Keizoku; or, Tales from the Dark Side
If my
father were alive, he’d say: Till your heart stops beating, dash for the truth.
That’s what it means to be a detective. Those were his last words.
I found myself in a dire need to watch some
mystery/detective series. I don’t know why, but perhaps, with the advent of
fall, I felt in the mood for a serious and dark drama with a case-of-a-week
structure. To my surprise, the glorious internet hinted at… Keizoku 2 SPEC! “But
what is it?” I asked myself. I watched the first episode and, though I liked
it, I quickly realised that there is some sort of a continuity about which I
was uniformed. As a result, after doing some further research, I discovered
that SPEC is actually a second entry in the series, which started back in 1999.
Well, for the continuities sake, I put SPEC on hold in order to check out the
original Keizoku series, and, oh boy, I don’t regret my decision. Here’s my
review of Keizoku: Unsolved Cases (1999).
Release Info
Developed by: Yukihiko Tsutsumi Starrring: Miki Nakatani, Atsuro Watabe, Sarina Suzuki, Raita Ryu
Language: Japanese Original Title: ケイゾク No. of eps.: 12
Synopsis
Shibata Jun (Miki Nakatani) is a Tokyo University graduate
sent down to Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for internship. She is
assigned to much-despised Section 2, which does not handle big cases, but instead
focuses on solving “pending” ones, having accumulated stacks of unsolved
mysteries over decades. Shibata, due to her unusually perceptive mind and
outstanding deduction skills, begins solving cases one by one. Eventually,
co-officers start helping her out. Nevertheless, one of them, Mayama (Atsuro
Watabe) suffers from a dark and painful past. A hidden enemy, lurking in the
shadows, is about to destroy Mayama. Shibata has to discover the villain’s true
identity before it’s too late.
Keizoku is a very well thought-out crime thriller that will definitely
keep you on the edge of your seat. In spite of being gruesome and creepy, there are still some comedic
elements in it. Initially, the show starts out very much in the style of a Monk (2002)
format: there is a certain super difficult case, Section 2 does some wacky
shenanigans along the way, and the culprit turns out to be the least suspected
person in the room. However, with episode 8, the whole show takes a U-turn and
enters the surreal realm, in which we are not sure what is true and what isn’t.
Things go super-ultra dark as the characters are running amok through the
curtains of psychotic visions while the body count keeps rising and rising...
Now a few words about the characters:
Sergeant Shibata Jun (Miki Nakatani): Main protagonist of
the show. Her mind goes into a full Rain Man mode whenever she sees a case
file. Her late father was a prominent and well-respected detective in the
police force. Famous attributes: a neck scarf, longish coat, and greasy hair.
Detective Mayama Toru (Atsuro Watanabe): Disillusioned and
complacent officer with a lot of experience. He was a prominent investigator
back in the past, but a personal tragedy broke his psyche. Frequently goes out
of control as he gets easily provoked by suspects. A badass with a gun. Does not believe in the
institution of law.
Aya Kido (Sarina Suzuki): An officer demoted and transferred
from Section 1. Used to be a top undercover agent, but now she is forced to
carry case-files down to Section 2’s basement. Very often has to step into
action in order to save entrapped Shibata.
Section Chief Nonomura (Raita Ryu): Head of Section 2.
Treats Shibata very kindly, because he and her father used to be colleagues in
the past. Now, he is nothing of a detective and spends time counting days to
his retirement. He also plans on divorcing her wife, so he could marry a
mysterious 17-year-old Miyabi.
Kondo Akio (Yuu Tokui) and Taniguchi Tsuyoshi (Hidekazu
Nagae): The first one is a police officer who behaves more like a salaryman. He
sits most of the time in front of a computer and a software tells him to call
it a day at 5:15. Avid dancer. Taniguchi, on the other hand, is a muscle man
who is required in heated situations.
With regard to the show itself, below are short descriptions
and my thoughts on individual episodes (I tired to keep them spoiler free):
Ep. 1: Phone Call from the Dead Man- The show starts right
off the bat with its mystery component as a guy receives a phone call from a
friend who’s supposed to be dead. Shibata volunteers to investigate the case
and plot twists start to happen. Very engaging first story.
Ep. 2: Punishment Table of Ice- A security guard walks into
a storage and discovers a body, stabbed with a knife, lying on the altar.
Awesome suspense story, which delivers laughs as well as a convincing “whodunit”
explanation at the very end.
