99.9 2 Review

Title: 99.9 season 2

AKA: Criminal Lawyers season 2

Genre: Legal, Drama

Episodes: 9

Broadcast period: 2018-Jan to 2018-Mar

Theme song: Find the Answer by Arashi

Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Kagawa Teruyuki and Kimura Fumino

“The Japanese criminal justice system has a conviction rate of 99.9%. Once indicted, a guilty verdict is a near certainty. This drama series tells the story of the lawyers who take on these difficult cases, so that they may find the facts hidden within the remaining 0.1%.” (Intro of each episode)

Returning to where we left off, Miyama Hiroto (Matsumoto Jun) still works “losing” cases for Madarame Law Firm. Joining him this time is a former judge, Ozaki Maiko (Kimura Fumino), who firmly and blindly, believes in the judicial system of Japan - which is completely opposite from Miyama.

Not being able to unite in the beginning, the two learn to adapt to each other’s workstyle, and soon enough, together with top defense lawyer Sada Atsuhiro (Kagawa Teruyuki), they seek justice for cases with a 0,01 % success rate…

So, 2 years back, I watched the first season, and didn’t not fancy it. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t that into it. The second season is a bit better. I like that there is an exact opposite of Miyama, making it two sides, instead of just the one. Also, Ozaki is really cool. I like her character being herself, even if she is caught in a disadvantage, which the previous lead didn’t have. All characters are pretty much the same, and the acting was pretty much at point - though the humor and speed of conversations, is hard to follow, which it was in season one as well. The stories are good, and the flow of the back plot is great, so it made it a bit more enjoyable.

All in all, a better season, and interesting storytelling.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Witch's Court Review

Title: Witch’s Court

AKA: Witch at Court

Genre: Legal, Crime,

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2017-Oct to 2017-Nov

Cast: Jung Ryu Won, Yoon Hyun Min, Jun Kwang Ryul, Kim Yeo Jin and Lee Il Hwa.

In 1986, four factory workers were victims of sexual torture during a strike, by the officer Jo Gab Soo (Jun Kwang Ryul). 10 years later Jo Gab Soo, now a political nominee, was trialed for the offences. Kwak Yong Sil (Lee Il Hwa) is a noodle restaurant owner, living with her teenage daughter, Ma Yi Deum. When the trial goes public, Young Sil was reluctant to come forward, but thinking about the other women, she decided to stop hiding and come forward, only to be found by Jo Gab Soo, and mysteriously disappear. Yi Deum, unaware of the situation, tried to find her mother, but was unsuccessful.

20 years pass and Yi Deum (Jung Ryeo Won) is now a prosecutor aiming for the top. Known to use dirty tricks, and cheat during trial, she has gotten herself a bad reputation with co-workers. And when her team leader is accused of sexual harassment, she tries her best to keep it buried. Things go haywire, and she is demoted to the Crimes Against Girls Unit dealing only with sex crimes, together with the prosecutor of the case she tried to bury, Yeo Jin Wook (Yoon Hyun Min).

While dealing with these cases, Prosecutor Yi Deum, with the help of Prosecutor Jin Wook, soon starts to understand the victim’s perspective, but also starts to find links to her mother’s past and disappearance…

To start up, I was ecstatic when I found out that there was going to be a Korean drama revolving around sexual abuse/misconduct, because it is so rare and underplayed. Unfortunately, this drama missed the mark of actually doing what was supposed to be an eye opener. Even though the manage to show the true world of these situations and crimes, the fact that they managed to undertone it once again with just the wort type of character that could be the lead for this type of story. I get that the drama was about her “witch” personality but I felt so uncomfortable most of the time, that I started to dislike the lead more and more, instead of feeling any form of sympathy for her. They tried to show her backstory and make her likeable in situations, being all ‘badass’ but it honestly just infuriated me even more. At the end I didn’t even care for her.

Putting all that aside, as said the stories of the victims are amazingly and brutally honest, and I like that. Making stories that make you realize things, instead of wanting to avoid them, is good storytelling - which this drama does. It just needed a different lead actress/main character. I think I would have enjoyed it with just the main lead actor… and he was such a dull character too.

