If you're tired of the giant, mediocre celebrity machine, Ripe Town (or Under the Prosperous City) is a breath of fresh air. Qu Sangeng is a bailiff in the very early 1600's whose revered master is murdered as the start of a chain, leading him to re-investigate a 20 year old buried case of a mass murder of an entire wealthy family. With only a handful of trusted friends close to him, he battles not only gang leaders and hostile witnesses, but also hostile superiors and his own fellow bailiffs, in his discovery of shocking truths. The concept of justice gets blurred in a world of revenge, where very few have come by their successes honestly. Sangeng is smart and bold, but too naive to recognize what he's not able to control.

Comparisons to A League of Noblemen came to mind as I started watching, but Ripe Town is more down to earth. It's only 12 eps long so there's no wasted time. However, many characters were introduced quickly, and flashbacks often were presented without warning, so it was hard to connect people and events until much later in the show. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; it made me pay closer attention to keep pace, and by the end it all comes together. I'm not familiar with the classical reference, Analects of Confucius, which is a major focus of the hunt for the serial killer, so I won't comment on its role in the story. But, I am one for whom a music score greatly affects my engagement with a show, and this show had interesting drum rhythms similar to that of A League of Nobleman (which featured an intriguing drum solo for its entire opening theme). It perfectly complemented an exciting chase scene as the Hunter Squad takes down a monkey demon thief on the run.

The acting was very good and I was especially impressed with the performance of 16 year old Yu Yao. Yu's role is listed as a support role, but so much time is spent on his character's backstory that he should be considered the 2nd lead. He was able to portray someone of high intelligence, and cunning, with surprising maturity. All of the young teenage characters are subdued, which adds to the ominous atmosphere of the story. Yu is definitely one to watch for in the future.

The story is not a bromance, which seems to be the going popular theme, but is still very male-centric. There was even a poke at the trope of females disguising themselves as males by simply wearing male attire. While this inexplicably works in too many shows, it's flat out rejected in Ripe Town in an amusing scene.

I wish more shows would have this level of writing, that challenge your assumptions of who is good or bad, your expectations of a main character as hero, as well as your ability to predict what will happen next. The scenes were beautifully shot, no sloppy editing, and the 12 ep length made for a nice, tight story. Overall, it was one of the more entertaining shows I've seen this year.