First of all, the story as a mystery thriller isn't innovative at all. It's like Sherlock and Watson in Japan. It's nothing new. The twists in each case aren't even shocking. The big concluding case isn't that interesting either. Sometimes there are let downs as well but the way the two characters interact with each other are great. The title of the show is 'Criminologist Himura and Mystery Writer Arisugawa' but honestly if you're going to play out two of these interesting characters under a law enforcement - they should've had more interesting cases. Or perhaps I just expected more from a crim. professor and a mystery writer engaging in the law enforcement. Nonetheless, the drama had it's format and it kind of knew that it was being cliche at some point so they let sub characters play out the all time (I have solved the case! - Marker) that is often indicated by the main lead. Due to its awareness it did well in a comedic sense and showed character development.
They're great actors in my opinion. The reason why I continued watching was because of the acting. The interaction between the two leads are really enjoyable. Even the sub characters were enjoyable. They bring the characters to life. It felt like they had been friends for such a long time they are practically a couple. They also did so well to portray the characters that you feel like they're really passionate about problem solving and mysteries. You also have to keep in mind that this is a Japanese drama. Sometimes things seem over the top but that's just the feel a Japanese drama has. Also, they do so well in making it feel like that's just how it is. So to say, even with the large exclamations from time to time, it felt normal. Thus, they did a great job.
Japanese soundtracks never disappoint in my opinion. They always know how to create a setting. The soundtrack here were great. It felt comedic yet intense at the same time. It was exactly how the drama was portrayed. There weren't any variations to the soundtrack though so the same one would play every so often. It was like a cue to things getting serious or the marker to knowing that the case has been solved.
Rewatch value is 7 /10 because once you know the reveal it isn't exactly as interesting the second time. BUT, I'd deff. rewatch for the scenes with the two leads. They're just too adorable together. I even watched the SP's because I wanted more of them regardless of what they were going to encounter.
Overall, it's 7.5 /10 because I was expecting more mysteries and thrillers. I wanted something shocking and new. I wanted to be surprised but all I got was cute bromance - which isn't bad at all but I wanted bromance and mind blowing cases.
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Story
As far as detective dramas go, Rinsho Hanzai Gakusha's story arcs are based on individual cases. However, what makes this drama distinct is the fact it circles around a criminologist, not a detective. The mind of the criminologist is delved into deeper in each arc. It is as if the story is conceived to solve the mysteries of the criminologist Himura HIdeo rather than the mysteries. The story was otherwise entertaining; however, predictable.
Acting/Cast
The actors of Himura and Alice really played up the Holmes and Watson vibe which is refreshing to see after Detective Conan. For this drama, the cast was of a high caliber, all great actors seasoned with experience. The best acting would be from Hasegawa Kyoko as Moroboshi Sanae. She is the best villain, because who knew she could be so evil? Of course the main cast is nothing to scoff at either. Takumi Saito already has experience in law from the drama Ace Attorney. Masataka Kubota was Light in Death Note, so its interesting to see him on the right side of law this once. The only actor I would complain about is Yamamoto Yusuke because I see him in literally every Japanese drama.
Music
In a detective drama, the soundtracks are suspenseful, and little of nothing else. Unfortunately, Rinsho Hanzai Gakusha failed to break away from this norm. If the soundtracks were more memorable, not repetitive for every case, and not only suspenseful, I would have given a higher score. Sorry, I way have high standard because of Meitantei Conan.
Rewatch Value
Rinsho Hanzai Gakusha should be quite easy to rewatch because the story happens in arcs. Just pick the arc you like and rewatch it. In addition, it helps that this is one of the best mystery dramas out there.
Given that you know the criminal and every fact of the case, the rewatch experience would be a tad lacking.
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This review may contain spoilers
A few nice cases with some bromance
This detective series doesn't start off with very interesting cases, but the cases do get more intriguing after one gets past the first few episodes.As a detective series, it is at least passable. It doesn't try too hard to do something original or have really unexpected twists. However, most of the cases are at least interesting enough to follow. A couple of cases (the teenage killer and the cult leader cases) start from early in the series, perhaps in unsophisticated attempt at creating a sense of connection. However, the cuts to the teenage killer and the cult leader can be somewhat disorienting without really being suspenseful. (On the other hand, especially for the case of the cult leader, it may be difficult to finish the cases quickly if they crop up only in the later episodes.)