All in all, I wouldn’t recommend. My ratings are both based on the acting and story, but the heart rating is my experience of it.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts

Secret Forest Review

Title: Secret Forest

AKA: Forest of Secrets / Stranger

Genre: Drama, Legal, Law, Mystery, Thriller

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2017-Jun to 2017-Jul

Cast: Cho Seung Woo, Bae Doo Na, Yoo Jae Myung and Lee Joon Hyuk.

Hwang Shi Mok (Cho Seung Woo) is prosecutor known for his cold and logical attitude. He is never fazed by anything, and has no greed for power or money. Unbeknown to everyone else, he had a brain surgery as a kid, which changed his emotional status, unable to show emotions and has a lack of them as well. As a grownup he has learned to use this logical mind for justice, as that is one thing he values. Though this value isn't appreciated by everyone.

One day everything is set into turmoil when a "sponsor" for the wealthy and powerful is murdered in his home, and Shi Mok is the first on sight. Trying to preserve the scene, he meets Han Yeo Jin (Bae Doo Na) a police officer as bent on justice as he is, but is more open to working with prosecutors than her co-workers.

After catching the suspect, and putting him behind bars, Yeo Jin finds some evidence that might just put everything back to square one. This also shakes thing up with the higher ups, so the duo starts to do their own investigations, and they find that they are each others’ counterparts, making them perfect partners to take down the corrupt...

This drama has two of my very favorite actors in the lead, which is why even though the storyline didn't speak to me at first, the two made me start it. As the drama progressed, the drama did also, and thankfully it just became better and better. I have to say though that the drama would not be as good if there were other actors in the leads, and to be fair it is very legal/investigatory, so it can be a bit boring for those that aren't into those things. It has quite a lot of talking, and not so much action when comparing, but I personally didn't feel any loss because of it. Another thing I really enjoyed was that there wasn't any love story - at least not a forced one, which makes it much more focused on the story.

So all in all, a great story and superb acting – but it is based on the legal part, so if that is not your thing, you might not agree with the rating.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Defendant Review

Title: Defendant

AKA: Innocent Defendant

Genre: Legal, Thriller

Episodes: 18

Broadcast Period: Jan-2017 to Mar-2017

Cast: Ji Sung, Uhm Ki Joon, Kwon Yoo Ri, Oh Chang Sook, Uhm Hyun Kyung, Son Yeo Eun, Shin Rin Ah,

Park Jung Woo (Ji Sung) is a star prosecutor with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. His world turns upside down one day when he wakes up to find himself in a police station jail, accused of killing his wife, Yoon Ji Soo (Son Yeo Eun), while his daughter is missing. What roles do identical twins Cha Sun Ho and Cha Min Ho (both played by Uhm Ki Joon), successors to the mighty Chamyung Group, and Sun Ho’s wife, Na Yeon Hee (Uhm Hyun Kyung), play in Jung Woo’s current predicament? Jung Woo has temporary amnesia and has no recollection of what happened. But with the help of public defender Seo Eun Hye (Kwon Yoo Ri), can Jung Woo find a way to prove his innocence while tracking down the real murderer?

Ji Sung ♥ That drama had everything. Great script and directing, powerful acting, suspense, many twist and not even for a moment was it boring. Cha Min Ho and Park Jeong Woo were such a great duo, they had the most radiant chemistry for a villain-innocent relationship. The prisoners were definitely scene stealers, loved every moment with them, they were in charge of the humor in this really sad and frustrating drama. During the drama I wouldn’t be surprised if Ji Sung shed at least one liter of tears, you could literally see the passion he drew to his character. And that little girl? Damn. Give her an award already. However, not all of it was perfect. Now from a legal standpoint (I’m no expert, but I do know a little), but the system was one big mess, I would really not have anything to do with a legal system like this, a little turn off for this quality of drama. However, I enjoyed it for the acting and effort put into it. I give Ji Sung 10  ♥ from me, and for the drama:

☆☆☆☆ ½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ ½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Bunjis Verdict

This drama is one of those that had hype, but this time I wasn’t aware of it. Which initially surprised me since the lead is Ji Sung, but later I was rather grateful since it didn’t cloud my judgment at all.

