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1. the opening sequence: each episode has a different sequence, but they are all about the same thing: YUgami and Hanyu kicking/punching each other. They were all awesome XD and they all left me with a smile on my face.
2. Yugami as the senior cop, is childish and doesn't follow rules. In fact, he sometimes breaks the law (for example, he unlocks doors and safety cases with his pin). He doesn't play "dirty" as Komikado-sensei, but he is always right.
3. Hanyu, as the rookie cop, is more emotional but also sticks to the rules. He disapproves Yugami's methods to find the truth, but deep down, he admires and respects Yugami (like Gakky).
4. Yugami has his own "hacker" who is a big help in all his cases. Not like Komikado's "ninja", but similar.
Yugami is less "funny" and less "eccentric" than Komikado-sensei, but he was a good character, which could be because he was played by the awesome Asano Tadanobu. Actually, the whole cast was good. You could tell that they had a great time working together.
I love all the guests stars. Most of them A-Stars. This was one of the highlights of the drama (I was waiting for a certain actor, who acts for a couple of episodes). And all cases were excellent! Not so much of the "whodunit" but "why" (like most of Japanese mysteries). And most of the time, like 90% of them, the murderer/criminal had a sad story and you can't help but feel sorry for them :( There were cases that made me feel sad for the criminal.
For mystery lovers that are looking for cases not so gloomy, this one is perfect to watch.
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Won't lie, I went into Keiji Yugami because of my long lasting love for Tadanobu Asano and the fact that it has been quite some time since I watched a good mystery drama. The premise is pretty simple, an experienced out of the box old detective (Asano as Yugami)) gets paired with straight as arrow young blood (Kamiki as Hanyu) and they sets on solving cases. There's episodic cases with one case throughout the drama that gets solved. Average right? WRONG!
There's a twist in almost every cgaracter but most specifically Hanyu with his virginity fueled obsession with women and credit where it's due, Kamiki with this role just leaped a little far ahead of the rest of his generation in my eyes. Asano never dissapoints, subtle changes in his expresion changes the gear of the story. The rest of the cast especially their chief, badass Kanno, was also amazing and aptly written. The writing of the characters including the sides is pretty stable and consistant. Detailing of the each individual crimes and the overall plot on the other hand could use a little more finesse but I've seen so much worse.
The production is top notch. It looked like they have just the enough budget, a little more could've include badly incorporated fight scenes and a little less would've cost us the magnificent array of actors showed up each week. The setting in the husky sepia noir lighting with autumn is an immediate plus. Clap clap for the styling department, a lot can be said by the way a people dress and carry themselves, more so if it's a detective drama and they nailed it here eventhough it meant the character wearing same clothes througout the drama. See Kdramas, a very important lesson to learn here.
I've highlighted what I've felt like highlighting and the rest is up for you to decide. All I can say I've enjoyed this one and if ther's a sequel in the future, without a second doubt would watch.
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The Best Dynamic
Yugami and Hanyu are as different as chalk and cheese, and their dynamic is what lends the show its depth and its buoyancy, keeping the proceedings equal parts emotional and equal parts comical without one overbearing the other. Hanyu is the rookie detective, the stickler for the rules, and the emotional one of the two, while Yugami on the other hand, is the senior detective but acts like a buffoon, much to Hanyu’s annoyance. He has his own method of investigation, which largely doesn’t line up with police protocol, but all his playfulness is just a facade that he uses to observe and make notes of, most of which escape the other officers' eyes. And though Hanyu may not like his methods, he respects Yugami.Each episode concentrates on a completely new case, and instead of highlighting one social issue per episode, the writers and directors, present the victim, the suspects and the culprit as complex beings, and the issues they face, could be an amalgamation of many problems at hand, some created by their circumstances and some by the society. Like for example, there is the running joke in the show that Kanno Rika (a delightful Inamori Izumi) is 40 years old yet unmarried. But later in one of the cases, Kanno’s own classmate is murdered, who was also unmarried. And while the case was more about people creating false personas of themselves on social media, it also comments on how hard it was on the victim’s mental health to constantly battle her decision to remain single, and not raise a family. On the same spectrum, you also have a retired banker, also unmarried, who finds his post-retirement life absolutely boring, as all he has ever done his whole life was work. This episode with a focus on Japan’s ageing population also concentrates like the aforementioned case, the loneliness permeating through people’s lives.
Consciously or unconsciously, many of the cases revolve around women but thankfully aren’t depicted as rah-rah feminist stories. The cases depict them as complicated beings, capable of being victims as well as perpetrators. A girl molested on the train. A daughter orphaned. A wife raped. A single mother. What keeps the show and it’s proceedings grounded is that none of the cases involve some big mastermind criminal. They are all normal people who felt trapped or felt desperate to act out in this way. Hence, it explains the need to give a significant portion of the episode to the perpetrators to explain their side of the story.
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An average script taken to excellence through performance.
I started Keiji Yugami this week and ended up liking it so much that I watched the entire 10 episodes all in one sitting, I see it compared to Bitter Blood a lot but it's WAY BETTER. The characterization of Yugami and Hanyu may seem shallow but they show how feel 3D. The main plot was a surprise. Overall it's a great buddy cop series with a great cast. Especially the guest appearance each week. The pure combination of Asano and Kamiki, as well as the unresolved tension between Kano and Hanyu deserve a second season.Was this review helpful to you?
There is a lot to love in Keiji Yugami. The direction, the pacing, and the cinematography are of high quality worthy of the high budget production. Expect stylish shots and ultra-modern Tokyo with classy color-grading. The first episode, in particular, beautifully captures the unique world of Japanese subway.
The cases are fresh and not too obvious even if the viewer may occasionally doubt the easiness with which suspects confess. Most importantly, there are lots of female characters and they are rarely victims. This alone adds a lot of variety to the show. The main plot line is not impressive, though, but passable. After all, there is only so many ways a buddy cop show can end.
The main attraction of the show is undoubtedly the detective duo. Played by the two veteran actors Asano Tadanobu and Kamiki Ryunosuke (who gets his veteran title for debuting in the industry when he was two years old), the main characters have great chemistry together. The roles of greedy hypocritical 'upstanding' guys is Kamiki's forte and he doesn't get overshadowed by Asano's charisma and natural acting.
While this drama is not outstanding the way Unnatural or Dele were, it is still damn good and one would be hard-pressed to find a buddy cop J-drama of equal quality.
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