The thing with these 'Avenging Hero' type dramas/stories is the love story orbiting the hero is always a frustrating dance. Perhaps he has been deeply scarred and/or his mission is antithetic to the love that unexpectedly blossoms between the antihero and heroine. Kurosagi is classic in this respect.
Each episode unfolds with Kurosagi swindling a different kind of swindler and it's fun to watch him get into character and pull off his clever cons. I couldn't help but compare this just a bit to Liar Game, in that you have to use your brain and the hero has to work around the trick of the con. I really liked Kurosagi's little personality quirks and his different 'con' personalities.
Having sung it's praises, I still came away from Kurosagi feeling something was missing. It took a little while to put my finger on just why I can't give this drama a 10 but I've figured it out. It feels incomplete. Usually as I watch and then rate Jdramas, the fact they usually only take 9 to 11 episodes to tell the story makes me enjoy them immensely. This speedy and more concise story telling in turn raises the rating for me. But somehow this was not the case with Kurosagi. I felt this story needed more time, more story and I am left unsatisfied.
The acting was great for the most part. Yamashita Tomohisa has impressed me again. I've watched 4 of his dramas now and I really like when he plays more "character" parts like this rather than straight lead (See Buzzer Beat, which I did love). Somehow even with his handsome leading man looks, he feels more like a character actor to me. I liked the lead actress. Some of the secondary characters fell flat for me.
A word about Katsuragi: He is the most original character I've come across in a long time. He was at once; chilling, pathetic, gross, pitiful and scary. He left an impression with me, that is for sure.
The intro song didn't really thrill me but the background song which I will call Kurosagi's 'theme song' was cool. I really dug it.
I am giving the re-watch value a 7 because I think people will want to watch this again. There are already parts I have gone back and watched again.
I recommend this. It's worth your 11 hours. It's fun and if you get into manga turned into live action, I think you will like this.
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2-Storyline/Plot : That's what captured me about this drama; the story about revenge, hate, action and even romance, the whole concept was was so deep.
Every episode i get amazed by events and several twists that made it very appealing whether it was action twists or romantic developments.
3-Acting/Cast : After this drama Yamashita Tomohisa became one of my favorite actors; he really did his role perfectly; the kind of cold, affectionate character that made me very invested in his character. There were Horikita Maki too, she was cool but not that great as a character. I actually loved the acting department though there were too many weird characters.
4-Music : Yes I remember the music, it was quite good.
5-Rewatch value : There are a lot of moments that deserve the rewatch plus it's short therefore, it's easy to do so.
6-The ending : I liked it even though i was expecting more but either ways it was nice plus there's the film so it's not actually an "end"
7-Overall : Kurosagi is a drama that can make anyone fall in love especially action-revenge lovers (as myself).
I had so much fun while watching it. My all time favorite part when Kurosagi says "Bang"!
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The episodic nature of the whole thing made it very interesting and the way the writers wove the subplots and the overarching story line into each episode was amazing. This is the kind of story I desperately wish I could write.
Aside from that, the acting was wonderful. The supporting cast was done quite well, right down to every swindler that Kurosaki goes after. But the real draw for this show (at least for me) was the man himself. Tomohisa Yamashita. Man, can that guy act. Seriously. He is wonderful at conveying all of the subtleties that made this character great. The way he manages to portray the emotionlessness of the character and yet still make him sympathetic is amazing. Horikita Maki also does a wonderful job, although her character is kind of annoying.
I will say, though, that the ending is what did it for me, even more than everything I just said. This is a VERY serious and dramatic story that has a VERY serious and dramatic ending. There is one little side note that I have however: after the bulk of the ending is over, it feels like the writers just kind of said, "Oh, no, we can't leave it on THAT. THAT's too harsh of an ending." So they wrote another piece onto the end that kind of takes some of the drama out of it all. I really felt like this drama was so serious and wonderfully dramatic and heart-wrenching, and I honestly think it shouldn't have the ending it has. But that aside, watch this drama. DEFINITELY watch this drama.
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Kurosagi is a drama about swindling and has, for me, a rather fresh story line. The episodes are interesting though a little predictable or repetitive after seeing a few but it's not bad.
I liked Kurosagi's character a lot, he's the reason why I completed the drama after all. I think the actor did a good job, he played the different characters well and without him I would've dropped the drama long ago, the other characters aren't nearly as likeable or interesting.