Ep. 3: The Wiretapped Murder- My least favourite episode of
the whole show. Wife of a murdered boutique owner discovers that his former
employee/lover participated in the murder. As a result, Section 2 wiretaps the
lover’s apartment only to discover that she was murdered. The development of
the mystery is interesting but the resolution is over-dramatised and full of
plot holes. How the culprit actually managed to carry in and install a fake
wall in a block of flats without raising the attention of its residents?
Ep. 4: The Room of Certain Death- This mystery is a huge
improvement over the previous one. Shibata and Mayama are sent to investigate
the allegedly “cursed” room in a traditional inn. Legend has it that people
who intend to sleep there do not make it through the night and are found dead
the next morning. Extremely hilarious episode with an Agatha Christie-feel to
it.
Ep. 5: The Man Who Saw the Future- Section 2 makes a blunder
when failing to find a missing person. Desperate wife of a man in question
turns to television for help. In consequence, an ESP expert uses his powers to
locate the husband. He travels with the camera crew to an office building where they
find the murdered victim. Shibata arrives shortly after only to claim that ESP
expert commited the murder. Yet, how was that possible if he was constantly
being recorded by a camera? Interesting inverted detective story.
Ep. 6: The Wickedest Bombing-Demon- Things are about to get
stirred as Mayama’s former superior, Lt. Tsubosaka, asks Section 2 for help
on a case he has been working on for the last 15 years. Only Shibata signs up
for it and starts the investigation. Unfortunately, this episode repeats the
mistakes of the third one due to overcomplicated exposition and adding too much drama.
Ep. 7: Death Curse of the Oil Painting- By far, my top
favourite episode. There is a cursed, hellish-like, painting and people die
after witnessing that playing children actually moved on the canvas! In
addition, there’s a great villain with an awesome killing motif! Mayuko Takata
really had the potential to become a serious actress, but instead, she received
the label of Iron Chef personality.
Ep. 8: Farewell, Lovely Cutthroat- Shibata is invited by her
friend Meiko to a party. Next morning, Shibata wakes up in a hotel next to a dead
guy. Now, she has to act like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive (1993) in order to prove
her innocence. At the very end, it turns out that there’s a hidden mastermind
behind all this...
Ep. 9: Future Revenge of the Past- An episode which marks
the character’s descend into the spiral of madness. Mayama’s back-story is
finally revealed, people being to drop dead, and the premise of a showdown with
the arch-nemesis is set up. This story is equally thrilling as well as
heartbreakingly depressing. I had to give myself a two-day break after this
episode.
Ep. 10: Your Own Two Eyes- Mayama leaves a blood trail
which alarms the MPD officials. Shibata and Section 2 members set out on a
search for Mayama, convinced of his innocence. In the meantime, it turns out
that the arch-nemesis may not be the real arch-nemesis. Lots of twisted and
bloody moments, definitely not for the fainthearted.
Ep. 11- The Kiss of Death’s Flavour- Emotionally-charged
series’ finale as Shibata reunites with Mayama and the two stand to a battle
they are sure to lose. I want to keep this review spoiler free, so I’ll limit
myself to say that the episode has an action showdown, ends with a
cliff-hanger, and then adds a plot twist on top of that. Great and
unpredictable story.
Ep. 12- The Cursed Tree That Fulfils a Contract of Death
(SP)- A 97-minute-long special episode which takes place a couple of months
after the events from the previous one. Shibata has been promoted to a chief of
a district station, but she chases after a case of a cursed tree. According to
rumours, people die after their names are carved in the wood. In the meantime,
Tohyama, a Kyoto University graduate, does his internship at Section 2. He
proves to be the total opposite of Shibata, which provides lots of laughs. The
overarching story is continued.
To sum up, if you like a dark police drama with intriguing
mysteries and surreal intermissions, then Keizoku is a must-watch for you. In addition, the music score is brilliant (plus Nakatani's intro song "Chronic Love"). The
only thing I disagree with, as far as the show’s criticism is concerned, is the claim that it’s
too dated ‘cause it’s from the 90s. Sure, the show may not be perfect, but its time frames are not the issue. It may have a one cliff-hanger too far
(a lead-in to a theatrical film) and the 4:3 aspect ratio can be bothersome,
but only because the show’s camera work was too ambitious for that TV format.
In my opinion, the 90s feel only reinforces the atmosphere of the grim world in
which Keizoku is set. Being overshadowed by its successor, Keizoku 2 SPEC, this
drama is not getting the attention it deserves. Personally, I’d love to see a
modern follow-up to Shibata and Mayama’s story.
Overall score: 9/10
