Dorokei is really something special. The rare sort of drama where almost everything just clicks, and because of that it's difficult to review - where do I even start?

The focus on theft-based crime solving is refreshing, for one. Without being able to rely on the shock value of more violent offenses, it creates for some really unique and memorable scenarios. I can still vividly recall several of the one-off episodic criminals despite it having been months since I last watched.

There's just so much... relatable humanity, in Dorokei. Madarame is one of my favorite drama protagonists of all time - equal parts endearingly stupid, then remarkably sharp when the circumstances call for it; unmotivated when it comes to work, then suddenly passionate when that work involves empathy for someone in front of him. And all of those aspects manage to work together seamlessly. Nakajima Kento did an amazing job portraying him.

As did just about everyone else in their roles. Mr Endo was maybe born to play a sketchy thief with a heart of gold. And often in comedic-leaning detective shows the eclectic side characters will be a bit of a mixed bag, but here I find all of them charming in some way, even Ojiyama, who I definitely wish had been given a less creepy "quirk" but who is also given enough genuinely amusing moments that by the end I couldn't help but like him a bit, too.

The show looks beautiful: so many scenes are lit with these lovely glowing colours, and I feel the absence of aesthetic in other shows a lot harder since this one. Why can't every detective drama look like this, I ask myself. The music is great. The humor is on point. And I imagine not everyone will consider Dorokei a romance, as I do, but it is certainly a show about love and the power that it can have, and I think that's the sort of fiction we all could use a little more of.

If I have any real gripe about Dorokei, it's that I wish it had been an episode or two longer, to give me more time with these characters. Or that a season 2 would hurry up and be announced. (I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.)

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A more low-budget jdrama than what I'm used to, but that's actually not a complaint. In fact I think that quality is perhaps the selling point of this show - it feels closer to reality because of it, as if this actually were the behind the scenes makings of a documentary exposing a real world crime.

The down to earth quality makes the crime itself far more chilling and unsettling than how I usually feel watching more polished crime shows. And I was shocked to find myself tearing up, even, during a particular scene with the family of one of the victims. That realism is where Chase shines.

If it has any big issue it would probably be in its main character. It seems like there was never a firm decision on how to write her? In early episodes she is portrayed as equal parts "bright-eyed newbie looking for big break" & "put-upon underachiever who doesn't want to be bothered" and it's very odd. When she's the one who did the initial research, who passionately campaigned to reinvestigate this case, why is she then complaining about having to do the legwork, or being grossed out by details of the crime scene? I don't know what you expected, girl.

The whole cast is a little lacking, honestly. Nobody here is particularly interesting, but you get the impression it wasn't really aiming to be a character-focused thing anyhow. It would've been a nice bonus to get invested in them, though.

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Could this film have used a little more downtime in between the tension & action? Yes. Would it have been improved with a bit more depth of character re: our leads? Probably. Does it require some major suspension of disbelief that these supposedly normal morgue employees could withstand this much physical punishment? Yeah.

Is it super mega satisfying to watch them ruin Christmas for the people who just ruined theirs? YES.

If you don't mind blood & somewhat intense violence & some minor corpse-related unpleasantness then please watch this movie it's so good. The leads have wonderful chemistry despite this being a pretty straightforward action film and they're likeable almost instantly. If you, like me, find a deeply romantic appeal in seeing 2 characters communicate and work together in sync in a crisis, then this is a film for you.

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This is a show I wanted to like much more than I do. I love handsome yet dubious dads, I love crime shows, and yet... Eh? Which is not to say that it's bad, but rather that it compelled me a lot with its general premise only to let me down a bit, in the end, by not being nearly as good as it could've been.

I watch a lot of detective shows, so I'm used to the usual partnership setups - buddy cops who just don't get along at first and all that. This show instantly got my attention with how unique its potential "partnership" felt. A much deeper conflict of moral alignments! On opposing sides while also being on the same! The possibility of our good cop being gradually swayed towards the side of corruption!

Unfortunately by the end our honorable secondary lead felt superfluous, almost, his POV and this interesting conflict almost totally pushed aside in favor of the main lead's individual issues as well as larger conspiracies. I think this show either needed to pick a narrower central focus or have at least 3-4 more episodes. 8 was simply not enough to deal with everything it is handing to you.

Deeply wish we could've totally cut out the lady team member's side plot entirely to free up some screentime. What a terrible plot to saddle your one important female character with. (Domestic abuse content warning, for anyone who's sensitive to that.)

Some pros so I don't sound too negative: the episodic crimes are interesting conceptually, though a few are a little obvious when it comes to the "whodunnit." I think this is a rare show about corrupt cops saving the day through their questionable methods where I honestly never felt like those actions were being glorified? Something about the vibe of it all. I love how much fun the guy who plays the one villain is having. This character is so aggravating in the most enjoyable way. And perhaps most importantly in a show like this: Mr Takahashi Katsunori is unreasonably attractive in it.

But man, what is with that ending? There had to have been a better way to do it.

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