OMFG. Harorangers and SOS actually finished subbing Toubousha!!!! May the jdorama gods be praised! I first say Toubousha, which was then subbed by Studio Oto way back in 2004. Yes, its been 6 years. 6 years taken to watch 11 episodes of Toubousha. I guess its better than a lot of doramas which will never be subbed finish. I didn't even think Harorangers were even going to finish Toubousha this year until they released a few episodes in a row.
Right now, I'm more in a state of euphoric shock at having just witnessed the end of the series rather than having a clear evaluation of the show. Every time an episode came out, I'd just watch it while trying to figure out what happened before because it was usually very long between releases. That's why at the end I decided to wait for the last four episodes and watch it in one go. If you want a general idea of the story, read my review of eps 1-3 here.
And what a ride the last four episodes Toubousha was. Plot twist after plot twist kept me eager for the next episode. One could say the show had too many red herrings and the final twist had too many unanswered questions but better than a slow mystery thriller aka Atami Sousakan or mystery show that has to fill out time with contrived sentimental stories like Tobo Bengoshi.
This show has Eguchi Yosuke, Abe Hiroshi, Mizuno Miki and Nagasawa Masami. If that does not scream must watch, I don't know what does. Actually Triangle had an awesome cast as well but ended up being a horribly written show. Rest assured that Toubousha is pretty well written despite some minor issues here and there that don't really detract from the overall story. Probably my main issue is why the megane assistant to the police head decide to have a change of heart in the end.
I'm pretty impressed with the main plot reveal. Its something that no one expects yet manages to tie in all the twists and turns together without being contrived. If you are after a mystery escape from the cops thriller, Toubousha is just what you need. On a side note, Tobo Bengoshi ep 9 was horrible. The sentimental storyline nice lawyer saviour just kill the suspense and makes it way too boring and predictable. Not to mention the reason why the two characters hate the bengoshi is laughably stupid/ I'll still watch it to the end to see the ending though.
I haven't watched this in yrs., but I remember I wasn't very impressed. Too many hackneyed red herrings (a common problem w/ JDrama not based on award nominated novels, including Gonzo) and it played out more like a thriller than a mystery. As a thriller, there's not enough tension and suspense IMO to get viewers hooked.
ReplyDeleteI like to comment on the 2 mysteries you cited that were sleep-inducing. I don't know if you've watched Jikou Keisatsu which has pretty much the same cast and same writter as Atami no Sousakan, but it's not your standard mystery in that it mixes in a lot of dark/off-beat humor, and a lot of people on d-addicts compared it to Twin Peaks and noted a lot of similiarities. So it's an acquired taste, for me I like it but not as much as their previous work because some of the gags are hit and miss.
Shinzanmono's not one of Higashino Keigo's best work IMO, but you have to watch it within the context of 1 mystery comprising of 9 smaller mysteries. The theme that ties all these mysteries together is what Abe Hiroshi says in the beginning - all people lie for basically 3 reasons. In each episode every suspect lied to basically cover for their loved ones, the problem is not all 9 mysteries are interesting and of equal length, and a few have nothing to do w/ the main mystery (as the suspect has obviously no real motive), so unless you like doing crossword puzzles you'll be bored (I thought ep. 2, 5, 6, 8 - 10 are OK). As a traditional mystery it pretty much fails on all counts as by the end of ep. 6 there's basically 1 promising lead left, and the fact that in ep. 7 the police chose to only maintain surveillence and not pursue it just boggles the mind. Also, no clues were revealed until ep. 9 and by then I have figured out who the culprit is, but only by process of elimination and assuming that the script won't pull a total stranger out of the street (which is cheating). The other problem is it's a one man show (Abe Hiroshi) and not all guest stars could play off him.
I'd give both of these shows a passing grade, definitely in the watchable category but nothing special.
Atami no sousakan is an acquired taste but IMO, that doesn't excuse the fact that after 5 episodes, the main case hasn't been exciting.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you've read Shinzanmono. I'm guessing the mysterys in the book overlap one another whereas the dorama does them one by one thereby making everything too predictable.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I prefer Tobo Bengoshi to Tobosha: even if the runaway attorney is a bit too kind-he's too much of a good samaritan- the storyline is a bit stronger than in Tobosha where there's some basic failures in the scenario: Hiroshi shooting E.Y. and doing whatever he wants during 3 episodes without anybody doing anything, the murder scene lacking some strength, etc... and the actors are more convincing in Tobo Bengoshi. I was quite impressed by Ishihara, she made me believe in her character ( especially the reverse of attitude toward the runaway attorneywas quite delicate to deal with)
ReplyDeleteHi I know this is an old post, but I've recently become an Abe Hiroshi fan and I'm interested in watching this show. Unfortunately I'm unable to find this dorama with english subtitles. The torrent I could find is no longer seeded by anyone. Could you let me know how I could watch this or share a copy with me if you could? Thank you.
ReplyDelete@Sure_Revenue: I would refer you to keiko1981's where to find dramas post.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.d-addicts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=165119&sid=d07c552568d0cbe1b23b33ec94c155ac
Your best bet is Avistaz if you can get in. Make sure to watch the two KDOs and Shiroi Haru and good luck on your search.