River's Edge is your small town detective helping people with their problems with two differences. The hook is that Odagiri Joe gets a dream about his client before he meets them so you see part of the ending but you have to figure out how it fits.
WHAT I LIKED
+ The episodes are only half an hour but it always feels very lean and impactful. Take for example the very funny idol episode. It says all that needs to be said about the idol industry and the twist is a great analogy to the illusion that idols are.
+ Its very, very funny and quirky. From the love hotel stuff to the manzai episode.
+ The simplicity of the deliheru episode.
+ The receptionist Megumi always provides some fanservice and her side jobs are entertaining.
+ Love the music.
+ The direction by Hitoshi One (Moteki) is very energetic.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- Watching episode 1 on an empty stomach. Not that I can't get wan tan here but I was dreaming of getting extra ramen wan tan topping at tokotsu ramen ogi.
- Eps 7 to 9 were kind of meh compared to the first 6. There are only so many times they can go with the find someone from my past who has turned into someone else story.
SUMMARY
Very watchable for me. I originally gave it a must watch for eps 1-6 but later episodes got a bit repetitive.
This is such an interesting take on the detective genre.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the drama is all about the question & resolution...there is almost no focus on the detective work, none of the usual solving riddles or twists. (in fact many episodes, the detective-ing feels like Joe mini audition reels for Cowboy Bebop).
The stories almost all centre on the normalisation of loneliness. Not in the usual Hikikomori isolation - here it is people functioning as normal, doing the daily grind, but isolated none the less. I'm sure that in Japan, as in much of the world, those people would be all too aware of the tightrope they exist on.
For 25min an ep this show has some swag for what must have been a minuscule budget. The opening credit scene being one of my favourites (doubling as the bands video clip for their release).
This TV Tokyo midnight time slot produced a number of interesting dramas.