Japanese remakes of Korean dramas always produce characters and conflicts rarely found in other J-dramas. That said, I remain unconvinced by the story and the acting. A lot of details gave me pause. The premise, though, is very interesting so if you can forgive execution, you may get a lot of fun out of it.
This drama is often recommended as a great detective J-drama. But this is a 'closed room' Agatha Christie style mystery show with utterly improbable cases and characters straight from harem ranobe. So I'd not recommend it to classic detective lovers.
On the other hand, if Detective Conan is your cup of tea, you may want to give this a chance.
This is it, the golden classic. It's like the Beatles, you can't go wrong with it.
I'd rated it 10 if I were not horrified by the utterly sexist episode somewhere in the second half. Oh well, it was 90s. I'd still recommend to watch it. This is a lot more entertaining than the anime.
This is another golden hit from Kudo Kankuro. His dramas usually have this flair of sadness but this show is a pure heart-warming joy through and through.
Kamiki, obviously, is amazing here, but the rest of the cast is outstanding in their own right.
This is a typical Kudo Kankuro story and, in fact, it's his second project where Kamiki Ryunosuke plays the leading role (Nagase Tomoya's presence doesn't surprise anyone either).
I always though that Kamiki was famous for his villains (as Kanata Hongo is). But what makes some of Kamiki's villains interesting is his ability to play up their shortcomings in comedic way (see Kazoku Game or Keiji Yugami). You can rely on Kamiki not to shy away from showing his characters' cowardly and hypocritical sides.
And in fact it's Kudo Kankuro's projects where you can see Kamiki playing unadulterated loosers and flexing his comedy timing muscles. So the movie makes for interesting watch even if you came here just for Kamiki in the credits.
Tiger and Dragon is a timeless classic. I'd especially recommend it to those who love complex narratives as the elegance of the plot is something else.
Watch it also for young and devastatingly handsome Okada Junichi who hasn't yet earned reputation of a square-jawed stoic action lead and for unbelievably hot Nagase Tomoya.
Kudo Kankuro would not lead one astray as this drama proves. The mystery aspect is very well done. The story is too sad, though, and not in entertaining noir detective way.
I agree with the reviews. This drama is of a very low quality. But the main characters are played by the immensely charismatic and talented pair of Saito Takumi and Kubota Masataka which explains how this series obtained the cult following (and several sequels).
This is one of the best procedural J-dramas. Admittedly, it is 10 years old now and even back then it was a very low budget production. But its haunting atmosphere of constant danger is something else.
This season is even better than the first. Yes, the main arc is silly (and we all know who is the bad guy in every single Japanese procedural) but it doesn't detract from the whole.
PS At least Mashima Hidekazu has a love interest who is not half his age. The power of Amami Yuki XD
This is a true masterpiece; brilliant script, charismatic performances, non-stop comedy, touching revelations - the Hero has it all. Together with Gokusen it remains a timeless classic.
In a lot of Japanese detectives the fun lies not in the whodunit but rather in 'how they did it and why'.
Kageri Yuku Natsu (The Summer gets dark) is exactly like this. Watch it for the human drama, high production values, and great cast. Don't watch it for the mystery, though, and for Suda Masaki (he has no meaty scenes).
I found Higashino Keigo's novels to have two common features, namely, really slow pace and sexism. The latter manifests here in heavy-handed proclamations of the family values while the former bogs down otherwise quite elaborate case. I wouldn't recommend to watch it for the cast as they mostly don't have any meaty scenes.
On the surface, the premise sounds quite fun: genius physicist / detective vs a genius mathematician / suspect. Well, for me it's as fun as watching gender violence happen, i.e., not at all. If you don't get fazed by everyday suffocating domestic violence and stalkers, prefer grey morale, and don't mind slow pace, you may find this movie quite enjoyable as the cast is great and there is a nice cinematographic feel.
Fake science and sexist overtones ruined it for me. Masahara Fukuyama playing physicist is already hard to swallow. I do think that your mileage may vary but if you are like me and can't tolerate too much silliness, this show is not for you.
I've found this when I was searching for a good detective movie and I was severely disappointed. My main gripe is that it's very sexist and old-fashioned. It's hard to believe the novel was written in 2006 and not, say, during eighties. Ikemen cast do not make this pill sweeter (though, Hayashi Kento's performance is quite a treat).
Kubota Masataka has a small role typical of his career before his break in 2017-2018.
7/10
On the other hand, if Detective Conan is your cup of tea, you may want to give this a chance.
10/10
I'd rated it 10 if I were not horrified by the utterly sexist episode somewhere in the second half. Oh well, it was 90s. I'd still recommend to watch it. This is a lot more entertaining than the anime.
Kamiki, obviously, is amazing here, but the rest of the cast is outstanding in their own right.
10/10
I always though that Kamiki was famous for his villains (as Kanata Hongo is). But what makes some of Kamiki's villains interesting is his ability to play up their shortcomings in comedic way (see Kazoku Game or Keiji Yugami). You can rely on Kamiki not to shy away from showing his characters' cowardly and hypocritical sides.
And in fact it's Kudo Kankuro's projects where you can see Kamiki playing unadulterated loosers and flexing his comedy timing muscles. So the movie makes for interesting watch even if you came here just for Kamiki in the credits.
8/10
Watch it also for young and devastatingly handsome Okada Junichi who hasn't yet earned reputation of a square-jawed stoic action lead and for unbelievably hot Nagase Tomoya.
10/10
8/10
8/10
PS At least Mashima Hidekazu has a love interest who is not half his age. The power of Amami Yuki XD
Kageri Yuku Natsu (The Summer gets dark) is exactly like this. Watch it for the human drama, high production values, and great cast. Don't watch it for the mystery, though, and for Suda Masaki (he has no meaty scenes).
6 out of 10.