto)

and Nagumo (Arisa Mizuki)

Each of them has their own dark reasons for being in debt, (which we will learn over time) and by hook or crook, each one has a determination to become the one holding the prize at the end!

So RAISE your glasses and make a toast, for the games are about to begin...and one is about to DIE!

CHEERS!

Let the Games Begin...

A truly BIZARRE show, kept loose and FUN by Takeda Tetsuya who plays Ninomiya with a particular ZEST!