A Short remake but still enjoyable!
I liked the og version and watched it when it aired. had to go back for a rewatch to refresh my memory and start this one.I don't think it's closely following everything from the og since it's short and also a Japanese remake, which they tend to change everything to fit their own aura of production.
The story is fast-paced, with not many details going on. The leads have a decent chemistry and are not cringeworthy IMO. The chemistry development is pretty decent up until episode 5.
I personally am not watching it, hoping to see the exact scenes and plot from the original suspicious partner, but that doesn't make this drama less entertaining.
Overall, an enjoyable watch, yet the last 3 episodes went downhill and their relationship could have developed to better.
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This review may contain spoilers
I’m honestly impressed with myself for making it through every episode.
Where do I even start?I’m confused. I’m confused. I’m still confused. Not exactly the best way to begin a review, right?
I didn’t watch the Korean original, so I went in blind. The plot sounded like a good time — some mystery, some drama… spicy potential. But the execution? Disappointing. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and the “mystery” felt more exhausting than engaging. Everything was happening way too fast.
By episode 3, she drops the big “I love you.”
Excuse me? When did that happen? How did we get here?Was there a deleted episode? Did I blink and miss a romantic arc?
I guess two years passed at some point, but time is just a suggestion in this show.
He fell in love with her too, apparently.
Again —how? Where? Show me the receips.
Courtroom battles, ex-girlfriends, past traumas, declarations of love, lies, deception — all shoved in like we’re racing through the plot at Max Verstappen speed.
And look, I wanted to like it. With the right timing and buildup, this could’ve been a interesting mystery-romance. But instead, we got a painfully simplistic plot, flat characters, and plot twists so cliched they needed subtitles that said: “You should be shocked now.”
Even the finale didn’t move me. The crimes were solved and I was just sitting there like:
“Cool. Sure. That’s... definitely a conclusion. Can I go now?”
Oh, and for some reason, I thought there were 11 episodes.
Imagine my face when I realized I had to sit through one more.
The finale…
Was it entirely logical? No. Was the ending awfully convenient? Sure. Was it all a bit silly? Definitely. Was it kind of absurd? 100% . Do I have regrets? Just emotional ones.
4.0 — rounded up.
Because I’m feeling generous and a good mood.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good enough for one-time watch. It was missing colours.
Like Apes63 said in the comment, it is a CliffsNotes version of the original drama, a small bite that serves just right when you don't have the time to re-watch the lengthier kdrama. It is indeed a bit dull compared to the original and lacks its charm.I love the korean version, have seen it numerous times. Another thing where this one misses its mark is that Yagi Yusei tries too hard to imitate Ji Chang Wook's mannerism instead of making this role his own. Gotta admit, I do see a little bit of wookie in Yagi Yusei at times.
I am here because it is short and since I have already watched it so far, I might as well finish it. But I expected more.
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Short and FUN
I dropped the K-drama Suspicious Partner after 10 of its 40 30 minute episodes. It felt to me like the female lead had no agency, I found the male lead's behaviour patronisingly possessive to the point of being borderline creepy – which is saying something given that the lead was played by JCW. I was interested to subsequently learn that many reviews on MDL from people who liked it still complained that the drama got draggy, bloated and lost its way for much of the middle third to three-quarter mark.The 2025 Japanese remake is almost certainly not to everyone's taste, but no one could accuse it of being bloated or draggy. At a total run time of just over 4.5 hours as opposed 20 hours for the original, it's an amuse-bouche. I chose that phrase quite deliberately because there was a lot of amusement in it. The overriding impression I got of this drama was its creative team opted to focus on fun.
75 to 80% of the drama was light and frothy and there were a lot of laughs. The laughs were comical, not simply comedic. By that, I mean that the humour could have come from a comic. There has been discussion on bluesky recently about the influence of anime and manga on J-dramas and to me the humour in this J-drama was a very good example. It was slightly absurdist and silly, quite knowingly and deliberately so, and gave a clear impression that the last thing it intended to do was take itself seriously. This made me very happy, since that ability to laugh at itself is vanishingly rare in K-dramas.
Since I abandoned the original only one quarter of the way through, I can't comment on how the storyline is unfolded, but in the Japanese drama the serial killer was kept in his proper place — a significant element of the story but not the prime ingredient.
The female lead was a little too much like the stereotypical J-Drama romance female lead, but as the story progressed she stood on our own feet, made her own decisions, and it was great to see the male lead allow her to do so.
If I had any major complaint about the drama, it might be that it is a little too short. If the 12 episodes had been 30 minutes instead of 24, there could have been a little bit more character development, more chance for the female lead to outgrow the kawaii doll phase of the early part of the drama, and a less rushed, more cohesive conclusion. But overall, a surprisingly pleasant short treat.
