Hakozume: Koban Joshi no Gyakushu (2021)

Entertaining without cheap thrills

A light comedy with a fine cast (except, perhaps, for Nishino Nanase, who appears a bit weak and timid to look like a police officer). The scene in the first episode when the station chief does his routine inspection of the men and women under his command is hilarious. Toda Erika has the maturity of age and looks to be convincing as the stern but caring training officer, and Nagano Mei is refreshing as the starry-eyed rookie. The narration takes the form of her letters to her father and has the authenticity of inner thoughts confided by a daughter. Muro Tsuyoshi is always good in his quiet, withdrawn way that combines affection and distance, wisdom and cynicism. Miura Shohei and Yamada Yuki also perform well and add a comic touch to many of the situations. Kudos also to the direction and editing that make it an endearing series.

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Light hearted entertainment

This drama is about how two lady cops worked together to look after a small rural town in Japan. The icy cold disciplined senior Fuji and the nervous rookie Kawai. On the surface, it appeared as a light hearted stab at policewomen. On a deeper level, it was about friendship, trust and finding happiness in the work they did together. I thought Kawai did a fantastic job from beginning to end. Her role managed to salvage some of the unnecessary jokes and follies which slowed the pace of the drama down. I almost gave up then. As the drama went on, one could genuinely felt the incredible bonding between them. One must stay to the end to appreciate what comradeship was all about. This was well acted out. Nevertheless, an enjoyable watch. The original sound track was good too. I don’t think I will watch it again.

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Sweet and humorous.

Very well cast series with a lot of enjoyable supporting characters with their own little quirks and funny moments.
It is one of those shows that is a lot less about the overarching story and more about the interactions between the characters and the moments created from that. The story gets resoundingly completed but it's not at all the focus of the show.

The main character was a little too much for me right at the beginning of the series. A little TOO bumbling to begin with, to a point where you start to think there is no conceivable way this person could have made it through police training. But I warmed up to her fairly quickly as she started to develop away from being nearly incompetent.

A few surprisingly deep and emotional side stories in the episodes that catch you off guard, which I am learning is not at all uncommon in these types of J Dramas.

Great series to watch where you can just enjoy the dialogue and characters without having to pay too much attention to the story. This series is much more the journey than the destination.

8/10

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Entertaining Dramatics

Without skipping much in the way of thrills or epic scenes typical to Japanese police/detective dramas (ie: suspect chases, dramatic buddy/partner pairs, exciting cases) this show is one of the most superb stories. I wish there were more episodes, but I do feel that they left off on a good note with more tabs closed than cliffhangers. This story was dramatic, hilarious, heartfelt, genuine, and very smart.


I could see how hard everyone worked (especially since this is during Covid-19) to fulfill their roles. It is hard to wear all of the police gear that they are actually required to, so to see them put it on each day like it was "nothing" or "not that big of a deal" during the summer and Covid, was really something. I think it's very respectable to actual police officers that they cast/writers/staff/director/etc. diligently put in so much hard work for their story to be so accurate, respectable, honest, and relatable.


Some parts of the story were a little predictable, and some parts I kind of got bored with; but those only lasted for a fraction of a second. Its such an even paced show, and the dialogue was really well written. It seemed like everyone was on the same page and were on very good terms while they were working, it's almost tangible within each scene!


If you like the people in this cast line up, even if they only appear for a second or two, then this show is a must watch. They really show off each actors/actresses "best side" when they filmed and created this story. I'm definitely a little sad that its over!

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..VERY LIGHT DRAMA - JUST A FAN OF SOME CASTS..

..I just watch this because of Erika Toda and Mei Nagani..
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..a story of a police officer [Mei] a clumsy one, paired with professional officer [Erika] facing different crime scenes..
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..here, I see the role of Mei as the officer if she really fits to be that one - where sometimes emotions must be set aside just to fulfill a task..
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..a job that sometimes, not your partners or anyone is there to help you - you must stand on your own principle - what your mind thinks and what your heart feels..
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..I do love this series too because not all the time it's not all that serious, they also inserting funny scenes too..
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..the story on the half of the series is where the climax is..
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..the mystery is not that kind of tricky, a very light, not so much action scenes..
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..well it's all I can tell, again, I just watch this because of the casts..

