Third Time is Not the Charm

Solomon's Perjury is based off a book with the same title and has been adapted on screen three times. The first time as a two-part movie series in 2015, a K-Drama in 2016, and finally this 2021 J-Drama. It just so happens that I have seen them all. While every adaptation had their own flaws, I would wager that this is the worst of the bunch.

In my view, this J-Drama is just bad. The acting in the show is too exaggerated (for this type of story), events are over dramatized, and many of the changes in the story feel reductive in nature. I am primarily writing this review to help people make a decision on whether to watch this so I will focus on explaining how it compares to the other adaptations.

The 2015 duology had a better flow to its storytelling, a sense of mystery, and had a better cast/actor (as always since can simply be due to the direction they were provided). The main flaw of the movies is how it tries to condense six volumes of content into two movies. At minimum, the duology should have been a trilogy. The result is a story that cuts too much content, leaving many plot points and characters feeling underdeveloped/unexplained.

As for the K-Drama, it has been a long time since I have seen it so I do not remember too much but I do remember it being a better watch than whatever is going on in this J-Drama version.

If you think this will be your kind of show, I think you could give the K-Drama a watch. If you prefer a slightly grittier version, you can watch the movies.

If you want to give this drama a shot, I would say there is no real reason why the first 1-2 episodes wouldn’t suffice to make a judgement on whether it is for you. I just recommend not expecting more than what you see on the surface.

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the truth is often disappointing

Yakusoku: 16-Nenme no Shinjitsu is an investigation/mystery drama that had a lot of potential to be a great drama with the initial premise but fails to capitalize on any of it. I will not delve into any plot details of the story to avoid spoilers.

Story:

The story attempts to present itself as something deeper than what’s on the surface but it fails to mask the “truth”. The story is just far too simple. The simplicity of the story means that it is very reliant on amazing storytelling. Unfortunately, the storytelling was not up to par.

In this drama every character is presented as a suspect, and every episode is dedicated towards misleading the viewer to suspect someone, only for it to be explained moments later why this cannot be the case. This aspect was extremely repetitive and made it a drag to watch till the end.

Characters:

The main characters, Kiryu and Kosaka are the driving forces in the show. They have differing motivations but are working together towards a common goal. Just like everything else in this show, they can be characterized as very straightforward characters that lack any sense of depth.

While I want to criticize the bland acting, I believe the issue is with the direction. The characters motivations are so blatant that their actions become predictable. The only interesting aspect of the characters was the mystery of their “past”, and even that had no pay off.

If there’s any saving grace, there is some synergy between the two.

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In truth, all of this would be excusable if it was enjoyable. In the end, this is all that really matters when it comes to dramas. Personally, I found it to be barely watchable. To me the drama was like a roller-coaster ride with no payoff after reaching the peak.

While it may seem like I have nothing good to say about the drama, it is definitely not the worst I have seen. If you want to take a chance on the show, I would say you can try watching the first few episodes and before the second half you would have a clear understanding of what to expect for the rest of the series.

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