Gourmet Detective Goro Akechi (2020)

Enjoyable; not mind-blowing.

What if Sherlock Holmes was a foodie, not a druggie? What if he and Moriarty (and Watson) had a thing? What if Sherlock Holmes was Japanese?

If you had ever been intrigued by any of those possibilities then Goro Akechi, The Gourmet Detective is a show that you will like. Even if none of the above interest you, but you're nonetheless interested in some light-fare to act as a palette cleanser for the tragic dramas of the A-Dramaverse than tuck right in. You will not regret giving this eight, or so, hours of your life.

Basically, you get to follow the adventures of an uber-smart detective and his cute, lovable assistant as they actually solve zero crimes. The positives of the drama are the acting, which is very strong, the characters, which are all likeable--even the villains-- and the cases which I think are meant to be taken more as social commentaries on contemporary Japanese society than as mysteries meant to have a resolution.

The negatives are the confused motivations of the main character and the rather OPness of the villain(s). Although, that is redeemed when their seeming immortality is played for laughs. I also feel that the villain is a character archetype in Japanese entertainment which might be lost to foreigners. I see her more as the fox-spirit trickster type than as a real, grounded character. I am not Japanese or even very literary, but I have watched my fair share of anime, and I am fairly sure I have encountered such characters before. That allowed me not to raise my eyebrows too high at some of the stuff she pulls.

Anyways, if you watch this, just bear in mind that this is a melodrama, a very melodramatic melodrama. Do not expect anything vaguely 'realistic' and you will have a blast.

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In the words of Akechi, "not bad." Meaning that "Bishoku Tantei Akechi Goro" is actually quite delicious.

To be fair, I didn't fully know what I was getting into when I started. There was way more death than I was expecting, and that 4th episode is brutal. It felt like I was watching "Silence of the Lambs" or something, but with less gore. The series blends comedy and horror in a way that is peculiarly successful only in Jdramas. It's funny and it's terrifying. Those two things shouldn't go together, but they do.

Bravo for the casting choices. Tomoya Nakamura is a favorite of mine and the main reason I tried this series. He was exceptional, surpassing what I thought him capable of delivering as a performance. I feel even more vindicated in admiring him now after watching this series because he really is just a darn good actor. Fuka Koshiba as Ichigo was also an excellent choice. She's an actress capable of emoting and doing it really well, so I enjoyed all of her scenes. The role of Mary Magdalene is very melodramatic so Eiko Koike performed accordingly. Sometimes she felt over the top, but overall, she was pretty scary. And then we have the actor who just suddenly jumped at me out of nowhere . . . Shinji Takeda as the chef. WOW! First, he does not look 48. And second, that was one incredibly chilling and compelling performance! Kanta Sato was hilarious as the young detective Takahashi with the world's biggest mancrush on Akechi. I know have even more of a reason to try the film versions of "Mischievous Kiss" starring him as Naoki.

Loved the elements of temptation and how it was used. I'm tired of entertainment that focuses on people giving in to temptation and "turning to the Dark Side" as it were. This series frees Akechi at the end, or that's how it seemed to me. Except for that open-ended ending that Japan seems to love so much. Oh boy, I'm hoping for a 2nd season. Or at least I should watch the side story drama if I can find it with subtitles. And also, I'm a sucker for age-gap romances and this one sandwiched the ML between 2 of them, a younger woman and an older woman who were both just crazy about him. There are some plot issues, such as the convenience of escaping death. All entertainment deals in convenience in some way or another, but falling off a cliff or down an elevator shaft should be pretty permanent in real life. Just not in Jdramas. And of course, the comedy might not appeal to everyone. It's a serious drama dealing with serial killers but then we have crazy comedic moments that are just over-the-top. I laughed, but it might not be to everybody's tastes. It's a dark comedy, yep, that's what it is. But also, I'm sorry, Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed in the Bible until Jesus freed her from them. She wasn't a prostitute or an adulteress or Jesus' lover. Entertainment always, always, always gets this wrong. Mary always gets such an unfair bum rap. I rolled my eyes at the whole Mary Magdalene shtick and moved on, but it still irked me at the beginning.

Overall, "Bishoku Tantei Akechi Goro" was great. Like I said, open-ended ending, but it's such an engagingly filmed drama. I couldn't help but love it, flaws and all.

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