Let me start by saying River's Edge is an unusual episodic detective dorama. As a detective dorama, the mystery isn't the main focus. The mystery blends in perfectly with the moody atmosphere and it's darkness. Not all mysteries are meant to be solved and not all questions are meant to be answered. Before I go on further I'll first introduce the 3 main characters here. Those characters and the casted actors were a perfect fit with what the dorama is trying to portray. Muraki: Maybe the most mysterious of the bunch. Lazy, laid-back, uninterested, which is most perfectly fitted to be played by my dear old Odagiri Jo. Being usually unconcerned about anything, I enjoyed his interactions with the other two. Megumi: She's the opposite of Muraki. She's full of energy and always up to something different. For some she may be hard to take on at first but she does grow on you in a big way. She doesn't change or anything, but you learn ti accept her as she is as a viewer. The boss/Director: He's an interesting old man. I never get tired of listening to him. He's full of wisdom and somehow can have empathy with creepy weird men. His reactions to what Megumi is up to each episode is a delight to watch and he's the only one we get to know a bit about his past. As for dorama itself, each episode deals with a case. The cases are mostly pretty simple, but need some digging. My only complaint here is that many episodes become repetitive with a number of similar cases. I found the music to fit perfectly with the dark mood and general ambience of the show. Finally I need to mention, as a Tv Tokyo midnight time slot, it has more freedom to become more artsy as well as more racy then your usual dorama. Specially compared to your usual detective dorama, although this one has hardly anything similar to the usual detective dorama.