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!!!

J-Dramas Recently Wrapped Up!

 The Spring Season is over, and though I made myself a commitment to keep the dramas to a minimum this time, I still managed to catch a few shows, all of which I've listed here, ranked in order of how much I liked it as well as a brief summation of my thoughts!  

Ousama ni Sasagu Kusuriyubi 

9/10

Well, despite all the cliches common in romcoms like this (including one very BIG one that I really loathe), it still completely charmed and delighted me throughout its run, and unquestionably became my Number One drama of the season!

 Not gonna really justify the basic plot devices or the obvious and entirely predictable situations, but when I look over my experience with the show and its ups and downs, the feeling I remember is it being a reliable show I could get comfortable and take it easy watching each week!

 For all of its foibles, the underpinning strength of the show was leads Ryosuke Yamada and Kanna Hashimoto portraying these warm lead characters whom you always believed really loved each other, characters you liked and wanted to spend time with!

Goritekini Arienai: Tantei Kamizuru Ryoko no Kaimei

9/10

A pretty standard detective/sleuthing kind of crime show elevated by the outrageous and larger than life antics of the unstoppable Yuki Amami! Far more than any of the actual cases is the fun and entertaining situations she and her colorful cohorts (including Kouhei Matsushita and the adorable Sei Shiraishi) get into each episode! Gonna miss checking in on the Kamizuru Detective Agency each week!

Hatsukoi no Akuma

9/10

 Almost exactly to the week since the subtitling team dropped Hatsukoi no Akuma a YEAR ago, I got the most wonderful surprised when the subber unexpectedly FINISHED up the show this past week and shared the subs!! 

As some of you may recall, Akuma was one of my favorite shows of the 2022 Summer season, and it was really tragic when the subs were halted midway through the show- JUST when it was getting really GREAT! Well, the show picked up RIGHT where it left off and, indeed, ended up giving me one of the most interesting and INTRICATE murder mysteries, with complex characters, weaved story plots and a SLAM BANG conclusion!

0.5 No Otoko

8/10

Story of a young man named Masaharu (Ryuhei Matsuda) who, thanks to the spoiling by his older mother (Fubuki Jun), has become a shut-in and is content to live this way forever, without working and living off his mother, until his older sister Saori (Asami Usuda) moves in with husband (Atsushi Shinohara) and teenage daughter Ema (Tamaki Shiratori)  in tow. This catalyst shakes things up and we see the young man's journey out of his room back into the working civilization!

Really liked the slow and subtle pacing if this drama, had this real Hirokazu Koreeda vibe throughout.

Rikon Shiyou Yo

8/10

Someone named Rose on MDL said of Rikon Shiyou Yo: "If you start watching this, don't take it seriously or it'll piss you off. I surprisingly had a nice time watching it", a sentiment that summed up MY feelings for it EXACTLY!!! Because as ZANY as the characters were and how STUPIDLY and SELFISHLY they behaved, I still found myself WILDLY ENTERTAINED throughout! A showcase for Riisa Naka!

Nagatan to Aoto Ichika no Ryourijou

8/10

A very "by the numbers" drama about a woman put in a marriage of convenience while struggling with taking over as head chef for her family's restaurant business, I couldn't deny the very sincere and warm-hearted vibe this drama gave me! Mugi Kadowaki has been getting more and more roles in recent years, and, along with Ryuto Sakuma, gives a fine feel-good food-themed  series to spend your evenings with!

Utsubora

8/10

I was captivated by this dark noir/erotica story of a faded writer named Mizorogi who, upon the suicide of a woman he had stolen a manuscript and plagiarized as his own, is confronted by an identical woman claiming to be the woman's twin sister. Captivating and mysterious, the woman takes over Mizorogi's life in both writing and "under the sheets", even as he struggles to uncover if this woman is truly a twin sister, or the deceased victim herself seemingly back from the grave!