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A good story to pass an evening
A good remake of the KDrama in Japanese format :)All the twists, but only the essentials (which is normal, in 11 episodes instead of 40) 👌, very formal and minimal dialogue, ... and "cheerful" OSTs regardless of the atmosphere 😠
The actors are talented (particulary Yusei Yagi), the direction effective, BUT the format doesn't allow for the original's charm.
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Un bon remake du KDrama au format japonais :)
Tous les twists, mais que l'essentiel (normal, en 11 épisodes au lieu de 40) 👌, dialogues très formels et réduits au minimum, ... et OSTs "guillerettes" quelque soit l'atmosphère 😠
Les acteurs sont talentueux, la réalisation efficace, MAIS le format ne permet pas de recréer le charme de l'original.
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An inoffensive time with two bottoms and their crew.
Could Suspicious Partner have used three more episodes for a little breathing room? Absolutely.But, there's a certain economy to Suspicious Partner which I've learned to appreciate. It doesn't overestimate it's intelligence or drag it's feet. It spends its runtime exactly where it needs to, no dead ends, no unnecessary outside interference making things needlessly elaborate, no red herrings. The plot relies on coincidence a lot, but since this is one of those Drama worlds where only twenty-odd people exist, it's fine. It all feels relatively safe; like there's crime, sure, but the Safeties are engaged for all the major characters; even if a main character should get stabbed, he can still win a fist-fight. Pleasantly safe, because, really, we aren't meant to be too invested in the plot. Just enough to get a few little whodunit thrills.
We are meant to be invested in Yagi Yusei and Saito Kyoko, and largely I was. They are both adorable, have a really pleasant vibe... but they both radiate the biggest bottom energy. Actually, most of the cast did. They were all pretty passive and chill, which helped the low key vibe, but hell. Tosa Kazunari as Yoneda was the closest we got to a Top, and he just didn't have the chutzpah to herd this collection of cats. They're all pretty nice people, on the whole, which is also a great break from watching shows with parades of assholes. The female characters have lots of agency, and nobody is too stupid to live. The casting really makes this a nice watch, even if a lot of the time you're just watching them chat.
Is it great? No. Legitimately nothing is fleshed out enough to be properly significant. It feels like there should be major themes with grief and job-loss and betrayal, but the show refuses to be a downer, no matter how many corpses turn up. It does not criticize or idealize it's justice systems. It focuses in tight on individuals, though even their stories are not very in depth. Also, it seems like lawyers have to do a lot of investigative work in Japan. Shouldn't the cops be doing A LOT of this?
Eh, I can't bring myself to care. But not in a bad way. Just in a way where I get to watch them all be pleasant at each other.
Special recognition to Yagi Yusei's multiple pairs of fancy pajamas. I about died when he turned up with a third set. Like. How many ridiculously printed pajamas does this man own? Can we talk about it? It's such a odd thing about his character, who in all other respects is going for a semi-ice prince/awkward potato thing. Dude just has elaborate bedtime apparel.
Since this is a remake, I suspect this was on fast-forward, just hitting the highlights of the original series with out the draggy bits. But the actors are keen, and plotting is tidy and there's a kind of virtue in something this frothy and unconcerned with it's own gravity.
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Story
Just a remake from the kdrama.I kind of enjoyed this drama but it just felt a bit empty you know? There were a few cute scenes and the rest was just discovering who the culprit was and you could definitely find some things that were also in the kdrama version but If i'm being honest the acting from Tateishi Haruto (played by: yagi Yusei)
felt empty and fake you know what i mean? like i could tell he was acting and that was kind of a bummer 🙁
but overall it was pretty okay and you can easily bingewatch this because the episodes weren't that long just around the 24 minutes. Would i rewatch this? probably not.
I would recommend watching the kdrama version first maybe and then the japanese version because it misses alot of points from the kdrama
(this is my first time reviewing so i'm sorry if its bad)
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I can’t believe I didn’t drop it.
This was a rather mild watch. It had a good start but lost momentum when it dispersed from the leads’ relationship and never fully developed the motivations behind the main “villain”. So, the stakes were never there. I am, overall, disappointed as the leads had great chemistry and I was looking forward to see them play it off as they worked cases together. But that barely happened.It’s impossible not to compare this version with the original source material that, thank to its sixteen episodes, had enough room to let the story breath and the characters grow.
