"Crisis: Special Security Squad" Proves More J-Dramas Need To Make It Out Big Into The Global Market

J-Drama or K-Drama? There was a time I actually preferred Japanese entertainment over Korean entertainment. However, 2013 started to change my tide when Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger was just plain obnoxious IMHO. Sure, there's been newer Super Sentai series that have been good and I'm enjoying Avatar Sentai Donbrothers. I've been watching a couple of Korean crime dramas. Most of the police K-Dramas I preferred were realistic fiction. Though, some of them were obviously sci-fi like Awaken and Tunnel. I did watch some Tokusatsu cop-themed shows such as Winspector, Solbrain, Exceedraft, Janperson, and Kamen Rider Drive. I felt watching some realistic crime drama from Japan might do a bit of a change.

I decided to pick up Crisis: Social Security Squad. Yes, we've got Shun Oguri who played Arsene Lupin III from the Lupin III movie. He was also the main protagonist of Border where he gained the ability of a necromancer. In this one, nothing supernatural. Here, we have a special security squad dealing with crimes that spiral out of control. No special suits like the Rescue Police Trilogy. Oguri's character as Akira Inami must rely on purely human wits and realistic technology to solve the cases.

Granted, J-Drama has shorter episodes making binging easier to do. K-Dramas tend to exceed an hour for some reason. Crisis has the problem dealing with corruption, the Heisei Restoration Cult, a culprit named Yuuki, some wayward children of cabinet members, and the loss of trust that Akira has because of some spoilers. Every bit of detail has mysteries and has writer Kazuki Kenshiro involved. Kenshiro was also the writer of Border. I guess previous experience had Kenshiro do it. Though, there are times I wonder how this realistic cop drama would've been handled if either Toshiki Inoue, Yasuko Kobayashi, Naruhisa Arakawa, or Junichi Miyashita handled this kind of show.

What would be interesting are some Kamen Rider easter eggs. Hiroe Igeta made a guest appearance before she got her police role in Kamen Rider EX-AID two years later. Later, we have Keisuke Iida as a guest star. Yes, Iida from Kamen Rider Drive murdered Shinnosuke Tomari's father in cold blood. Here, Iida plays a part in the police force but is not an antagonist. I think it was nice for Iida to be part of the script because I first recognized him as that obnoxious Mitshude Nira who got written off halfway. I guess Iida is such a good actor that he had to leave Drive to pursue other projects.

So far, I've watched a couple of Korean crime drama. This show really shows that Japanese entertainment shouldn't just be "left in Japan". Instead, more Japanese companies need to be aggressive and get shows like this OUT INTO THE WORLD. Japanese entertainment shouldn't just be for Japan. I want to see more healthy competition between Japanese entertainment and Korean entertainment. Crisis: Social Security Squad is still a must-watch and may rekindle my passion for Japan.

"Light The Night's" Finale (Spoilers Ahead)

SpikyTV I guess the series just kept us guessing, right? I finally got the chance to finish it after some busy nights. I was right that the killer was HANA (Esther Liu) BUT there's a twist - it was more of voluntary manslaughter than murder. Manslaughter is when one kills out of the heat of passion and that's what Hana did twice in the story. Hana had one against a client who used her and another against Sue after some unfortunate insanity attack. Hana ends up planning to hand herself over but her lover commits murder (towards a character named Chiang An) to protect her. The whole psychological thriller for me just didn't match up to what I wanted. I guess I was too used to how Victim's Game rolled out. I was expecting some real murder scheme. Instead, it was the anti-climatic manslaughter where Hana decides to hand herself to the authorities after what she did. I really still think that the finale wasn't worth too much of the wait. I was expecting something gran

I Just Finished "My Golden Life"

I finally finished My Golden Life which I was hesitant to watch. 52 one-hour long episodes? I was thinking it was easier to watch the Wuxia series that had 40+ minutes per episode such as Princess Weiyang which was quite long. A lot of episodes of My Golden Life would have a few minutes more depending on the coverage of the episode. So, I'm done and I never thought I'd actually finish it since I'm way too used to short K-Dramas. This one was rather long but it was rather entertaining in many ways. I was thinking about how Shin Hye Sun actually did well with on-screen partner Park Si Hoo. Sometimes, I'd like to joke about how they had a chemistry that looked good and felt good. Looked good? Both aren't attractive and I often joke how Hye Sun's face feels melted or how she was rightfully matched with Lee Jong Suk in Hymn of Death . Hye Sun isn't pretty but she really makes up with her good acting and likability. The same goes for Si Hoo with how he acts out hi

Just Finished "My Glamorous Imperial Concubine" (Some Spoilers)

This is another Wuxia series finished. I was having some expectations broken. The show can be full of spoilers when discussed even further. In fact, some characters are walking spoilers. If you're not ready to be spoiled - DON'T READ. If not, you can read further. I feel the show had some plot twists and turns. Besides, maybe some of the villains in this show weren't as evil as you think. Emperor Liancheng is an antagonist but dies before the show can end. Liancheng may have some idiotic obsession with Ma Fuya. It becomes even worse when Liancheng's younger sister Liansi and his younger brother Lianxi get involved. Liansi develops a crush on Meng Qiyou and even gets pregnant in the process. It seems that Ma Fuya was pregnant with Liancheng's baby but ends up in Qiyou's household after Liancheng dies. Liancheng dies doing a selfless act to save Ma Fuya. The obsessive empress Ma Xiangyun commits suicide to kill Emperor Liancheng. Emperor Liancheng's quite a

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