Koshonin 2 Review

Title: Koshonin 2

AKA: The Negotiator Season 2

Genre:  Detective

Episodes: 9

Broadcast period: 2009-Oct to 2009-Dec

Cast: Yonekura Ryoko, Kakei Toshio, Sasano Takashi, Takaoka Sousuke and Shirota Yu.

The story continues with Usagi Reiko (Yonekura Ryoko) in the SIT (Special Investigation Team) as a negotiator. After the entire Mariya Kyosuke (Shirota Yu) situation, Usagi has finally become a real part of the team. Amari Yusuke (Takaoka Souske) on the other hand, has become doubtful in whether he is suited to be in the SIT, and has found him liking the Juvenile District, even starting to counsel a teen who has locked himself in a room due to bullying.

When a series of cases occur involving the same type of gun, they find out that a certain ‘Summer Claus’ has been delivering guns by mail, to regular people - from families with children to old people’s houses. Though attaining 14 guns, they discover that there are 27 guns distributed all over Tokyo, and now it’s up to the team to recover the rest, before any more victims appear..

I’ve been seriously waiting 2½ years for this to be subbed, and somehow not really worth the while. I mean I remember season one to be brilliant and it’s not like the second season is bad, just okay if you ask me.

I really wasn’t that caught, and I was partially bored watching this. I don’t know what to think of it, I mean it really didn’t shock me or surpised me. Like I kind of knew what was going to happen most of the time - EXCEPT the deaths.. That took me by surprised, and what made me really confused was that even if they happened. No one really seemed affected? Lol. I don’t know. I rather just remember season 1.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Koshonin Review

Title: Koshonin
AKA: The Negotiator
Genre: Police, Crime
Episodes: 8
Broadcast period: 2008-Jan to 2008-Feb
Theme song: Ogon Soul by Shonen no Kaze
Cast: Yonekura Ryoko, Jinnai Takanori, Takahashi Katsumi, Takaoka Sousuke and Shirota Yu.

Usagi Reiko (Yonekura Ryoko) is a tough police woman: she is strong, wilful, smart, and not to mention stubborn. When she finally enters the SIT (Special Investigation Team) who works as a negotiating team, she is faced with opposition from not only the criminals, but the rest of the male dominant team, being the only woman there. Kirisawa Keigo (Jinnai Takanori) the head of the department sees her as a huge burden and can’t see why a woman is to be let on the team. Together with her there is another newbie, Amari Yusuke (Takaoka Sousuke), who is treated differently because of his gender, but has less of a brain than Usagi. Besides having to deal with the men in SIT, she occasionally visits the mentally disturbed convict, Mariya Kyosuke (Shirota Yu) who was the main suspect in a case involving her father’s death, 5 years ago...

To be honest I started this drama because I missed Japanese dramas, and what other to watch than a drama that’s about a woman’s fight in a man dominant world? And as I was watching it I thought it was pretty dull for a police/action drama. But I ended up liking it. When I started watching this, I was annoyed, because I thought I didn’t have ‘the red thread’, meaning something linking the story together. I was wrong. I should’ve gotten used to Japanese drama already; they all have one MAIN story, followed by small ones. Though not all succeed, this one does it remarkebly well.
The actress Yonekura Ryoko I’ve never seen or heard of before, but I’ve become a fan (though I find her staring odd, creeps me a bit). The performance I was blown away by, was by Shirota Yu, like can you say AMAZING?! Now I’ve seen him as a bully, geek and a mental person. I put very high standards on crazy people, because you need skill and you need to give that “chill feeling “, in order to make it believable, which he scores pretty high on. To sum up, GREAT watch!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts