BORDER - a review after 3 episodes

[sensei99]

I've viewed three episodes of BORDER now and I'm liking this show a lot. The basic premise is that Detective Ishikawa Ango has a bullet in his head from a previous case and now has gained the ability to see and talk to recently deceased murder victims. This allows him to quickly identify the murderer but then the problem becomes how to use the information to "solve" the case using evidence obtained by more normal means, including paying for special services such as wiretaps or concealed cameras. Oguri Shun plays the part of the psychic detective with a certain grittiness that fits the role. Haru, played by Higa Mika, is a Special Medical Examiner who works in a dispassionate manner but senses that Ishikawa has an ability beyond scientific explanation. The drama is well written and interesting while avoiding the cliches that might be expected of plots involving dead people talking to the living. The one point I find incongruous is that the murder victims appear to Ishikawa as they were before the murder, but then this spares the viewer from seeing the bloody corpse every time the victim speaks. The other point to be made about this drama is that the strong Japanese sense of justice is present. Even if a killing seems justified, those involved must pay a price for their crime of taking a life.
All in all, I recommend this show as good entertainment.