Kirawareru Yuuki (2017)

I had no idea coming into this that there was a book behind it (I should have known, having Shigeaki Kato in it). For what I know, Ichiro Kishimi's book explores, through the conversations between a philosopher and a young man, elements of Alfred Adler's psychology, to discuss identity, independence and a sort of mindful approach to living, without other people's expectations and external limitations. Now, here's the thing: this is a detective drama. A detective drama with a leading lady. If you're surprised, imagine how I felt when I heard.

What this drama does is use the book as a sort of backbone to create the character of Ando Ranko (a great performance by Karina), a female detective with a complicated past and a life mission, whose way of living exemplifies, in a very extreme way, the lessons from the book. The conversations, which take place between Shige's character, Ooyama Toshio, and Shiina Kippei's character, Daimonji Tetsuto, frame this main character and provide more context to her actions. Which, while I was watching the show, I felt ok, but looking back and knowing the book's setting, makes me feel pleasantly surprised, because it isn't quite the same to preach this "act according to your own desires and not other people's and have the courage to be hated" to men, in Japanese culture at that, than to see it performed by a woman. I definitely need to give the drama kudos for that choice, especially casting Karina for it. My re-watch value went up when I understood the complexity and courage of this decision, and it got me interested to read the book and see it with the full context, which I'll surely do. The choice to use these two men as a frame and to embody the philosophy of the book on a female lead, a female lead who happens to be an unmarried 32-year-old woman who's stellar in a job mostly done by men in Japanese society deserves my attention.

The detective drama aspect of it, however, doesn't stray too far from what's been seen in jdramas very frequently: main detective is cold, calculating and incredibly smart, with an unparalleled instinct to solve mysteries; the sidekick is kind, emphatic, loyal and wears his heart on his sleeve, they complement each other in their partnership though it takes time for them to understand each other. You've seen it before, I've seen it before, there's no much going on there for originality. There's also the same theme of singular cases which have an underlying bigger case that relates to the protagonist in a personal level, which you've also seen before.

The cast of characters, though, is a delight to see, Sakurada Dori and Itsuki Sagara do a very good job especially; and all cases relate to elements from Adler's psychology which were a bit hard to follow at times for a non-Japanese speaker like myself, but it always explored interesting topics of self-knowledge and life in society that was interesting for a detective drama to have, especially when it was portrayed through female characters (and there are a lot of good ones in this).

If you're looking for a detective drama for the thrill, the mystery, the twists and turns, this one doesn't particularly stand out in comparison to others, it isn't the worst but it isn't the best. However, if psychology is your thing, if you like dramas that make you think and you're fond of strong female leads who are unapologetic about being great at what they do, this is a good one of those.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book to find and a NEWS song to hear on repeat.

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This drama was not at all what I expected it to be. The synopsis itself is the truth but it also does a wonderful job at masking the true nature of the show unless you watch it!

This story is unlike anything I've seen before; though it does have some of the typical detective/police genre. However, that only goes as far as a couple of episodes, and yet, does not cover the entire 10 episodes. I have to say that this is one of the best dramas I've seen in a long time!

The show itself is a mystery. The real relationships of each character between themselves, their families, community, friends, coworkers, etc. are all mysterious to the viewer; however, if you watch carefully, you can notice the tiniest of details to see how each relationship not only forms but continues to grow, some even by miracles almost depending on who the person is. It is also true that the relationships are pretty clouded/hidden, you can't really tell who is related to who or even why they're related.

It all seems to occur within specific areas that hold importance, either to the show in its entirety or just to that character or point-in-time; such as the detective's office, a certain crime scene, Sensei's office, or the medical examiner's office. However, that does not mean the show is easily predictable, either for the crime, criminal, or reasoning(s).

Each actor, not to mention the screenwriter(s), have done their best to continuously keep the viewer "in the dark" so to speak. Not one episode has been predictable! I have guessed at a few episodes and completely missed, so I gave up on guessing who was the criminal. I have to say that the cast was spectacularly selected, either the main cast or the guest cast. Their skills, talent, personality, not to mention respect for the other actors/actresses and their job is tangible during each episode.

The ending of this series is something I could absolutely not have predicted! Whenever I assumed things lined up, they all disappeared within (almost) the next minute! I can honestly say that this was the most interesting mystery, police, detective drama I have ever seen. It almost deserves being called "perfect", though there are a few moments where I would disagree with that too. However, I'm going to end my extremely long review here and, hopefully, you will watch this spectacular show for yourselves!

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