Ouroboros Review
A little more recent of a drama, and one I both regret watching and don't regret at the same time. Confused? You should be. Given all of the twists and turns in this series-ah, but I'm being spoiler free for this drama too. I'll try to convey my feelings properly. Let's begin, shall we?
Synopsis: "Ouroboros" is an ancient symbol that depicts a snake eating its own tail - meaning infinity. Based on a popular comic, a clumsy detective and a cool gang stand up to true evil. Ikuo and Tatsuya grew up in a children's orphanage together. When their favorite teacher, Yuiko, is murdered, a policeman wearing a gold watch covers up the incident. Ikuo and Tatsuya promise each other to avenge their teacher someday. Twenty years later, Ikuo is a detective in Shinjuku second police station investigating various cases with elite detective - Mizuki, while smart and handsome Tatsuya has become one of the top members of a gang group.
Sounds interesting, right? How a detective and yakuka can work together to solve the mysterious murder of their teacher. And, given my track record for dramas written about on this blog, I should like this one.....right?
Important Characters:
Ryuuzaki Ikuo - precious child. Do not make the fluffy haired boy cry. A true badass underneath it all
Danno Tatsuya - yazuka man. Clear personality like a glass of water. Hella cares for Ikuo and Yuiko
Hibino Mizuki - actual competant detective who actually knows what she's doing
Kashiwaba Yuko - teacher of Ikuo and Tatsuya. Mysteriously murdered. Possibly holds a dark past?
Breaking it down: Given the synopsis of the show, I was expecting to be hit in the face with interactions with Tatsuya and Ikuo. I wanted to see them catching criminals, beating down criminals to help Ikuo get those promotions at work and Ikuo helping Tatsuya get away from the police. I wanted an immediate bromance between the two of them, and, damnit, I did not get that at all.
Then I realized how stupid I was and slaped myself in the face.
We don't get an immediate, strong bond between our two male leads because, in case the viewer didn't read the synopsis like I did, we don't know they're working towards a common goal together in the first episode. Instead, we're laid the groundwork for the characters and relationships that we will see built up in the episodes to come. We're thrown into the action of a suicide case that gradually reveals itself to be the workings of something more. We learn how Ikuo has the number one arrest rate for his bureau, even if his coworkers don't understand how.
As a whole, the first episode shows how Tatsuya and Ikuo used their relationship to get to where they are. We do see a little interaction between they show, talking in public or at a fancy bar a few times, but those interactions are a tool to show how their relationship will change as the series moves forward.
From there, the plot slowly unravels into a mystery full of twists and turns that keeps the viewer guessing until the very end. Suspects and conspiritors to the murder of Kashiwaba Yuiko are lined up one by one until, at the bitter end, the person behind it has been found and brought to justice. Whether it is Ikuo and Tatsuya's form of justice, the justice of the police, or getting away with their heinous crime, that is something the viewer of this show must discover on their own.
Although I am particularly biased towards Ikuo and Tatsuya's actors (I watched them together in Hana Kimi so long ago), a bright spot in this show is Hibino Mizuki. Although this is my own preference, I find it hard to connect with female characters. It felt as though, through the writing and Ueno Juri's acting, she was a real person and not someone created for a script or show. Throughout the course of the show, I enjoyed how her character was developed and brought to life on the screen.
Another particular interesting part about this show is that every single character in the show is somehow important. Well, let's call it 98% of the show, because some background characters are only spoken to once. With typical shows, there are background characters who only exist to have witty one liners thrown at the main characters before they're shipped off screen until they're needed again. In Ouroboros, although a character may not seem important at the moment, they have their moment to shine later on, for better or worse.
Score: 5/5
Final Thoughts: With a diverse cast of characters and a plot that confuses the mind and keeps you guessing, Ouroboros is a mystery show that will keep you hooked until the final moments. Even if you think you have it figured out, keep watching. Because nothing is as it seems when you're dealing with these dangerous forces.