Even though I liked this serie there are 2 main points I really, really disliked;
First; the supporting characters are extremely useless. They seem to have no ability to make decisions at all [cough, tsurara, cough] and end up being quite unlikeable in my eyes. I feel like they've done a rather bad job at writing their characters, they're not getting anywhere with them or they're even hindering Kurosagi. I understand what they're trying to do by making them act the way they do, it's just that the actors aren't pulling it off in the right way if you ask me. That doesn't mean they're bad actors, it's just that it seems there's something missing or lacking which leaves them rahter bland and unimportant.
Second; The ending. I won't spoil anything but seriously, they came up with that? It's just very, very... different from what I hoped, it's not even close to something satisfactory if you ask me.
I think that an ending should be the climax of the story, this just wasn't what you'd expect seeing the rest of the story. It feels rather rushed and doesn't match with the previous plot, really a shame because it kind of ruined my opinion on the rest of the drama.
Also the final scene's are rather predictable, not emotional at all [which it's probably meant to be] which is a shame, I feel they could've done so much more but just decided not to...
Despite my complains I do recommend this if you like to see a little action, psychological play and just a hint of romance. I'm just warning you that I think the story, except for Kurosagi's swindling parts, are rather blandly written. It's not bad, it's just... lacking something.
I expected so much more of this serie so I got a little disappointed. Even if I'm trying to be neutral it isn't a great drama. Is the plot amazing, has it plenty interesting plot twists or a lot mysterious and interesint side characters? No.
Is it entertaining and interesting to watch the next episode? Yes.
If you don't start this drama with high expectations {like I did}, you'll probably feel differently about it than me and like it a lot more :)
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I thought reading the manga would be better than watching the drama, but I am so glad that I decided to watch it instead.
'Kurosagi' had a really good story and a great cast. Especially YamaPi and Maki. Their acting was excellent and that made it all the more fun to watch.
What's even better is that there was a lot of character development, particularly in Kurosaki, but you get what I mean.
God, I don't know how to explain it, but 'Kurosagi' almost always had me interested---both with it's humorous and serious scenes.
I think that the entire drama was played out wonderfully and the great acting added to it. I felt as if I could really relate with some of the characters and I'll admit that it brought me to tears once or twice.
So, basically, if you're looking for a drama filled with humor, light suspense, and great characters with great acting, 'Kurosagi' is the one you're looking for.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot---Thank you very much as always~! ;D
(Lol, you'll only get that if you watched 'Kurosagi'.)
So go watch it right now!!
Maybe you won't like it as much as me, but, I can promise you one thing:
If you watch it, you definetly won't regret it.
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[is hoping they will make a season 2]
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Kurosagi was the first drama I didn't have to force myself to watch till the last episode. Most dramas start great but get dull in the middle but picks up near the end. In Kurosagi the action just kept coming. I was on the edge of my seat and so involved with the events. The romance was beautiful and the storyline was very interesting. Not to mention that I memorized the intro song when I was a kid. It's very catchy. Nevertheless, the acting was pretty good and entertaining. Definitely essential for the favorite list. Wouldn't be complete without it!
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Episodes are all interesting
We've all heard about Robin Hood, seen similar shows and movies. This was the concept applied to the show, but in the most interesting way. Yamashita did a fantastic job as the main character/ML Kurosaki. Some of the Guest Roles didn't have the best acting, but each episode was very interesting.I was completely annoyed with the FL, if you can call her that of Yoshikawa and her friend/ex-friend Mishima. They weren't needed at all, but at least the writers didn't try to force a romantic moment with ML and FL. Also the over acting of Detective Kashima was almost comical. The Information Master Katsuragi was well played by Yamazaki, but watching him eat and spit out food grossed me out. Theme song was fine, other music not anything that stands out.
For the most part production, directing, writing and FX were all good. A solid 7/10 but mostly that's thanks to Yamashita. Some parts are worth rewatching too. Definitely a good drama to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
First of all I am now completely in love with Yamashita Tomohisa, I totally adore Yamapi. I am definitely watching more of his dramas, he was fantastic. It said "No spoilers" so I won't say anything about the plot. Except that the females in this programme are seriously frustrating to watch, I mean really. There are times when you want to slap and shake them. But don't worry your frustration will disappear every time you see Tomohisa's beautiful face and watch his witty, sexy, dark, and conniving acting. It is a must watch, and it feels like it goes too quickly, leaving you with this open satisfying ending.
Hope you liked the review!!!
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