Ishi no Mayu (2015)

I do love my crime/mystery dramas! Don't let the fact that it's only 5 episodes lead you to think that this series isn't done well because it is. They fit a lot into those 5 episodes!

Plot: Nothing new here: bold serial killer taunts the police to play his game and try to catch him, but the execution of the series was great. How each crime is slowly linked to the major mystery behind who the main killer is and why he is on this 'seemingly' random killing spree was interesting to watch. I love it when there are subtle clues for the characters and the audience as to the main motives behind the villains. Gives a series more depth and gets me even more invested.

Acting/Cast: Sooooo good! From the cops to the crazy criminals to the unfortunate victims, it was all well done. I can't think of anyone I'd replace.

Music: All I can say is that the tension was felt in every scene and the fear for all of the characters was only enhanced because of the music. It wasn't overly dramatic and it fit every mood and scene well.

Rewatch Value: Normally I would say that the rewatch value for a mystery is low because once you see it some of the thrill of uncovering it is gone. That is not the case here. Because of the individual cases that all end up being connected to the major plot line you might pick up some points you might have missed the 1st time around. Plus the cases themselves are so 'creative' I wouldn't mind revisiting them again!

Overall: I highly recommend this for and crime/mystery lovers. Be warned though, there is NO ROMANCE or even a hint of it. At best you'll get a nice warm feeling from the loyalty and friendship between coworkers. The focus is entirely on the mystery. And I'm fine with that alone (for once ;-)

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The one thing I love about the Japanese is their ability to tell a story and develop characters. I also enjoy that they don't feel the need to put a romance in everything they do. If you've never watched a J-drama (shame on you) and enjoy crime dramas, murder, suspense, etc, then Ishi no Mayu is a great drama to start with. At only 5 episodes it doesn't require much of a commitment. If you do watch J-dramas, this is on par with dramas like Strawberry Night.

You might be thinking there's no way they can sufficiently tell a story in 5 episodes. To that I say, "Oh but they can!" Kisaragi Toko if a rookie Metropolitan Police detective. Assigned to division 1, she finds herself involved in a strange murder where the victim was encased in cement. Not only that, but the murderer will only speak to her when he calls the police. Kisaragi is haunted not only by the case, but by memories of her deceased father who was a retired detective. Squad 1 finds they have to solve a past case in order to solve the current.

The story is really written well. There may be plot holes but they were small. There were also no red herrings. When they narrowed down to their suspect, no new suspects popped up to confuse the watcher. Instead of who is the killer it's more where is the killer. The production is good. Most of the scenes were done on location it seems. The music conveyed all the emotion necessary so in that respect it was good as well.

The cast is peppered with veteran actors and it shows. They were very good at conveying emotions and thought just by their facial expression and eyes alone. I hope the cast is the same for the next series (what we might call season). Re-watch is fairly high for me as I may re-watch with friends or family.

Overall this was a fine crime drama right in line with other excellent crime/mystery dramas even at 5 episodes.

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An easy, fast paced watch with mediocre twists but quite realistic in its execution of the story.

There are no spoilers here :)
Ishi No Mayu, also known as Stone’s cocoon is the first installment in a series of three thrillers produced by Wowow.

Kisuragi Isou, the female detective protagonist, is a second generation police officer who is a rookie in the 1st Division. With her mentor and a team of officers, she explores a series of murders by a killer who has a unique method of murder. Affected by past trauma and influence by the deaths at Pompeii, where the populace was buried in deep cocoons of ash and turned to stone, the killer meticulously plans his murders and is brazen enough to contact the police with details of his crimes.

The story of Ishi no Mayu has two levels to it. The first is of course the rather simplistic murder plot. The plot twists are pretty average and some rather predictable. If I was to rate this show purely on the basis of its storyline then I would give it a 5.5/10.

