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This drama had a lot of issues that I couldn't ignore, but I still enjoyed watching each episode on a weekly basis. I did not regret watching this and found it entertaining. It was more like cotton candy, that's sweet and fun to eat, but disappears quickly. You still have a faint sweet taste left in your mouth but nothing much and not for long.
On a more detailed analysis, while Scientific is in the title, we hardly deal with science. The most we get is some profiling. The dorama is typically episodic and cases vary. In order to make ST standout, instead of making complicated and require exceptional smartness to solve, they just really dumbed down the whole police force. For that reason most aren't that memorable to be honest. I remember one case where the evil guy admitted when really all they had was circumstantial evidence. What irritated me most was how the ST members were childish, and them acknowledging it was not enough, their behaviour was unacceptable that it was hard to suspend my disbelief
Acting vary from pretty good to alright. I felt that most other characters were just too young for the role, or to even be taken seriously. It felt more like they were playing pretend. We didn't get character development from all the team members, maybe 2 or 3, and the rest was their to fill space. We also had some other members of the police force where we get interaction with the characters which I found most entertaining but nothing too deep.
Okada Masaki is a sweetheart even though his character is a complete moron lol. It may be my first time seeing Fujiwara Tatsuya but I liked him here. He and Okada had great chemistry. I enjoyed their interaction and their scenes together were fun to watch. Hayashi Kento not only was he misplaced age wise, he also totally UNDERUSED. I still liked his interaction with Okada, but wished he was more forceful but they completely mellowed him down compared to the SP. Another underused actor was Watabe Atsuro who, after seeing in Bitter Blood thought he can do much more interesting and entertaining roles than he's offered.
The story isn't done yet, a movie will be coming up soon. The episodic format makes it that you don't really need to retain anything for the movie, so you don't really need to wait until the movie is available to watch the whole thing.
All in all, easy to watch without much commitment, entertaining but too silly.
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This review may contain spoilers
Actually a good watch
Yes my review contain spoilers *I think* so please proceed with caution. Once you watch to the end, the drama gave you such a cliffhanger ending that might make you feel frustrated if the continuing story isn't out yet, but since you can watch it now, just continue straight to the movie sequel and you'll find one of the most satisfying and beautiful endings to a series ever. In my opinion, of course. That being said, the drama, in fact the whole series itself isn't without flaws.Firstly, the characters. It took me quite some time to warm up to the ST group, mainly because the characterisation is mostly one dimensional, like "I only have this character trait, so I just have to be this", and while I find that is typical of Jdramas and can actually be charming and endearing, not all people can carry that well and some just makes it look annoying so. But they grew on me eventually. But then there are also gems of characters, like Ikeda and Saegusa san, who make me so happy just to see them onscreen, I can't pinpoint it but there's something about those two lol. While the one dimensionness and the forced aloofness of the ST group members can be offputting, the characters are enjoyable, and I particularly enjoy the dynamics of the relationship between detectives Kikukawa and Tsutsui with the ST group.
The plot is okay, it is a detective movie/drama anyway, so it's the usual case and solution. Some of the cases are actually quite interesting, so there's that. However, some of the backstory doesn't make sense and doesn't contribute to the story at all, like the backstory of the relationship between Machido rijikan and Midori. I don't know how to elaborate but I guess you'll just have to watch the drama and decide for yourself.
What I love the most is the bromance between Akagi and Yurine, because it doesn't look forced or awkward and made the whole series feel lighter and more humorous, and their friendship helps with their character development and makes them more multidimensional, more fleshed out, and I like that a lot. All in all, I think this actually makes a thoroughly enjoyable watch, and one that I might revisit sometimes just for the nostalgia :)
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Each character portrayed who they were almost perfectly, seeing their strengths and their weaknesses made this show feel a lot more real than most crime dramas I've seen that try to portray someone with "special needs" such as OCD, claustrophobia, or someone who is a perfectionist. Each "quirk" fills a need within each person and in the entire group, however the show does a good job of showing that people with "special needs" are easily picked on or thought of as strange or just ignored.
The stories were well written, very informative, and very thrilling to watch the ST Team work each drama out to find the truth. I began watching this show after first watching "Bitter Blood" and falling in love with Watabe Atsuro's acting, then I couldn't get in to it by the first episode so I stopped watching; but now that I've binged watched the special and then this series I am very glad I did not give up on the show! I like a handful of actors that were in this series and it was nice to see a few of the actors I knew in different roles than I usually do. I know I'm rambling on and on about the cast, but this is what makes the series: the people!
The stories kept me guessing with each episode; I had no idea what was happening most times but each story was very thrilling, exciting, and showed a lot about how people act and think and behave. Each aspect of the investigation had a spot for each person of ST to fill, and it became abundantly clear with each episode, that that spot was only able to be filled by their respective person.
The drama itself seems a bit short, or maybe it's that the episodes seem a bit rushed, but they need to be because the plot for the series moves along a bit quickly, and quite well, too, behind the scenes of each story. I don't think any of the episodes could be split in to a two parter, so the next best thing would be another special or a movie... So they made a movie! (I haven't been able to watch the movie yet, I can't find it with subtitles anywhere lol) I hope a lot of people can give this drama the time and attention it deserves; its a meticulous story that is amazing to watch play out!
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This is not a drama to watch for the realistic portrayal of neurodiversity. But mental conditions are just a top of the iceberg of things this drama treats with unbelievable levity. Law of physics, common sense, realistic human motivations - everything goes out of the window in this brash drama.
What's amazing, though, is that the cases remain elaborate and complicated throughout the whole show. They may be solved with the fakest of fake science or based on the most bizarre reasons for murder, but the writers' determination is admirable.
Kubota Masataka and Hayashi Kento are also there making one wishful for a movie where this kind of cast could really shine.
The ending deserves a special mention as the solution of the main conflict was hilarious from the genre view point. Just imagine Sherlock delivering Akagi's lines to feel the full force of it.
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