Kurokouchi (2013)

Amongst many Detective Japanese dramas produced every year; it’s hard to find something that bumps of the crowd. Kurokouchi was able to distinguish itself from other dramas of the same genre despite the low ratings.

I usually agree with Japanese ratings because they’re generally objective and I frequently disagree with international ratings because they’re often biased. This time around, I disagree with both of them; this drama doesn’t deserve the low ratings at all.

Kurokouchi isn’t your typical detective drama with an investigation hero or some genius scientist in it. How is it different? For starters, this is not an episodic drama where each episode they solve a case then move to the other one; Kurokouchi takes the 45 year-old 300 Million-Yen robbery case from a different angle. It’s notable to mention that the 300 Million-Yen case is a real robbery that took place in Japan back in 1968 and remains unsolved until today. The storyline is the writer (the mangaka’s Koji Kono and Takashi Nagasaki)’s hypothesis about what actually happened.

This drama is more of a crime mystery thriller than a detective drama; there are too many dark moments going on that differentiate Kurokouchi from any other detective drama. Of course, this remains as an investigation plot with a police department and detectives but there’s more than that to the storyline. It goes into depth of thrilling events with unexpected turns that make you eager to know what will happen next. The variety of developments and side stories that are always connected to the main robbery are a major strength point that counts for this drama.

The acting was pretty good. The performance by Nagase and Watabe Atsuro were quite remarkable; it’s been a long time since I haven’t seen them in anything that I forget how great they can be at portraying their characters. As for Gouriki, I will leave it at “Passable”; I think the main problem that people are finding with Ayame is her repetitive appearance on TV dramas and her lack of roles’ diversity. I didn’t hate her acting but I despised her character, she was a waste a space and a typical prey of “female dumb police partner” personality who knows nothing but asking stupid questions and lurking around for nothing. I wish that Japanese would change some of their female detectives’ characters. It’s about time that we get some strong, hardcore female investigators in the police department.

As for the male lead; this drama displays an anti-hero, a police officer who’s nothing like any other detective you saw before. He’s someone who affiliates with corrupted politicians, someone that you can never predict what he will do next. Kurokouchi always manages to surprise us with his choices and unexpected revelations. What also makes the character quite fascinating is its dark humor; it’s quite likeable even if it sounds hateful. On the other hand, there’s Sawatari: a manipulative silent character who always smiles no matter what. I happen to like those types of characters so I grew an ultimate liking to his way of thinking and it didn’t even matter that he was an evil figure in the drama.

Other characters were pretty well written to suit the diversity of crime stories and side events that always occurred in this drama. However, some of them weren't quite good and I still can't get over the sudden disappearance of a certain character.

In a line, the music suited the drama’s detective theme in a good way.

As usual, the rewatch value is always low for suspense twisty dramas that lose their factor of surprise once rewatched.

Watch this if:
-You enjoy non-episodic detective dramas.
-You like real stories but remember that this is only based on a hypothesis.
-You’re in the mood for a Japanese Crime/Thriller.
-You happen to like Nagase Tomoya.

Do not watch if:
-You’re not interested in detective dramas.
-You dislike Nagase Tomoya.

Kurkouchi ‘s definitely one of the best produced Detective dramas this year even if it’s underrated both nationally and internationally.

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When If first started watching Kurokouchi, I thought I knew what to expect. Your basic crime-based mystery show that had another eccentric protagonist played by Tomoya Nagase and crazy, novel-like murders. It would have the easy black-and-white situations where the good guys would shine their brilliant light of justice on those who commits crimes with long monologues on why what they did was wrong and advising them to repent for their crimes. But this show took on a whole different tone about 3 minutes into the first episode.

The show demonstrates that there is a much larger gray area than black or white. Take the main and titular character, Keita Kurokouchi. He acts more as an antihero than a true good guy. He straddles the line between what's deemed right and wrong, and still finds a way to look like a hero while doing it. His ultimate goal is to solve the unsolved case of a robbery of 300 million yen that happened almost 45 before the start of the story. His motivations aren't completely explained, but you can that it's something that he's completely dedicated to once you have a look at his apartment.

The thing I found most entertaining was how well the story progressed. It's full of surprises. Murder, betrayal, and conspiracies are the lifeblood of this show, and it delivers plenty that will keep on your toes and constantly thinking, trying to figure out who truly has the advantage in the game of chess between Kurokouchi and his adversaries. The ending is one that completely fits the scope of the show, and was something that almost makes you laugh at the end after seeing the final climax.

The cast was great as well. They pulled an all star cast that each played their roles to perfection. Nagase does such a great job as Kurokouchi, from his yakuza-like speech to his over-the-top mannerisms and catch phrases. He'll even throw in a rap verse or two. Gouriki was a great 'straight-man' as Seike. She was very much by the book and the typical straight-laced cop, until the things Kurokouchi began saying turned out to be true. That's when you see her character start to blossom as she gets down to solving her own personal mystery and how it relates to the 300 million yen heist. They both work great in tandem to deliver a funny experience while still maintaining a great level of suspense and action.

This is a show that you can't regularly rewatch because of how high-impact the suspense and surprises are. They're best saved for once you've forgotten much of the story, otherwise they lose their pop. But the funny moments of the show are watchable over and over again. I fount myself going back and rewatching parts because of how funny they were. And this isn't even a comedy based show!

Overall, I found this show probably the most enjoyable crime show since I watched the first season of Galileo a couple years ago. This didn't have as many creative crimes as much of the Japanese crime shows do, but it had the suspense and edge of your seat thrills to really push this show ahead of many others. A definite must watch if you want a good ride.

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