OKURA ~ Meikyuu Iri Jiken Sousa ~ Episodes 1~6

 

Okura starts off as a police department that solves cold cases. They have a quota of cold cases to digitise everyday and they have cases to solve. I wanted to give Okura a try because of Sorimachi and I liked Sugino Yuusuke in Scams.

The most memorable thing in Okura happens in episode 1. Sorimachi and Sugino discover a video camera that has not been touched for a month. This thing always happens in jdoramas. Someone finds a video camera that has been left alone forever and miraculously it has charge.

This is the first time someone in a jdorama has said hang on, the camera should not have any charge. Being charged means someone must have done it. I never want to see some long buried/unused video camera starting up without someone charging it first.

Okura starts off as Cold Case wannabe but at the end of the first episode we learn that, Sorimachi has been planting evidence. Okura is about chasing up bad guys police have let go in the past. I was intrigued.

However, there are two problems. First is Shiraishi Mai's character is supposed to be some tough cop but she cannot do action at all. They could not hide her with the really short action scene in episode 1. Get Takeda Rina ffs. I know you want a Nogizaki46 person for ratings but this is the absolutely wrong character for her.

The main problem for me is that while the story is dark and serious. After all we are talking about planting evidence, the execution is bad. It is shot like a daytime police more concerned about doing an emotional twist every episode rather than building up the suspense of forging evidence and playing hide and seek with people at the top.

Okura is an example of good idea meets bad execution. It needed to be more like the first season of Mikkoku wa Utau but it is more season one of Zettai Reido. Do not watch.