The second level can be perceived if the viewer delves a bit deeper. There is an uncanny resemblance between the murderer and Kisuragi, so much so that at some point I was led to believe that Kisuragi’s conversations with her father were that of the killer. Taking the script into account, Ishi no Mayu is actually pretty brilliant.

The exposition of the killer didn’t have the mysterious aura that is generally used to create suspense, and I'm glad they didn’t. It helped me see the killer in not a more humane light but as a human. The plot wasn’t about the identity of the criminal but the story behind how the criminal came to be.

The acting was pretty natural. The female lead convinced me of her role as a rookie police officer who gained more confidence over time.

In just five episodes, Ishi no Mayu covered a lot of ground. There are two faces to everything. Police incompetency is not just that but it is the decision of the moment which has a butterfly effect where neither side is to blame but nor are they right. 7.0/10 for this drama. Ishi no Mayu is a great drama with a great message, mediocre twists but a bit lacklustre regarding the thrilling aspects of the crime.

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Another Crime drama from Japan, surprise surprise! Okay, I will admit right away, this isn't my personal cup of tea when it comes to drama genres. Despite that, I have seen my fair share. If you have an interest in Japense television it's hard to avoid. So, how was Ishi no Mayu compared to the slew of shows out there? Well, let's get down to it shall we?


Music
Very moody music that in my opinion captures the atmosphere very well. Many tracks had that mysterious sound which helped enhanced the scenes and the more action oriented parts had appropriate it's music. The sound design was for the most parts solid, and I liked that many scenes had a sparing use of music at all. Which in my opinion works great for certain scenes. All in all I would say slightly above avarage music and music design, but nothing you will remember.


Acting & Cast
In my opinion this is where the show shines brightest. Kimura Fumino stars as Detective Toko Kisaragi, a rookie cop. She does a very solid job in portraying this insecure yet proud girl who enters working enviroment filled with strong willed men. Since the show is very short, characters are not very fleshed out. Despite this Fumino delivers a performance that makes us care about her character. Aoki Munetaka plays her "cold on the outside" partner and he is just outstanding. A more believable cop you have to search a while to find on the small screen. Even though his character also lacks much backround and characterization. Solid supporting cast, a few missteps though here and there. Special shoutout to Watanabe Ikkei who also does a great job. Would have loved to see more women in the cast.


Story
This is where the show misfired big time for me. Premise wise it sounded very interesting and after the first episode I was a bit intrigued. However it fell flat on it's face with a very predicatble and unoriginal conclusion. I would like to go into detail but there would be too much spoilers. For some parts the show held very tightly to realism but then other parts where really silly and over the top. It clashed in a very bad way. However the execution of the predicatble storyline was pretty competent for the most part, otherwise my story score would have fallen even lower.


So would I recommend this show? Actually, yes. But ONLY if you already like crime dramas. With 5 episodes it is very short for one thing. The cast manages to make you care for what's happening to these underwritten characters. And it has decent music. Don't expect anything you haven't seen before though in terms of story and character motivations etc.

My final score for this show will be 6,5/10. Slightly above avarage. Many Japanese crime dramas are very predictable and unoriginal story wise, just like Ishi no Mayu. But here they had a great cast of characters that I would not mind revisiting. Will I watch the sequel? Yes. But ONLY because I really like Kimura Fumino.

*This is not a bad score! I base my scores like this. 1/10 is garbage, 5/10 is avarage and 10/10 is a masterpiece.

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Un thriller (presque) parfait

Alors que je ne pensais plus jamais entendre parler du détective Takano Hideaki (Aoki Munetaka), voilà qu'il revient en ce début 2022 dans un nouveau spin-off à la trilogie Satsujin Bunsekihan, initiée par Ishi no Mayu. Le très inspiré par l'Égypte, Jashin no Tenbin Koan Bunseki Han, dont il est cette fois-ci le personnage principal. Avant de-ci attaquer, il est temps de se replonger dans un des monuments du thriller policier Japonais des années 2010-2020 qui a donné trois séries et deux spin-offs à chaine WOWOW.

