Hitori Shizuka ep 1

I feel bad I didn't talk about Hitori Shizuka in my jdorama write up for this season. I've learned my lesson; any WOWOW dorama is worth checking out. The main character for ep 1 is Takizaki played by Takahashi Issei, the guy who looks like he wants to cry all the time from Gonzo. Takizaki is a low level police officer who is stuck working in a police box and dealing with grandmothers making a report about 900 yen being stolen.

I love good old WOWOW realism. I really enjoyed the look at being a grunt in the police force. Doing menial work such as keeping onlookers away from crime scenes or being tasked to random questioning of town people. I like that even when Takizaki manages to hit on a lead from asking random people at public places, he is unable to present his finding because other senior members of the investigation team have hit upon the same information from chasing juicier leads. I love that its not preachy but shows it as it is.

Not going to say much about the plot save that a murder occurs close to Takizaki's police box and he goes to investigate only to find another policeman already there. I went into Hitori Shizuka with no knowledge save for Kaho's face on the poster an I enjoyed every damn minute of it.

Hitori Shizuka looks like your typical awesome WOWOW dorama. Gritty and real. Even Tsugunai doesn't look as good. There must be something about the directors who work for WOWOW or something in the water there that make their doramas look so much better than the rest. Personally I think its because the lighting doesn't make it seem like every room has multiple light sources and the earth has two suns and the directing is about capturing performances and not making actors look good.

I am very excited about this and its a definite must watch for me. If you've seen Kaho from Kare, Otoko, Tomodachi, you know she's got the acting skills to pull this off.