I had no idea coming into this that there was a book behind it (I should have known, having Shigeaki Kato in it). For what I know, Ichiro Kishimi's book explores, through the conversations between a philosopher and a young man, elements of Alfred Adler's psychology, to discuss identity, independence and a sort of mindful approach to living, without other people's expectations and external limitations. Now, here's the thing: this is a detective drama. A detective drama with a leading lady. If you're surprised, imagine how I felt when I heard.

What this drama does is use the book as a sort of backbone to create the character of Ando Ranko (a great performance by Karina), a female detective with a complicated past and a life mission, whose way of living exemplifies, in a very extreme way, the lessons from the book. The conversations, which take place between Shige's character, Ooyama Toshio, and Shiina Kippei's character, Daimonji Tetsuto, frame this main character and provide more context to her actions. Which, while I was watching the show, I felt ok, but looking back and knowing the book's setting, makes me feel pleasantly surprised, because it isn't quite the same to preach this "act according to your own desires and not other people's and have the courage to be hated" to men, in Japanese culture at that, than to see it performed by a woman. I definitely need to give the drama kudos for that choice, especially casting Karina for it. My re-watch value went up when I understood the complexity and courage of this decision, and it got me interested to read the book and see it with the full context, which I'll surely do. The choice to use these two men as a frame and to embody the philosophy of the book on a female lead, a female lead who happens to be an unmarried 32-year-old woman who's stellar in a job mostly done by men in Japanese society deserves my attention.

The detective drama aspect of it, however, doesn't stray too far from what's been seen in jdramas very frequently: main detective is cold, calculating and incredibly smart, with an unparalleled instinct to solve mysteries; the sidekick is kind, emphatic, loyal and wears his heart on his sleeve, they complement each other in their partnership though it takes time for them to understand each other. You've seen it before, I've seen it before, there's no much going on there for originality. There's also the same theme of singular cases which have an underlying bigger case that relates to the protagonist in a personal level, which you've also seen before.

The cast of characters, though, is a delight to see, Sakurada Dori and Itsuki Sagara do a very good job especially; and all cases relate to elements from Adler's psychology which were a bit hard to follow at times for a non-Japanese speaker like myself, but it always explored interesting topics of self-knowledge and life in society that was interesting for a detective drama to have, especially when it was portrayed through female characters (and there are a lot of good ones in this).

If you're looking for a detective drama for the thrill, the mystery, the twists and turns, this one doesn't particularly stand out in comparison to others, it isn't the worst but it isn't the best. However, if psychology is your thing, if you like dramas that make you think and you're fond of strong female leads who are unapologetic about being great at what they do, this is a good one of those.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book to find and a NEWS song to hear on repeat.