Keizoku (1999)

All right, first, the preface. This drama is from 1999. The moment you begin watching the Keizoku this is very apparent. I am going to judge the drama on its quality as a drama outside of time. If you can't watch anything that is really 90's then this is not for you. However, I think that many of the people who watched Keizoku:SPEC would enjoy the original Keizoku.

STORY: The story centers around two detectives, Mayama and Shibata. While the initial story starts as a crime an episode you begin to eventually realize that there is a dark overarching nemesis. There were several surprise and unexpectedly dark turns in the story. While I did enjoy these parts, they could be really too dark and serious. Luckily there is a lot of humor in the show (often switching very abruptly). Unfortunately, I didn't think they found the balance between humor and dark. It was off just enough for my not to enjoy the story as much as I could. The romance is not light or heavy, but can be very subtle until the end. There are also several 'wait, what?' moments that didn't help the story and may have created some holes. What's nice is that you can try to guess who the main enemy is but you are never really sure until it's finally revealed.

ACTING/CAST: This is full of overacting and it's supposed to be. There was no other way to get the effect they were going for. The chemistry between the entire cast (especially the two mains) is what keeps the drama together despite some of the story flaws I felt. Not one person is miscast and I enjoyed all of their portrayals. The mains deserve special mention because a lot of their chemistry is unacted, you can simply sense it.

MUSIC: Really enjoyed the music of this show. The first song where the woman is moaning is hilarious and the opening song is one of my favorite openings of all time. A lot of the tension of the show is translated through the music. The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the show.

REWATCH VALUE: Rewatch this once to catch all the little things you didn't see before. Knowing the main baddy really gives some insight. However, after that, probably never again. It was good enough for me to watch twice but after that it was merely tiresome and predictable.

OVERALL: Overall I enjoyed this drama and it is obvious how it influenced the sequel produced over ten years later. It is definitely worth the watch.

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A 90s detective drama which is intriguing and dark.

Keizoku is one of those 90s Jdramas that really holds up. You can tell that it's an older series, but it has a special style about it that makes that all the more appealing. TBS made a lot of my favorite shows from this period, and this was certainly another winner for their record.

The main character (Jun Shibata) is a slobbish woman who is also a genius detective. She doesn't take much care about herself, and she's sort of hopeless in a lot of respects. She's obsessed with love, but she really hasn't got a chance. However, her intelligence and astuteness lead her to solve case after case. This type of character has almost become a trope; but what's nice about this version of the formula is that the main character doesn't feel completely superior to her supporting cast. She's actually the junior in this situation, and they all have their own strengths to bring to the show. Best of all, Jun Shibata is not the only capable detective on this team. Mayama is more of a hardboiled, streetwise kind of cop that understands people a lot better. He's also very smart, and often manages to solve cases to a greater degree even than the genius. Interestingly, he also has his hands tied up in the darker, conspiratorial side of the world. At first unassuming, his story eventually becomes a very satisfying plot thread.

This show builds up a character that is, to me, one of the greatest villains in detective history. I won't spoil what's going on with him. But I will add a reminder to fellow watchers that the occult is not out of the question for Keizoku. This show believes in magic, as it makes a point to tell us - it just hasn't seen it yet. Nothing is really out of the question when it comes to the climax. And I think everyone will be surprised by the way it plays out.

The cinematography is usually pretty good. Sometimes it gets ambitious and turns into something special, but usually it just depicts things competently. It's a show that feels like it gives you a fair chance with the mysteries, without feeling like it has to lay everything out for you to the point of obviousness. There is a dark twinge to the writing, however. A lot of times, when you start empathizing with the murderer, it will add one more sinister turn to make it all shocking again. This show believes in the evil of humanity, and it isn't afraid to show it. The music works well. I'd say that the OST isn't amazing, but it has three or four standout tracks, and overall it uses the score well.

I loved Keizoku, and would heavily recommend it. However, the hour and a half special (Phantom) is GARBAGE! It was hard to watch after finishing such a great series. I really don't know what was going through the producer's heads with the special. But it is literally stuffed with bizarre humor the entire way through. It features a passé amnesia trope to avoid progressing the story, and brings several characters back to life for no good reason. Honestly it goes a long way towards diminishing the mystique of Keizoku. It is funny, but you can just see how uncomfortable the actors are performing some of those strange comedy skits. It's totally out of step with the main series; it's almost a blooper reel.

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