Hello everybody! Welcome back to Sunday Drama. This is where I watch episodes of a Japanese drama. In the past, I’ve covered High School Entrance Exam and I’m Mita, Your Housekeeper. These shows have entertaining stories to tell that can often be a departure from western dramas. In this round, I’m discussing 2015’s thriller Detective v Detectives. The show stars Kitagawa Keiko. Apparently, she was in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. I’m going to take Google’s word for it. Let’s get into episode 1 of our show.
Meet Stone-Cold Sasaki
In 2009, Rena Sasaki rushes onto the scene of a murder. The victim is her younger sister Sakura. Apparently, Sakura had a stalker. The stalker used a detective to track down Sakura and kill her. Needless to say, Rena does not take it well. She signs up for a detectives course at Suma Research. The owner of the PI school, Yasuomi Suma, tells her that she is ill-equipped to be a detective. He says that she never smiles, a weakness when working undercover. She says she doesn’t want to be a detective. She just wants to know the detective process.
A few years later, Suma is apart of Suma Research. She works in the Anti-Detective Department. You see, the detective racket is extremely corrupt. It’s Rena’s job to bust detectives not abiding by the law. Because of this, she is a target by rival agencies that she’s busted. As a matter of fact, in this episode, she is set up quite a few times. But, she manages to escape.
Why Are You Here?
Loner Rena reluctantly gets a new assistant. Her name is Khotoa Minemori. If there is anyone that chose the wrong career path, it is Minemori. She enters the detective field to make her older sister proud. But she is oblivious to the fact that it is a dangerous profession. She attempts to go into the field with Rena. Rena is attacked by a rogue detective. All Minemori does is squats in a corner and screams at the top of her lungs. Meanwhile, her partner is getting punched in the face and thrown around. What are you doing, sis? Hit that fool with a lamp! Anyway, Minemori nearly quits but decides to stick it out until she finds another job.
Tom-Foolery
While investigating who is trying to kill her, Rena learns that the police hired Aribu Detective Agency to help with an inheritance dispute. Both the mother and the son of a man who died claim to have wills leaving the property to them. Aribu claims that the son is the rightful heir and that he has a genuine document. The mother only gets jewelry and a little cash left in a safe deposit box. Rena learns that the cash in the box was printed after the man died and that Aribu doctored a journal from the dead man to use for handwriting analysis to authenticate the will.
When Rena confronts Aribu, he hints to know about what happened to her sister. I think it has something to do with Suma. That’s why he wants to keep her close. And, why he gave her an assistant that is the same age as her sister and can take her dead sister’s place.
Overall
I like the intrigue. It looks like the show is going to give us breadcrumbs. Kind of like How To Get Away With Murder. Each episode we are going to learn a little more about what happened to Sakura. More importantly, we will learn which detective is partially responsible for Sakura’s death.
Wrapping It Up
Well, that’s it for Detective v. Detective. This week, I will review episode 4 of Dr. Stone. We will have more Amnesia on Flashback Friday (God help us). On The Lost Otaku, I will review episode 5 of the fantastic To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts. I’m hoping to find time for episode 3 of the podcast. I will see you later!
Couch Cruisin' 