Gonzo is so fucking good. I expressed my worry that leaving the investigation of the murder weapon so late at ep 5 would leave a gaping hole and the writers took that issue, turned it around and made an interesting tale about the murder weapon. While ep 5 had many jdorama cliches such as pride in one's occupation, fondness for post war Japan and misguided pride, it managed to present the story in such a way as to fit the main story of the hunt for Monami's killer. Not to mention giving the viewer's a glimpse of Gonzo's mental health and his past.
Kono sekai ni, ai ga aru no?Ep 6 brings us our main suspect while giving hints into Sakuma and Gonzo's past. I was very worried when the raid on the suspect had like a small army. I had flashbacks to Koshonin which tried to compensate for its horrible 'action scenes' by having tons of police. Deployment of small armies to take down one person is not cool. Its a waste of time and resources. Tactical teams are suppose to be small. The hundreds of cops/SIT etc always end up doing nothing anyway.
Wow, Ikewaki Chizuru has grown since Taiyo no Kisetsu. She has really big eyes.Good thing the real tension is between Gonzo and Sakuma. Sakuma's hatred is so fucking deep that the viewer cannot help but be intrigued by Sakuma's obssesive spitefulness. Ep 6 ends with a great cliffhanger that really made me wish I had waited for the whole series to finish before watching.
This isn't what it looks like.... or is it? :)The writers decided that ep 7 was the right time for a flashback ep on Gonzo's past and what a great episode it is. Ikewaki Chizuru damn near steals the show as Saeki Kyoko, a woman who has deep ties to Gonzo's past. Its great seeing her in jdoramas again. The last show I saw her in was Taiyo no Kisetsu years ago. Her acting in Josee, the Tiger and the Fish really made her a good actress in my book. For such a pivotal but short role, I'm glad they got an actress of her calibre.
Gonzo in his moment of weakness...I love seeing Gonzo before his fall. He is proud and reckless, seemingly believing himself invincible, that he can do no wrong. He treats Sakuma without respect, a minion to do his bidding and follow his whim. Still it hard to comprehend Sakuma's resentment. He doesn't show much emotion. Perhaps he is one of those quite ones who hold grudges and anger in until one day it explodes? However, it seems that his plan of vengeance is more cold hearted than one of emotion.
I love that Gonzo is imperfect. I love that he is faced with tough decisions in ep 7. I love that he is faced with a chance to right a wrong that he did in the past. Its obvious from his face when he found out who Kyoko is that it was something that has been eating him from the inside. Something that he had forgotten about but would perhaps present itself as an unidentifiable itch. I love how they finally explain what 'konno sekai ni, ai wa aru no' is all about. It didn't need to be a great twist, only to make good sense like pieces of a puzzle coming together.
Of course, it all ends in another cliffhanger while makes me so tempted to watch the next episode raw. Gonzo so far has met and exeeded my exspectations. It is a fucking crime that the ratings are lower than the piece of crap show Koshonin. Someone manages to write a good crime/mystery dorama and people would rather watch a pathetic excuse for a cop show starring Yonekura Ryoko? Can't the Japanese public watch a show because its good, not because it has Johnny's?
How good this show is going to be hinges so much on the ending. Especially Sakuma's hatred for Gonzo. How much influence has he had in the events in Gonzo's life? hhmm. Yes, there will be monologuing but as long as the writers try to keep it short and not allow the character to wallow in self pity like 99% of jdoramas it'll be fine. If there's one show to check out this season, its Gonzo!
Ratings wise, I think this show is a decent success considering there isn't anybody in the cast who can guarantee high ratings. And the plot has been getting rather heavy and dreary at times, so the fact that it's been consistently averaging 10.5% is a sign of a good show.
ReplyDeleteI personally would've preferred if there was more elements of humor in it, but then I guess the show would be pandering to the mass audience.
btw, Dobosha is a solid series. Maybe there were a bit too much twist and turns (you know like in Mission Impossible 2 where they kept on taking the facial masks off to point of wtf), but in the end, they racked some brains to come up with good script, and it really bared no resemblance to the movie Fugitive in the end. So let's not write off jdorama crime dramas.
how about Maou? did you watch it, akira?
ReplyDeletei think Maou quite good and dark. yeah, it has ohno from arashi but it's quite ok for a johnny's. give it a try. :)
jcopdoramas...
ReplyDeleteJungs right about the comedy in Gonzo at one point it disappears for a couple of episodes...but the plot tension was too highly cranked to naturally/easily have accomodated comic interludes...so Im not too bothered about that. But it has proven to be a noticable inconsistency..and a blemish somehow. Also the armies of police trooping around didnt help much nor the implausibility in a logsitic sense of Sakuma suddenly appearing and shooting a suspect at a crucial moment...nor Gonzo's hysteria...theres no way in the real world if you are that far gone that you'd still be in the police force. Shame...its gone off the boil a bit...but still the best jcopdorama Ive seen.
Maou...worthy of review Akira :) And not just for the usual reasons (jaw droppingly beautiful psychic jachicks)...here the hero and anti-hero roles seems to be shuttling between the two male leads. Im at ep4 and I dont know who is actually supposed to be the 'hero', so to speak. Im not sure even if this is the script writers intention. It feels like 'sympathy for the devil' is the over-riding sentiment and I certainly find myself rooting for the devil. :)
This is mainly because the Johnny is just so fucking irritating that I want him to die after suffering horribly. Is this the scriptwriters intent? Or just a coincidence that someone not from the intended audience of fanchicks&dicks is watching?
Akira...Im just too good to you. This is pay back for bringing kdo to my attention.
ReplyDeleteSeigi No Mikata
Watch it, love it..laugh alot.
Controversial: in some ways better than kdo.
A great script at least up until ep8 where Im at.
Is it just me or isnt this an exceptional season?
btw 'unfair' in the end was closer to Rondo than Gonzo...
For me Maou & Gonzo are tied...the endings will decide the winner...I would guess Gonzo will pip the post because the hysterical Johnny in Maou, who runs everywhere (how passionate..yeuch) doesnt die horribly.
more on Maou..
ReplyDeleteup to ep8 now and for me its stepped up to a higher level:
Its chushingura meets faust in modern day japan!
Hence I couldnt figure out the shuttling hero/antihero roles between the male leads.
awesome.
Haven't watched Maou yet. Only seen 1st episode of Seigi no Mikata. Will watch both... if I can find time.
ReplyDeleteI love the heaviness and dreariness of Gonzo. I'm sick of juvenile jokes and simplistic plots in jdoramas.
A little off topic.
ReplyDeleteThe first I thought when I saw the second screencap in this post was "This girl would be a great Garnet (from FFIX) cosplayer"
I really love Gonzo. I'm usually into more humor-crime dramas so for me to sit through this every week is an achievement in itself.
ReplyDeleteI do find the massive cop raids kind of weird and ridiculous if they go down like that... but there are scenes that hit real hard in this show: the first one to me was when Tsuru said she kind of hoped Monami wouldn't get to play at her recital. Also the repercussions of Hibino screwing up. Even though Gonzo has gone through some hysteric fits, I think they really don't care as he was getting leads for them...