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This drama had some really funny moments. And some really cute ones. And Yamada Yuki was just great as Detective Yamada. And all the relationships among the cops, among the various partner pairs, were also great and sweet and touching.

But the drama lacked any kind of suspense. For a cop drama - even a comedy - it was plain boring, to be honest. It felt like it was written by a teenage girl, the cases and the cop stuff. The cops seemed more like regular small town clerks than actual policemen/women. I don't like or need gung-ho gunslingers but these cops were just lame. The only actually good one was the Police Box Chief, the resident slacker, which is kinda telling.

Overall, it wasn't exactly bad. But it wasn't all that great either. It had its moments but it definitely didn't glue me to the screen.

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Kawaiiii Pervenche

Des duos de flics, on en a eu et on en aura encore tant que les séries et les scénaristes en manque d'inspiration existeront. Mais comment bouder notre plaisir avec en rookie Nagano Mei et en vieux (si on peut dire) briscard confirmé, Toda Erika, deux stars, ayant déjà eu leur Asadora rien qu'à elles, mais surtout habituées des comédies légères, mais souvent efficaces.

Ma petite chouchoute, Nagano Mei retrouve également le fantasque Muro Tsuyoshi pour la soutenir, au point de reprendre son rôle de papa poule. Mais son personnage reste très secondaire par rapport au père surprotecteur et de fait beaucoup moins drôle de Oya Baka Seishun Hakusho. C'est vraiment Toda Erika, par son jeu et son statue de senpai/grande sœur/maman, envers Mei qui donne du charme à cette Arme Fatale des Koubans.

Vous découvrirez donc la vie trépidante des policiers de quartier japonais, chargés d'indiquer le chemin aux personnes âgées et de retrouver qui à fait tomber le bonzaï devant la porte. Rien de nouveau, peut être, car tant de mangas en ont tiré les traits et vu l'ambiance générale de la série, on est certainement en face d'une adaptation (que je n'ai pas lu, évidemment).

Mais vous n'êtes tout de même pas devant un gag-manga de plus. Car malgré l'humour omniprésent, insufflé par le jeu de Mei et Erika, mais aussi des seconds couteaux, flics masculins, c'est beaucoup d'émotion, aussi, qui est distillé dans ce feuilleton. Juste recrutée comme elle le dit elle-même, un peu par hasard, chez les flics. Son rêve de défendre le citoyen va se transformer rapidement en cauchemar tant elle semble éloigné des attentes du métier.

En réalité le scénario cache (mal) quelques secrets qui va changer sa vision du métier, mais surtout sa vie d'adulte, qu'elle apprend à gérer grâce à son mentor un peu trop envahissant. Notre Jeune Marie Pervenche (je me demande si Daniele Évenou ne serait pas une inspiration , d'ailleurs, au moins pour les cheveux) sera très entourées. Notamment dans son minuscule appart, transformant la série en Sitcom, mais toujours à la japonaise. C'est-à-dire avec les bons conseils du Senpai à son disciple pour la faire progresser, malgré les litre d'lcool bus à chaque scène. Le personnage de Mei, un peu trop Candide pourra énerver, mais elle le joue tellement bien. Pas vraiment de scénario à dévoilé car peu évolué, sans être une comédie qui vous fera pisser de rire comme Oya Baka, elle vous détendra après une dure journée de labeure. Un conseil, au producteur, une séquelle réunissant le duo Yamada Yuki, Miura Shohei en personnages principaux pourrait faire son effet, car c'est la bonne surprise de ce drama. Après la déception, Nishino Nanase et Muro Tsuyoshi largement sous exploités, voir transparents.

Bien sûr, on termine et on commence même, une fois n'est pas coutume par un Opening digne d'un (bon) anime punchy à souhait et surtout par un Ending tubesque interpréter par la Sia japonaise, Milet que j'adore. De quoi se mettre de bonne humeur malgré la prune sur le pare-brise de la voiture.

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