Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Keishichou Outsider jdorama review

Keishichou Outsider is similar to Hatsukoi no Akuma in that it is a mishmash of genres and this time its a detective show mixed with comedy. Nishijima Hidetoshi is Kagawa, a detective who used to be in organised crime. He dresses like a yakuza, faints at the sight of blood and likes to walk backwards.

Hamada Gaku is Hasumi, a detective who has a secret and has to work with Kagawa. He is basically playing the straight character to Nishijima's quirky detective.

Kamishirashi Moka plays Mizuki Nao, the daughter of the assistant police commissioner who possesses the ability to inhabit roles. (You'll understand it when you see it) She's the other quirky character next to Nishijima and they have great comedic chemistry.

Happy to see Yuka as the forensic investigator who has a history with Nishijima. She used to be in so many jdoramas back in the day and its nice to see an older actress with a face that is not frozen. So glad they cast her in this role you don't really see older actresses besides the usual mother roles etc.

The comedy works pretty well. The NJPW cameos in the first episode is so bad that it is good and Red Shoes gets more screentime than the wrestlers. My only complaint is that no one would ever book a match between Makabe and Taguchi vs Okada and Tanahashi. Unfortunately there are no more NJPW cameos for the rest of the series, only product placements, posters etc. TV Asahi should put more wrestler cameos in their shows.

I can't remember the last decent detective jdorama that had comedy. A lot of them had quirky characters and moments it is not often it is funny enough to make me laugh and serious enough to make me eager to see what happens. As I watched Hatsukoi no Akuma around the same time, I keep comparing how easily Keishichou Outsider switches from comedy to drama and how awkward Hatsukoi no Akuma is going back and forth between serious mystery to a soap opera triangle relationship.

Keichishou Outsider still has your case of the week for our 3 main characters to solve and it also has the mystery of Hamada Gaku's identity and the connection with this case where a woman is stabbed 18 times. 

The characters and jokes grew on me in the end and I found it a satisfying show to watch. Watchable. Thanks to edwardwong for the subs and you can get the subs from discord or drama-otaku. Watch it if you like the actors or quirky and funny detective shows appeal to you. Give episode 1 a try because most likely you won't stop watching after the cliffhanger of episode 1.

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