The idea of this drama and the casting is seriously on point, but I kind of felt that they dragged some things on for too long. I won’t tell which ones as it will spoil, but things that don’t directly involve the storyline. It didn’t necessarily ruin the story or drama, but it made it hard to take serious occasionally.  Fortunately, the story is intriguing and it is an interesting watch, so things like love story become unwanted - and thankfully it doesn’t really have that. I do have to say, at one point I felt bored - because of the ‘draggy’ parts, and I felt like this wasn’t my ‘type’ of drama at one point, but to sum up: this is a good drama with great acting, and I think no matter which type of drama you prefer, this will be a good watch

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Whisper Review

Title: Whisper

Genre: Legal, Chaebol, Melodrama

Episodes: 17

Broadcast period: 2017-Mar t 2017-May

Cast: Lee Bo Young, Lee Sang Yoon, Kwon Yeol, Park Se Young and Kim Kap Soo.

After covering a case with one of South Koreas biggest law firms Taebak, Detective Shin Young Joos (Lee Bo Young) father gets caught up in a murder trial. He is accused of killing one of his friends, and due to the overwhelming evidence against him, he is sure to get convicted. Refusing to believe her father could do so and confident that he is set up, Young Joo decides to investigate the case herself, and decides to meet up with the judge of the trial, as she is afraid Taebak might cover the whole thing. Lee Dong Joon (Lee Sang Yoon) is the judge on the case, and as fate has it, he is known to be honest and fair in his judging.

The two meet, and Young Joo finally sees hope, deciding to trust her most important evidence to Dong Joon. But soon enough Taebak begins to bother and threaten Dong Joon, and is unable to judge fairly. This infuriates Young Joo, and she decides to take revenge on Dong Joo and Taebak with all means possible…

So apparently this drama was hyped because of the lead couple - they acted in another drama together, and it was very popular. Considering the supposed chemistry, it wasn’t that great. As a whole the story is weak and so is the overall backdrop, even though the idea is good, but with such a weak story I wasn’t really satisfied. I think I was expecting much more than this offered, but once I got over that it was okay to watch. I still felt that those “oh yeah!” moments were either forced or just simply blown out of proportion. If you think about how ‘easy’ the last few episodes were, with the evidence piling up against the antagonist, the beginning seemed a bit dull. Luckily the chemistry was good, and it was interesting to watch, so it didn’t feel like a complete waste.

All in all an okay drama to watch, but has a bit too much seriousness for a casual watch.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Masked Prosecutor Review

Title: Masked Prosecutor

AKA: The Man in the Mask

Genre: Action, Comedy, Legal, Drama

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2015-May to 2015-Jul

Cast: Joo Sang Wook, Kim Sun Ah, Uhm Ki Joon and Park Young Gyu.

Ha Dae Chul (Joo Sang Wook) is a corrupt prosecutor willing to look through things if he is payed for it. This makes him butt heads with Yoo Min Hee (Kim Sun Ah), a detective working on cases involving criminals Dae Chul is supposed to be prosecuting. But little does she know is that Dae Chul is a masked vigilante, making criminals confess and sends them to the police station. The truth is Dae Chul used to train wrestling at Min Hee’s Uncles gym, where he learned to wrestle to impress Min Hee. Then he meets his real father who tells him about his mother and how she betrayed him and Dae Chul to live a richer life with his father’s best friend.