A GRIPPING drama that had me on my toes throughout with its twists and turns, and a  SPECTACULAR performance by Atsuko Maeda who simply SLAYED as the dual roles of both the deceased writer and her brooding twin coutepart!

Tsukanoma no Ichika

7/10

Ah, the staple of classic J-dramas of times past and even now, the "doomed romance with Boyfriend/Girlfriend dying of a disease"  trope, more commonly known as the "Manic Pixie" cliche with the "Hyperactively Positive Girl who lives life in the moment because she doesn't have long to live, who finds true love before passing on". Yes, it's a predictable set-up, but always reliable, and, when done right, completely heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time!

 Wanted to watch this purely for Sakura Fujiwara and haven't been disappointed yet!

Shouri no Hoteishiki

7/10

Shida Mirai starring as Ran Kagura, a former child actress playing a kid lawyer who becomes a real one when she grows up. When she finds herself up against an overwhelming case, she meets an Investigator named Kurosawa ( Kazama Shunsuke) who has the skills to analyze the facts and give her a script to work from where she can lead her clients to victory!

A joy to see a Now grown-up Shida Mirai after just re-watching her classic Seigi No Mikata, and it's primarily her passion that really fuels the cases in this sombre show!

Shachiku OL Chiemaru Nikki

7/10

 A winsome and silly drama showcasing the sillier side of Tina Tamashiro (one that i found a joy to watch) as an addled newbie OL to an overly demanding company complete with loudmouth bully boss, this would probably be hard to sit through as a full series but at 22 minutes each, was a perfect snack size to watch in between other shows!

Unknown

6/10

A show about vampires that frankly seems like it was written by an grade schooler about the genre, throwing the most basic bullet points about vampires, choosing randomly which ones to use and then just as easily discarding them, (and then attaching a mess of a serial killer plot to the story besides!) this tale of a mortal man who falls for a vampire lover still had some interesting things going for it, not least of all Mitsuki Takahata in a charming role that I can only describe as "Kahogo no Kahoko meets Twilight"

Watashi no Oyome-kun

5/10

Thought this story of a seemingly perfect sales agent who is secretly a clumsy slob who meets aman with a talent for cleanliness and order would be the next "Hotaru No Hikari" for me, sadly once they got the premise out of the way it pretty much became a VERY generic romcom with ALL the usual cliches to fill its run time. A show that I first hailed as the most promising at the beginning of the season which quickly became an also ran....

 Crime Family

5/10

Though maddeningly outlandish at first, I found that if i watched it on 1 1/2 speed, this tale of a would-be burglar who gets entrapped by a family into helping them with THEIR deluded crimes into something kind of entertaining to watch!

 Probably would not have stuck around for a full season of this, but at 4 episodes it was easy enough to breeze through, and as a lighthearted venture worked out better than I'd originally thought!

100man Kai Ieba Yokatta

5/10

Story of a murdered man named Naoki Torino (Takeru Sato) whose spirit returns to his fiance Yui Soma's house (Mao Inoue) , with no memory of how he has passed or, in fact, the knowledge that he even has died! Luckily for them, the detective in charge of his murder is a man named Uozumi (Kenichi Matsuyama) who has the ability to see and interact with the dead!

Could not get into this one as much as I'd hoped, as I found the murder investigation draggy, and ultimately underwhelming. But it was nice to see Mao Inoue again after all these years!

Otonari ni Ginga

5/10

A sweet if somewhat overly long story of a magical princess who comes to the "real" world and falls for a regular guy. Interesting premise but ultimately I felt like there was not much substance there as a story, though the leads Hayato Sano and Rikako Yagi certainly felt believable in their roles as starstruck lovers as well as their affection for each other...

....And Still Waiting to Finish:

Crossing fingers that the subbing teams that have taken on these dramas find the time to wrap them up as I STILL totally invested in these and am DYING to see what happens!

Dr. Chocolate

Nami yo Kiite Kure