jdrama: Tokyo DOGS eps 1-10 (complete)
(Yes, DOGS is capitalized. I’ve noticed this frequently happens when Japanese titles get translated into English.)
I’ve decided that, while I dislike most US procedurals for their devotion to loving depictions of dead and mutilated corpses (especially female ones) and people (way more men than women anytime I turn on one that isn’t named Bones) with very serious faces talking about death and doom, (Look, it is VERY possible that I just have terrible luck in channel surfing.) I like Japanese procedurals because they go “Gosh, we have cops and dead bodies and deadly conspiracies. Clearly, the best thing to do is fill our show with adorable and wacky characters who bicker a lot and make dramatic statements about devotion and the importance of everything ever!”
The plot, such as there is one, is an angsty super cop who’s been working in the US the last few years, Sou, and an ex- biker gang leader are assigned the protection of Yuki, a young woman who has amnesia and a mysterious connection to the mafia boss who killed Sou’s father when he was a kid. (Yes, this “mysterious connection” is milked for all the drama and angst it’s worth. Why do you ask?) But really, the plot is “Oguri Shun looks good with short hair and pointing guns and angsts a lot, Mizushima Hiro makes a lot of funny faces and is kind of weird, and Yoshitaka Yuriko isn’t convinced delicate amnesiacs should twiddle their fingers and fret, and is not overly impressed by your claims that your angst is bigger than hers, and there are lots of other kooky characters.” There are episodic police plots, but they’re basically an excuse for the characters to interact and be funny and adorable together.
Though the ending is WEIRD. I mean, mystery and procedural jdramas typically have sequel-bait endings, but this one starts that way and skews into “WTF?” Not to mention apparently resetting Sou’s character growth back to the first episode and ignoring certain dramatic confessions (even while flashing back to them).
Ending credits (sadly with -all the versions I found on you tube had the sound disabled):
Click to viewSOU: I am manly and brooding and look like an adult since my actor has cut his hair and dyed it black! I get really really photoshopped and wander angstily through the rain with a determined expression. This is what happens you’re on a fishing trip with your father when wee and he gets shot in the head by an assassin and you are splattered with his blood.
MARUO: I am scruffy and also photoshopped in the rain. I’m doing my best to look angsty and brooding, but it kind of doesn’t fit my character at all, and I so hate having this serious expression on for so long. But at least I get to show off my hair in the rain.
YUKI: I am lovely and delicate and the bright and shining ligh-screw this. Let’s ditch the rainy alleys and softly lit forest and go have a threesome.
SOU: I can deny you little even if I pretend otherwise! What’s a threesome?*
MARUO: Threesome! I mean, wait, no, I’m straight. I think.** Can I go back to making goofy faces now? This serious thing is hard.
*I am firmly convinced that Sou either only has hypothetical knowledge of sex, or is in deep denial of a very kinky nature. Or maybe both.
**He does, in fact, question his sexuality due to his response to the idea of Sou leaving.