Fukuie Keibuho no Aisatsu (2014)

I have to say, for the first time in a while, the synopsis is what made me want to watch and yet the show itself has made me want to stop watching. However, being honest again, a couple members of the cast helped me with continuing to watch! The episodes are completely different to some of the usual police/mystery/crime/detective series or films that I've seen before; though everything seems to follow a very normal pattern, with the typical dramas and movies of the same genre, I can't put my finger on what seems different to me.

This is my first time seeing Inagaki Goro in any type of acting position, and it will not be my last! As soon as I saw him in the first episode, he gained another fan! (I really hope that didn't come out to creepy lol). The way he carries himself is quite elegant, his unique talent and skills are almost tangible by the way he acts and reacts.

It is also my first time seeing Dan Rei in anything, as well, and she was fantastic! The role of the eccentric, "possibly genius" detective is a role I've seen multiple times but rarely portrayed by a female (unless I'm not watching enough shows and I will fix that). The way she carried herself throughout the show showed off either the personality of someone who has an immense amount of self-confidence or an immense amount of courage to not care if she is disliked, or a 50/50 mix of both. She also seemed to have an air about her that seemed to portray her character as someone with a breaking point that she continued to get closer and closer to as the show moved on. It was almost like magic watching her work and seemingly walking with the viewer, almost as if teaching them, throughout the episodes.

This show was quite unique with each of its cases, some were following the general outline of shows I've seen before and most cases were stories I've never seen before. This show was quite interesting to watch; though in some places it seemed like the story was rushed, yet it never left any detail out or rushed through the important pieces, like capturing the criminal or doing the investigative work. The ending of this series was something I never saw coming! It did sort of feel like a cliffhanger like they could have carried on with the show if they wanted, but it also felt like they had wrapped everything up quite nicely with a very explosive story that seemed to say there could be more.

If you are a fan of Inagaki Goro, Dan Rei, or Emoto Tokio (which i am all 3 lol) then this show is definitely something to watch! This show is a good series to watch, also, if you are just getting started with Japanese dramas, crime/mystery/detective/police, or otherwise. It was a smooth intro, middle, and outro toward any type of crime/mystery/detective/police drama, meaning that this drama could lead you to happier/simpler types of detective shows or possilby even creepier types of detective shows! (i hope that made sense lol)

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