This makes Dae Chul seek revenge by becoming a prosecutor, but due to his honest personality can’t let criminals go, so he becomes the masked prosecutor to bring them to justice…

Of all the Korean dramas, out there I was expecting (hoping) this would be more like the Japanese types of drama, and it does have all the elements, but Koreans just take themselves way to serious for it to be a funny and moral story. I understand what they were trying to do, and since they couldn’t keep it to the ‘masked vigilante prosecutor’ they tried to add another plot in the plot, making it more of 3 plot type of drama, all in one. Of course, as all other Korean dramas they have loads of sub plots, but they kind of die off, as well as the actual cases in police and prosecutor offices. I was expecting a light drama, but somehow ended up with another wannabe light version of makjang. I dunno why Koreans love birth secrets and revenge so much…

Anyways, the cast was fun, and to be fair I had a few laughs here and there, but else this drama is not really one of my favorites – even if I must say it grew on me.

So, all in all, an okay drama that I don’t think I wouldn’t recommend.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

The Good Wife Review

Title: The Good Wife

AKA: His Scandal, Her Life

Genre: Legal, Political

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Jul-2016 to Aug-2016

Cast: Jun Do Yun, Yoo Ji Tae, Yoon Kye Sang, Kim Seo Hyung, Nana, Lee Won Geun, Cha Soon Bae, 

The drama about a woman, Kim Hye Kyung (Jun Do Yun), who assumes responsibility for her family after her husband, Lee Tae Joon (Yoo Ji Tae), is thrown into prison after a very public scandal. Lee Tae Joon was a prosecutor with the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office who gets sent to prison and whose wife is then propelled to return to her former career as a lawyer to support her family.

An excellent drama. I haven’t watched the American version, so I’m not going to compare it to the original. For me this was a good drama. The legal aspect were not that hard to understand, and it was a nice mix between the cases and the wife’s problem. I had one problem though. The lead actress’ acting were a little stiff in my opinion. Maybe the problem is Jeon Do Yeon's eyes, she didn't change her expression from start to finish of this drama, her eyes showed sadness, even when she's happy. Talking about acting, Yoo Ji Tae! Wow, if eyes could kill, even though he was a villain in this drama, I couldn't help but be on his side. Another actor that took me by surprise: Nana! I loved them all but those two were my favorites!
All in all very satisfied with it. 

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ (1/2) / 3 (1/2) out of 5 hearts

99.9 Review

Title: 99.9

AKA: Criminal Lawyers

Genre: Legal, Drama

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2016-Apr to 2016-Jun

Theme song: Daylight by Arashi

Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Kagawa Teruyuki, Eikura Nana and Kishibe Ittoku.

In Japan the conviction rate is 99,9% which means when someone is prosecuted the chance for being exonerated is only 0,1%, so if you are innocent your chances are very low. This drama follows a special team of lawyers and paralegals challenge the system by taking on the cases of 0,1% to find the truth.

Miyamoto Hiroto (Matsumoto Jun) is a lawyer who lives for finding the truths behind cases that includes investigating himself. Though he has zero interest in money, he has a high sense of honesty.

When he offered a job in the special unit he declines at first, but after some time he agrees as his curiosity for cases increases. Partnered with him and also an ambitious man is Sada Atsuhiro (Kagawa Teruyuki) who hates the idea of honesty, and prefers to work FOR the clients so that they can win – different than Miyamoto who refuses to lie no matter the reason. The two are forced to lead the team, but soon find a common goal and try to win the 0,1% cases...

Another Arashi drama! I simply love their dramas since they are probably some of the best Japanese idol actors out there, good enough to lose the 'idol' and just be seen as actors. Matsumoto has had a couple of good ones, and to be honest I was afraid he'd do a romance again (not that he's bad at it, just way too typical), so you can imagine my surprise when I saw him in a drama with no romance. It is also one of the few where the focus is mainly on the sub-stories of the drama, and doesn't really have a main storyline that fills the plot. This makes it easy to follow even if it is quite heavy with the law and legal talk going around.

Besides that, the general drama is not really one of my favorite. It is interesting, but not something you watch to follow every single week, and it doesn't keep you on edge – not that it is necessary for it – but it makes it pretty slow paced while watching.