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They really had me in the first half
Echoing the comments that said this went rapidly downhill, around episode 8. I was super disappointed because I was enjoying myself so much - it's surprisingly high quality for an MBS drama, I thought the dynamic between the two leads was relatively fresh, the mystery had intrigue, and this is by far the best styling I've seen for Yagi Yusei imo.I didn't watch the Korean version, so I can't say how well it holds up as an adaptation, but I imagine it suffered a lot trying to condense twenty 60min long episodes into twelve 30min eps, because everything was way too rushed in the end. The romance had no real build-up, the mystery was unfulfilling, the motivations for all the characters were poorly fleshed out. I usually appreciate how Japanese adaptations of Korean dramas are able to trim the fat and keep the story concise, but it didn't work in this case. Too many characters, too many things going on. It's a shame since I also liked Kusakawa Takuya and Morita Kokoro here, but they barely matter to the plot. And I know they establish at the beginning that he has a thing for her, but tell me why I thought there might be some kind of twist that Takuya's character liked Yusei's character all along.... Maybe I'm just too influenced by those two actors' previous works, but I swear the vibe was there!! Ijima Ku was another highlight in the cast - a relatively new face for me, and I think he did well with what he was given, all things considered.
Overall, I give this a pass because I cannot overstate how much I was giggling and kicking my feet at Yagi Yusei in the first half (tbh the second half is worth watching for the kiss scene in ep 10 alone) and while it was ultimately disappointing, it had enough going for it to hold my attention to the end.
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Meh...
The remake is much shorter than the original, but despite this, the plot takes a while to get going.The acting is okay, but I expected worse.
The setting is well chosen, well suited to the finale.
However, it lacks punch; the series is plain and linear.
There's nothing captivating about it, much like in the original version.
Le remake est beaucoup plus court que l'original, mais malgré cela, l'intrigue met un certain temps à s'installer.
Le jeu des acteurs est correct, je m'attendais à pire.
Le cadre est bien choisi, bien adapté au final.
Cependant, ça manque de pep's, la série est plate et linéaire.
Il n'y a rien de captivant, un peu comme dans la version originale.
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This review may contain spoilers
As a fan of the original Korean drama Suspicious Partner, I had high hopes for the Japanese remake Ayashii Partner. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a frustrating and joyless experience from start...The biggest problem is the complete lack of emotion or engagement. It’s as if every spark, nuance, and emotional depth from the Korean version was deliberately filtered out. What was once a rich, layered romance and legal thriller became a hollow shell — a lifeless re-enactment rather than a meaningful adaptation.
In condensing a 20-hour drama into just 10 episodes of around 24 minutes each, the show lost all the character development, emotional buildup, and narrative tension that made the original so compelling. The fast pacing doesn’t feel efficient — it feels rushed, careless, and empty. Scenes jump from one plot point to another without giving the audience a chance to breathe or connect.
The acting, too, is painfully dull. Both the male and female leads deliver performances that feel more like a rehearsal than an actual production. There’s no chemistry, no conviction — it’s as if they were reluctantly dragged into the drama and paid in leftover lunch boxes. If they’re not interested in their characters, how can the audience be?
It’s baffling why this adaptation was made at all. Rather than bringing a fresh perspective or cultural reinterpretation, it feels more like a checkbox project — something done for the sake of having a Japanese version, not because there was any genuine creative vision behind it.
To sum up: Ayashii Partner is an emotionally vacant, rushed adaptation that fails to capture even a fraction of what made the original beloved. If boredom were a category at the Nobel Prize, this drama might just win.
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Plus fade, mais pas complètement déplaisant...
Particulièrement attachée à la version coréenne, j'avais tout de même hâte de découvrir le remake japonais. Les grandes lignes de l'histoire sont similaires à l'original, mais Ayashii Partner s'est débrouillé pour légèrement se démarquer, bien qu'il manque un peu de ci et un peu de ça.Condenser 40 épisodes en 12 fait perdre beaucoup de scènes et d'éléments (notamment sur le développement du couple principal (tant professionnellement que personnellement)). Néanmoins, les raccourcis ont été cohérents (bien que je persiste dans l'idée qu'un épisode de 20 minutes par semaine est ridicule). Les événements s'enchaînent dans un rythme soutenu avec une narration qui est restée fluide.
Le casting était très bon, des protagonistes aux antagonistes. Ce qui manque, et comme mentionné ci-dessus, c'est le développement de chacun. Si la mise en scène de la partie professionnelle est bonne, le reste manque de matière. De plus, on croit faiblement au couple qui possède une alchimie mignonne, mais oubliable.
Cependant, découvrir Ayashii Partner a été plaisant, même si je ne le reverrai pas, contrairement à Suspicious Partner que je revois tous les ans. Oui, si on le compare, point par point à l'original, il est plus fade, moins attachant sur ses personnages et trop rapide, mais cela n'en fait pas pour autant une mauvaise série. Son approche est différente et pas si surprenante sur un tel format.
En bref, Ayashii Partner a sacrifié beaucoup de l’histoire et des personnages en raison de son format. Malgré tout, c’est un remake sympathique, bien que peu mémorable.
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