Another Crime drama from Japan, surprise surprise! Okay, I will admit right away, this isn't my personal cup of tea when it comes to drama genres. Despite that, I have seen my fair share. If you have an interest in Japense television it's hard to avoid. So, how was Ishi no Mayu compared to the slew of shows out there? Well, let's get down to it shall we?


Music
Very moody music that in my opinion captures the atmosphere very well. Many tracks had that mysterious sound which helped enhanced the scenes and the more action oriented parts had appropriate it's music. The sound design was for the most parts solid, and I liked that many scenes had a sparing use of music at all. Which in my opinion works great for certain scenes. All in all I would say slightly above avarage music and music design, but nothing you will remember.


Acting & Cast
In my opinion this is where the show shines brightest. Kimura Fumino stars as Detective Toko Kisaragi, a rookie cop. She does a very solid job in portraying this insecure yet proud girl who enters working enviroment filled with strong willed men. Since the show is very short, characters are not very fleshed out. Despite this Fumino delivers a performance that makes us care about her character. Aoki Munetaka plays her "cold on the outside" partner and he is just outstanding. A more believable cop you have to search a while to find on the small screen. Even though his character also lacks much backround and characterization. Solid supporting cast, a few missteps though here and there. Special shoutout to Watanabe Ikkei who also does a great job. Would have loved to see more women in the cast.


Story
This is where the show misfired big time for me. Premise wise it sounded very interesting and after the first episode I was a bit intrigued. However it fell flat on it's face with a very predicatble and unoriginal conclusion. I would like to go into detail but there would be too much spoilers. For some parts the show held very tightly to realism but then other parts where really silly and over the top. It clashed in a very bad way. However the execution of the predicatble storyline was pretty competent for the most part, otherwise my story score would have fallen even lower.


So would I recommend this show? Actually, yes. But ONLY if you already like crime dramas. With 5 episodes it is very short for one thing. The cast manages to make you care for what's happening to these underwritten characters. And it has decent music. Don't expect anything you haven't seen before though in terms of story and character motivations etc.

My final score for this show will be 6,5/10. Slightly above avarage. Many Japanese crime dramas are very predictable and unoriginal story wise, just like Ishi no Mayu. But here they had a great cast of characters that I would not mind revisiting. Will I watch the sequel? Yes. But ONLY because I really like Kimura Fumino.

*This is not a bad score! I base my scores like this. 1/10 is garbage, 5/10 is avarage and 10/10 is a masterpiece.

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Suisho no Kodo is the sequel to Ishi no Mayu. For those not aware, it's a crime drama focusing on Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. A new case for Kisagari Toko and gang to solve. How does this one compare to the first season? Let's take a look.

First off, can you watch this without having seen the first season? Yes, you can. However some, what I would call important moments of Suisho no Kodo will be lost on you or not as impactful if you didn't watch the first one. Especially towards the end. So yes, while you can skip the first season, I would recommend watching both in order.

Like I mentioned in my review for Ishi no Mayu, crime dramas are not my cup of tea. I have though, seen a lot of them. Suisho no Kodo is, in my opinion a solid sequal. However I feel it does not elevate itself much and unfortunetly keeps it on the same level as it's predecessor.

The storyline is nothing to write home about, just like the first season. The "villain" is alot less interesting. In the first season it made sense why the story was about Kisaragi Toko. We understood why she was the focus, because of her past and connections to the case. This time, the show made her feel like of alot less importance and sometimes I was wondering why she ended up being to one doing certain things, that someone else very well could have done itstead. To prevent spoilers I'll keep it vague. Despite this Kimura Fumino make Kisaragi Toko a very likeable character, even when she ends up making stupid decisions. The cast does a great job overall, just like in Ishi no Mayu. However one member of the group is replaced and a new actor joins, who is also a serious and very uninteresting middle aged man. I would have preferred more character development for the others instead of this new character, but ultimately it's not a big problem.

The same music returns, and I still think it's one of the better aspects of this show. Sound design is well done, for the most part. Sometimes it can get a little bit silly. Rewatch value isn't very high for this one either, and I would rate it even lower if not for the fact that there are some good characters and actors that you might want to revisit. But the show is not worth it to watch again for plot alone.

I feel the show tries to be realistic and a little bit on the darker side. Alot of serious moments. This is fine. However, both the first season and Suisho no Kodo doesn't go dark enough for me. It even feels childish at times with how certain scenes are editied and certain plot points. I think this show would work well if we got some brutal criminal "villains" to clash with Kisaragi Tokos innocent personality. It could work really well as a movie.

Anyway a solid criminal drama, some intense moments but mostly predictable and it does nothing new. Characters is where this shows strength lies, and you get more from them in this second season. I would recommend this for people who like crime dramas. But if you don't, this won't get you interested in the genre.

I give Suisho no Kodo a 6/10.

*This is not a bad score! I base my scores like this. 1/10 is garbage, 5/10 is avarage and 10/10 is a masterpiece.

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