All in an okay drama to watch, but not a drama that keeps you on edge.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho Review

Title: Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho

AKA: My Lawyer Mr. Jo / Neighborhoor Lawyer Mr. Jo

Genre: Law, Legal, Family

Episodes: 20

Broadcast period: 2016-Mar to 2016-May

Cast: Park Shin Yang, Kang So Ra, Ryu Soo Young, Park Sol Mi, Kang Shin Il and Kim Dong Joon.

Jo Deul Ho (Park Shin Yang) lives as a beggar ever since he was betrayed by his chief. He lost his wife, home and position as a well-known prosecutor at the high court. He has no ambition left nor any wish for revenge, as his only reason to stay alive is so he can see his daughter get married when the time comes.

Everything changes when he runs into Lee Eun Jo (Kang So Ra) who is chasing a pickpocket. When finally catching the pickpocket he is surprised to find out that the pickpocket is his fellow orphan Kang Il Goo (Choi Jaw Hwan) from the same orphanage. At first Il Goo refuses to see Deul Ho, but soon warms up to him, only to pass away shortly after. Il Goo’s death leaves Deul Ho enraged and he decides to get to the bottom of the murder, which leads him back to schemes and corruption he had faced before, and had lost. This time he is determined to have justice prevail…

This drama I watched as it aired due to the quite interesting screen play and intriguing story. Though I found 20 episodes to be pretty long I have to say that the overall drama is really good. I remember Park Shin Yang from SIGN and I loved him there, so this I had to watch. I was quite annoyed at Kang So Ra’s character, I found her to be over acting. I haven’t really watched much of her dramas, but this is not something I would pin her as a good actress for. Generally, the female cast was just so typical and fairly dull, except for Hwang Suk Jung – the one that acted as Mr. Jo’s assistant – she was quite fun.

The drama is pretty typical as a Korean law/romance drama goes, but other than that I liked following all the legal stuff. I wasn’t really interested in the coupling or other things like that. So I enjoyed it.

To sum up, a typical Korean drama with a little bit of 2010s.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Pride & Prejudice Review

Title: Pride and Prejudice
AKA: Lawless World
Genre: Drama, Human, Legal, Romance
Episodes: 21
Broadcast period: Oct-2014 to Jan-2015
Cast: Baek Jin Hee, Choi Jin Hyuk, Choi Min Soo, Son Chang Min, Lee Tae Hwan, Choi Woo Shik, Jang Hang Sun

Young prosecutors form a legal team. They are passionate and obsessive about solving cases and fight injustice, even If they have to go against the higher authorities. They all have different personalities and come from different backgrounds, they are forced to learn how to cooperate and adjust with each other. Han Yul Moo (Baek Jin Hee) comes from a poor family, she thrives to become a prosecutor to solve the case about her murdered brother that led her family to desperation, after meeting the handsome prosecutor Goo Dong Chi (Choi Jin Hyuk) she finds new clues that leads him being a suspect. Now she has to work together with him to prove that he is the one that killed her brother. Goo Dong Chi is an intelligent and righteous prosecutor, and does what he can to help the weak and poor people, how would he react when he finds out that one of his colleagues is trying to gather evidence against a crime he has been involved in 15 years ago?

Where do I start with this one… I fell in love with it in the beginning. I think this has been a great year for Choi Jin Hyuk. The intertwined stories of 3 very different prosecutors and a detective keep you on your toes as they unravel the secrets of each other’s pasts. The passionate performances from the powerhouses like Choi Min Soo and Son Chang Min… whew talk about some great drama actors!
 Even though this show falls into the legal category it doesn’t feel overly legal-ish, and probably most people who like typical Korean romantic dramas would have a good time watching it. Overall I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice far more than I expected, so I would definitely recommend it.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½out of 5 hearts

HERO 2 Review

Title: Hero 2

Genre: Legal, Crime

Episodes: 11

Broadcast period: 2014-Jul to 2014-Sep

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Kitagawa Keiko, Sugimoto Tetta, Hamada Gaku and Masana Bokuzo.

Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) has returned to the Josai branch after once again being transferred. This time the office has gotten new prosecutors and new paralegals except two familiar faces. As always Kohei does his usual by causing turmoil in the office, be it his clothes or his way of investigating every case in detail.

This time around his paralegal and partner is Asagi Chika (Kitagawa Keiko) a fierce yet honest woman, who does not like to waste time or beat around the bush. She is very firm and likes to keep prosecutors on track, as she believes that is what she is supposed to do. That is until she meets Kuryu who helps her understand what it is like to work at the office and what her real duty is…

Finishing the (current) last of Kuryu Kohei’s story, the second season is better than all others I have watched. Not acting wise or not cast wise, but the overall story is better now if you ask me, and kind of has a better idea of what it’s like being in the office as a prosecutor - also in court. The thing that struck me both in the first season and the movie, which is also mentioned in season 2, is that the prosecutors are seen as bad in Japan: way different here where I live where the defense lawyers are seen as the bad guys.

Kimura as always does his job as Kuryu flawlessly and having Keiko on the cast makes it even better. The rest are quite brilliant as well, which I have no objections to.

All in all a great second season, and great cast.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

HERO Movie Review

Title: Hero

Genre: Legal, Crime

Broadcast date: September 8, 2007

Origin:  Japan

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Matsu Takako, Abe Hiroshi, Lee Byung Hun, Otsuka Nene, Katsumura Masanou, Kohinata Fumiyo, Yashima Norito and Ayase Haruka.

After the entire incident with the Kimura family on Yamaguchi Island, Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) returns to the Josai branch in Tokyo, and teams up with his former colleagues and former paralegal Amamiya Maiko (Matsu Takako) who is not forgiving Kohei for not keeping his promises to her.

When homicide case lands on Kuryus desk after another prosecutor has personal business to take care of, Kuryu is shocked when the accused pleads not guilty after having plead guilty before. That being a common thing for prosecutors they decides to not think too much of it, but soon they find out that there is so much more going on behind the homicide. And for some reason the secretary of a former minister is helping the accused…

Compared to the drama and the special the movie has a bigger focus on actual court room situations, which happens after indication of suspects. And to be honest it kind of gives a better idea of how capacious a prosecutor’s work actually is. Also compared to the other cases this one is kind of a bigger scale type of case, and involves all the prosecutors, which yeah we do see in the drama and special, but here it really goes all the way, and I like that the original cast is in it. Besides that I would’ve liked them to make it a bit faster, it really goes on a slow pace. Of course there are tense moments but there are way too many of those quiet and dull moments they could have cut out or replaced.

But all in all a good movie that you could watch with ease…

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

HERO SP Review

Title: Hero SP

Genre: Legal, Crime

Broadcast date: 03 Jul 2006

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Tsutsumi Shinichi, Ayase Haruka, Suzuki Kosuke and Bengaru.

Five years after being transferred from the Josai branch, Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) is relocated to Yamaguchi: a town that is practically owned by the Kimura family. In the office he is put together with a paralegal who’s not only uptight, but is called a ‘weirdo’ by his coworkers as he rarely does anything that can be called social.

When a murder occurs in small town Yamaguchi, people are shocked to find out that the towns favorite Takida is arrested. Takida works for the Kimura family, and is liked by people more than the son of the founder. So everyone in the office refuse to take on the case as they most defiantly will be hated by the towns people for prosecuting him. The case is eventually given to Kuryu and as thorough as he is he decides to look at the case from every single angle..

Hmm, I liked it better than the drama, but that is only because they kept the originality yet had it be quite more ‘modern’. I was worried that I would be bored since the other actors weren’t there but it kind of refreshed everything and made it quite funny. Though I didn’t expect that kind of outcome of the SP, I have to admit I was entertained most of the time. So kind of worth it, and if you have watched the drama, the SP is kind of a must in this.

All in all, quite good.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

HERO Review

Title: Hero

Genre: Legal, Crime

Episodes: 11

Broadcast period: 2001-Jan to 2001-Mar

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Mastu Takako, Otsuka Nene, Abe Hiroshi, Katsumura Masanou, Kohinata Fumiyo and Yashima Norito.