The series has a rather nice old-school feel in terms of the setting. The Sherlock Holmes and Watson references add on to this feel. The series is a sort of homage to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, complete with an equivalent of Moriarty. The equivalent of the Moriarty in the cult leader, however, may just be a little too much of a challenge for one's suspension of disbelief. The effect that she has on people seems a tad exaggerated, and we also don't really know what the cult is all about besides some references to a belief in some utopia.
The bromance between Detective Himura and the novelist, Alice / Arisu, is endearing despite not being the focus most of the time. At some points, it even has hints of romance rather than bromance (though the lines are often blur in other series anyway)--in one scene, the landlady even hints to everyone that they should leave Himura and Alice alone and not play gooseberry, and no one seems surprised. The real surprise is that the series actually does bromance better than some series that bait BL fans only to turn the characters' relationships into rather bland instances of bromance.
This series isn't groundbreaking contribution to the detective/whodunit genre, but it isn't disappointing either.
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When it came to the cast, I thought that Saito Takumi and Kubota Masataka and the characters they portrayed had great chemistry. They were honestly, the main reason I kept watching. I thought that Hideo Himura was an interesting character and was immediately intrigued by the relationship dynamics between the dark Himura and the brighter Arisugawa. Besides the leads, I thought that the rest of the supporting characters and cast were also enjoyable, minus Yamamoto Mizuki who portrayed Kijima Akemi. I felt that Yamamoto's potrayal of her would fluctuate between dull or very exaggerated and that became pretty annoying to watch. There were also a handful of lesser characters that I thought were a bit over-exaggerated by their actors as well.
Sadly, where I also thought this drama fell flat was in cinematography and editing. The amount of scenes in this drama where the actor would be placed in front of a bright window or light, so bright that the actors' faces would be washed out so you couldn't see their reactions, was annoying and happened way too frequently. That is like a filming no-no to not be able to see your actors' faces, yeah? Yes, a silhouette effect here and there can be awesome and add to a scene's tone, but if they were actually trying to go for that effect, I think they failed horribly. It just looked amateurish. As far as editing, I thought some of the scenes were edited awkwardly, most of the time I understood that they were trying to add tension to certain scenes, but most of the time, for me, it was too exaggerated which made it look amateurish and awkward at times.
Overall, despite some of the negatives that I pointed out, this drama was still enjoyable. Even if you're not really feeling the mystery elements, you'll never be bored watching this and you'll probably still stick around for the two main characters anyway. (This was supposed to be a comment, but it was so long I figured I'd just make it a review lol.)
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It is said that, in storytelling, whether or not a subject has been told is irrelevant, where true originality needs to lie is on how it's told. And I think this drama has something that makes it really worth the watch, despite the countless detective dramas you'll see around: the two leads.
Leading detective duos are not uncommon, especially not on dramas, but there has to be a very precise balance to work them out: it isn't just about having good characters and good actors, it's also about the actors having good chemistry and working well together. In this one, that's the heart of the drama. I was a bit weary when I started watching because even though Kubota Masataka is a very good actor, some of his pairings tend to not work as well as expected. But that's where Saito Takumi comes in, he works really great in duos and adapts very well to different people. The relationship between Himura and Arisu is the key of this drama, it's an anchor for the characters as well as what makes them move forward, and these two deliver that amazingly well.
The story isn't at its full potential, probably because this is adapting books that have much more space to deliver mysteries and create intrigue. When it comes to cases, it may not be the most innovative drama out there, and for the restraint of adapting to this medium, it may feel somewhat rushed in some places. Still, the characters are all very interesting and these two leads shine both individually and as a duo. They have a sort of Sherlock/Watson resemblance, in the sense that Himura is the smart, calculating and seemingly cold detective while Arisu is the emphatic, loyal and light-hearted companion, but they both shine in their own right and Arisu isn't in any way less smart, interesting or action-prone, as well as Himura has a very emotional side which is the core of his character arc and where him and Arisu connect. It was this core what made me more interested in Himura as the series went on, because Arisu was easily the most fun to watch at first, but Himura's constant turmoil between good and evil and his fear of hurting others hits very deeply with Saito Takumi's performance.
All in all, it has its flaws, it's not a perfect detective drama, but I haven't seen such great chemistry in a drama in a while, and I'm glad these two weren't shy to go to these extents to show it. If you're more interested in well-written mysteries with very surprising twists, maybe this one isn't for you, but if you're more interested in characters, their development and amazing on screen chemistry between these two great actors, then give this one a shot.
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