Rewatching Tsumi to Batsu: A Falsified Romance eps 1-4

I really loved Tsumi to Batsu. Vulcan300 did an unreleased sub for ep 1 and it blew me away.  Watched the rest of it and did not like the second half as much. However, there were no Japanese subs being a WOWOW dorama and I couldn't get to enjoy the meat of a lot of the conversations. Unsolved Cases has subbed the series up to episode 4 and I figured I should give it another go.

I didn't write about the later episode because I felt I couldn't criticise a series I half understood and the second half was a lot of talking while the first half was more murder thriller. Rewatching Tsumi to Batsu with English subs made me realise that I missed out on enjoying the themes in this story. Even when I understood most of the dialogue, concentrating on listening just takes so much attention I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I really enjoyed Ibu Masato's prosecutor character trying to appeal to Miroku's pride and Miroku's self righteousness making him talk even though he knew that's what the prosecutor wanted.

There's lots of interesting ideas in this story. The idea of freedom versus finding happiness living in servitude to others. The idea that perhaps servitude is mere fear of loneliness. Miroku's idea that love is violence. That he feels entrapped by his sister's love. That Ameya was killed by Echika's self sacrificing 'love'. Miroku's idea that killing can be great if it is backed by principles.

I'm seeing Tsumi to Batsu as more than just a great suspense dorama. We watch doramas to be entertained, to perv but its the exploration of ideas that makes doramas worth thinking about. After all, its a famous novel by Dosteyevsky and a literary classic. Speaking of which, I think I'm not going to continue watching Karamazov Kyoudai. I'm probably better off reading the book to find out the story. Too many doramas to watch now, and there are a few doramas from last season that I want to at least try. Time is a precious commodity and I should not put up with bad acting.

I'm eagerly anticipating the subs for the final two episodes. I didn't get Miroku and Echika's relationship besides Echika being a representative of his sister and I still don't see why Miroku even sees them as the same but let's hope the subs will make things clearer. The first four episodes are still a must watch for me.