Takeuchi Yuko is back in doramas! Unfortunately, its a cop show and its not made by NHK or Wowow so I pretty much expected all the usual quirks that irritate me about jdorama cop shows. Still, its Takeuchi Yuko and its got a good supporting cast so I just had to check it out. She plays Himekawa, a female detective who rose quickly through the ranks and became head of her own team and Strawberry Night is the name of the case that this dorama special is about.
Like 99% of the crap police jdoramas, the main character is of course hated and abused by a lot of people for no reason although the main character is of course good at her job. We have your usual superior who doesn't contribute anything to the investigation except to get angry and shout at our main protagonist Himekawa every time she speaks. There's also the fact that she is a woman in a man's world but non of the characters articulate why they think a woman shouldn't be a detective. They just call Himekawa ojousan although she got to her position with her abilities.
Once I got past the usual cliches and telling of Himekawa's past which I thought was revealed too early and too blatantly, the main case itself is actually pretty good. I felt the flashback was broke the writing rule that it is better to show than to tell. They should have hinted with snippets of her past instead of spelling it out in black and white for the audience. The Strawberry Night case had some nice twist and turns and I was enjoying this special.
Then we got the villain reveal and it was debate time! Yes, the usual hero debating with villain with the villain of course acting like a lunatic and the heroine shouting 'you are wrong' blah blah blah. Not to forget the killer getting a bit of redemption as well. No idea what the dorama series is going to be about since the case is closed but I'm guessing there are other people involved in Strawberry Night and this time its going to take a whole season to solve.
Strawberry Night has the usual flaws of the non-Furusawa Ryota cop shows but the case itself is not as idiotic as Boss or Tokyo Dogs. Its more towards the gritty and realistic side which is a plus. Hopefully the dorama series will concentrate on making the case itself exciting instead of generating boring and meaningless conflict among the cops.
At least this one is a bit in the logical side compared to BOSS. We actually see the legworks the police has to do to gather information (working in pairs, following new lead, etc.)
ReplyDeleteBut the revelation is sudden. I mean, there's no clue whatsoever in the beginning, and suddenly, it was revealed for the sake of having a revelation. huh? However, I'll try to watch the first episode when the season starts, just to see how are they going to put these characters in a new situation.
The legwork actually makes sense which makes it above the usual high ratings crap like Boss but still below Rinjo and Gonzo.
ReplyDeleteThe revelation sucked. I don't understand how she could have randomly linked him to the murder because she remembered when he transferred.
I watched the first episode of Strawberry Night and I liked it (the case) more than the special (like u said the case was interesting, the revelation... cheesy sentimental :P) Still too many flashbacks (didn't bother me much though) I wasn't gonna watch the show but being jobless and bored.. I watched it and found it interesting. Got a new character that might have an interesting background
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