Le postulat de base est classique (trop ?). Une jeune rookie, Kimura Fumino débute dans la police criminelle après de brillantes études. Son passé a aiguisé son sens de la justice, mais pas facile de s'imposer quand on est une jeune femme dans ce milieu d'hommes. Si les clichés sont nombreux, surtout au début, ils sont, ne nous en cachons pas, encore bien présents dans cette société patriarcale et l'excellent jeu des acteurs hommes ne sonne pas faux face à cette misogynie larvée ou affichée. Même son partenaire Aoki Munetaka, pourtant bienveillant et s'attachant à sa jeune collègue, reste maladroit quand il s'agit de vouloir protéger cette "faible femme".

Heureusement, si on peut dire, les évènements vont rapidement l'obliger à gagner en maturité. Tout en apprenant, pour Aoki Munetaka, l'importance des liens entre partenaires, devenant pour elle un mentor, un père, un ami…, et pour lui la clé pour obtenir une sorte de rédemption. Ses deux acteurs transportent la série de cinq épisodes, mais ils ne sont pas seuls. L'équipe de section criminelle, qui sera récurrente tout au long de la trilogie, a une place de choix dans le scénario et les supérieurs également. Les vieux de la vielle, comme Watanabe Ikkei, sont très bons et ne se contentent pas de faire les gentils papys avec notre héroïne. Chaque personnage va se libérer progressivement de son cocon, faisant écho avec le titre plus que le thème.

Mais c'est bien sûr le 3e personnage principal qui donne tout le sel à ce premier volet. Ce Toremi, qui n'apparaîtra que bien tard, mais qui sera présent dès les premières minutes. L'ombre de Seven, Du silence des agneaux et autres thrillers à l'américaine plane sur cette série. Le serial killer dont on entend uniquement la voix déformée une longue partie de l'histoire, se joue clairement de la police japonaise. Comme si elle avait besoin de ça. Le thème principal, rappelé dans le titre, éveille la curiosité. Les cocons de pierre rappelant sciemment les ensevelis de Pompéi est une référence historique qui reste malheureusement sous-exploitée. Même si la mise en scène, joue l'écœurement ou le gore. Non, ne cherchez pas un référencement historique pointilleux dans cette série, avec professeur d'université en side kicks, mais plutôt une plongée dans la vie chaotique de ses policiers dont seul le bon accomplissement de la mission compte. Une mise en parenthèses de leur vie sociale, extrêmement bien menée par la réalisation.

D'une noirceur dérangeante, d'un suspense haletant, impossible d'en dire plus pour donner envie de regarder cette première saison, si ce n'est que la musique est en adéquation extrême avec le thème. Des thèmes musicaux, justement, qui vous marqueront pour longtemps, mais pas que. Le cadrage, les moments de tension, tout est pro et léché. Le cinéma n'est pas loin, s'il n'y avait ses petites maladresses propres aux dramas japonais.

Il faut bien en parler, vu le gâchis que cela représente du point de vue de l'ambiance qu'il a été si difficile à mettre en place. Je parle des flashbacks bien sûr, qui ne sont pas du tout à la hauteur du reste de la réalisation. Les couleurs sépias ne suffisent pas toujours à créer de l'émotion et ce n'est pas le jeu de Nakamura Toru, qui dans une comédie s'en sort toujours haut la main, mais là, il est complètement à côté de la plaque. Une petite fausse note qui agace, mais qui ne gâche en rien le talent de mise en scène et d'acting du reste de la série. Une série noire, qui oblige une fois de plus le Japon à se regarder dans le miroir. Une thématique intéressante, mais sous exploitée, et surtout des acteurs qui donnent le meilleur d'eux même, se libérant du cocon formaté des séries de détectives à la japonaise, pour vraiment embrasser un style plus occidental et sombre.

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