Once a high school dropout, Prosecutor Kuryu Kaohei (Kimura Takuya) is assigned the Josai Bureau in Tokyo. He is a different kind of prosecutor as he takes his time to evaluate every case until the very last minute, and doesn’t seem to differentiate in cases: be it a murder case or being it a theft case. In his eyes all cases are of equal importance. He is paired up with a paralegal, Amamiya Maiko (Mastu Takako), who is the complete opposite. She dreams of becoming a prosecutor, even volunteers to help Kuryu so that she’ll get better points from her boss. At first she finds him repulsive and lazy, but as time passes she notices how diligent and observing he is, and starts to admire him.

Together with the other prosecutors and paralegals they encounter different, often absurd, people, and deal with them as well as their own family and love lives.

Okay so this drama is one old drama, with an extremely young cast that I today know as the ‘oldies’ of jdorama. I’m not only talking about Kimura Takuya but every other cast member that I know as old actors - who were then pretty young, and with black hair. I never really wanted to watch it; one because Jenji said she was unable to finish even episode one. And two, well it’s from 2001.. That is 13 years ago!

BUT I have to admit, it is really a classic. Ones you get used to the way the camera shoots, you will sort of like it. It has the typical ‘awkward humor’ with the long silence and long stare, which at the beginning I kind of felt boring, but ones you get a hang of the ideal, you kind of can’t stop laughing. And yes it most defiantly is a classic.

I liked the storyline(s) and every character, and I completely understand the huge ratings! So! To watch and not to watch? I would recommend it for Takuya fans and for classic drama lovers. But if you can’t deal with old dramas, this probably shouldn’t be your choice.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

A New Leaf Review

Title: A New Leaf

AKA: Repentance / Reformation

Genre: Drama, Human, Legal

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2014-Apr to 2014-Jul

Cast: Kim Myung Min, Park Min Young, Kim Sang Joong, Chae Jung Ah and Jin Yi Han

Kim Seok Joo (Kim Myung Min) is a cold, ruthless and cruel lawyer that is merely concerned with cases as long as they give him any kind of profit. If the evidence is against his client he’ll buy the witness’ out or he’ll make new solid evidence. At his law firm, every single lawyer thinks and acts the same: the more ruthless the better, except for the new intern, Lee Ji Yoon (Park Min Young), who Seok Joo had met some time before and ended up having a one-night stand with. She is filled with ambition, talent and justice, but is a blabbermouth. The two butt heads, and when Seok Joo gets into and accident and loses his memory; Lee Ji Yoon tries to help him. However the amnesiac seem different somehow by going up against his law firm and he happens to have an effect on the people around him…

I don’t really know what I was expecting of this drama, since I only knew Park Min Young, so I kind of still am in a drowse after it. The drama is a good one, but the financial terms and discussions lefts me confused and dazed, since I had zero knowledge about what on earth they were talking about. As a general you could understand most of it, but I have no idea what the climax was about, let alone the ending.

The main actor Kim Myung Min is fairly new to me, I think he was popular in Korea from before. And OMG, his voice: eargasms. 80% of the time he was talking I didn’t look at the subtitles, and made me go back because I missed it. Min Young was as she always is, not a favorite of mine. The drama is kind of a realistic every-day, with a twist of amnesia in the middle.

To sum up: okay drama, for the serious ones.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Kamjis Verdict
Finally finished! A 16 episodes drama have never felt as long as this one. On the other side, I think I can easily become a lawyer in Korea now, the drama was bombed with all those facts and laws and stuff, so those 16 hours were satisfactory used.

The drama itself were okay, not bad as I had a hard time watching it, but not as good as I was looking forward to next episode. Nevertheless, I managed to finish it, and that was a success for me since I had many other dramas I wanted to watch more. I can’t really say more about it without spoiling anything, but one thing I can assure you of, the writers did a good job with all the cases and trials. There were really intimidating and believable, so good job with that. 

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts