Incredible adaptation!
Amazing drama!! If you love psychology and criminology and also unique characters, you will love this drama! Totono is someone extremely special, he reminds me to a person with Asperger’s syndrome, he’s is a genius on his special interests. As a autistic person, I can see myself through him. 10/10 I can’t wait for the next season.I also need to agree that I was satisfied with the fact that it wasn't completely similar to the manga, some people prefer when when it's very similar to the manga, but I personally like when the dramas adaptations have their own twist.
please watch it, you will love it! ❤️
actors and actresses 10/10
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ML's character steals the show!
ML's character steals the show! His way of thinking is very unique, opening my own mind into many ways of seeing things in life, that I wouldn't have. For that alone, i find the show very stimulating and mind-blowinG!I also love the supporting characters. It feels good to watch a show when everyone is amazing, so I don't actually feel annoyed by one particular person, lol.
The storyline is very smooth, even when they jump scenes or timeline, it's not confusing at all. The timing, order and sequence are all very welldone
The 1st two episodes or so may feel a bit slow in the sense that it's not immediately action-packed. Nevertheless, it's very intriguing learning more about the ML. Once the storyline picks up, I can't wait to watch the rest.
Overall, I really enjoy the show and can't wait for S2!
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A Slow-paced but Intense Drama
This drama was very unique. The cinematography was beautiful in the way that it reflected the the emotions and actions of the characters. Another amazing quality, was the acting. It felt real, not too over the top, but enough to make things interesting. Although, I do wish we were able to see more of the main characters development. Another thing, was how the main character was able to piece things together. Sometimes it felt too artifical, and blocky when he was figuring things out. Other than that, this was done beautifully.Was this review helpful to you?
Heart-warming mystery drama with unique touch of criticism on our modern society
Mystery to Iunakare has a common trope of an aloof and eccentric genius who is able to solve even the most unsolvable puzzles, very much like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, the police having constantly to rely on their help. This brings along both advantages and disadvantages to the story. Kunou Totono's geniousness IS the character, with his quiet but observant nature, yet one could also wonder if the drama is meant to be a realistic police drama or just a mystery story with an unrealistic plot. When Kunou is able to solve the cases with the weirdest, most random clues, it takes away from the credibility of the story. Kunou appears to use scientific evidence and theories to help him make the deductions but the evidences and theories are at times far-fetched and rely on pop-science, and Kunou quickly jumps to conclusions and outcomes that remarkably always land correct.Hence, the different mysteries and crimes weren't the favorite part of the drama for me. Instead, I loved the criticism it offerered to our modern society. There were many good discussions and remarks that Kunou points out from time to time almost as as a moral or lesson after the mysteries have been solved. From the social position of women to childrens' rights and to the gratitude and observance we should have for life, these arguments were stated with a direct and bold manner, something which I have never quite encountered in Japanese dramas. I really loved it. The arguments that Kunou bring up are straight from the original manga. The story also had certaind kind of understanding and humanity that only Japanese dramas can deliver. Mystery to Iunakare quickly became one of my top comfort dramas that made me relax and forget my own issues for awhile.
Furthermore, what would the drama be without Suda Masaki who amazingly brought Kunou to life with the warmness, quirkiness and soul level deepness that Kunou has in the original manga. Unlike Sherlock, Poirot and company, Kunou doesn't come off as arrogant or know-it-all. He welcomes life with open arms, observing it with a inquisitive mind and always stays humble and down-to-earth, making remarks and opinions that usually hit the nail on the head. He always stays respectful and accepting of others and even creates this special bond with the wrongdoers, trying to understand their motives without necessarily accecpting their actions. Kunou's wonder and celebration of life is beautiful and his patient and compassionate nature that allows him to to try and understand others is something that made me really fall in love with the characther. I hope, as the story progresses, we get to learn more about Kunou himself and his past. Points to the female lead who had an interesting character development!
The mysteries alone were not very interesting and a bit lacking at times. However, the story wraps up surprisingly at the end, tying together some loose ends. The production quality is not at par with many of the modern-day dramas which unfortunately takes away from the magic of the story. OST didn't really stick with me, and the well-known classical pieces being even distracting at times, however the song "カメレオン" by King Gnu was lovely.
Despite the weaknesses, the positives of the drama really shone through, and all in all, I give the drama 8.5 stars and it goes straight to my favorites! I'm looking forward to the movie! :)
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Despite heavy/manipulative way to handle the life lessons...Still enjoyed some of the cases & hero
I enjoyed certain episodes more than others, it felt very episodic and lacked a strong common thread. There was some elements coming back over the course of the story, but I wish those would have been more developped. Still, I had some "favorite cases" of the week: namely the arson case and the Raika case. I also enjoyed the hero Totono and his relationship with the world and others. I was pretty interested by Garo, and by Seiko (the female inspector) but it felt rather flat overall. I wish they mined much more the (b)romance between Totono and Garo. There was a lot of unexploited potential there.Even if that was heavily handed I appreciated some of the societal critics brought up by the series. It remained overal relatively superficial but at least there was an attempt at it. I wish they would have gone much deeper on some topics (for example regarding the women discrimination at the police station which was overall fairly lightly handled) but some were insightful.
I was pretty satisfied by the acting. I feel the main lead made a proper job portraying his unconventional character. There was no obvious bad performances, most were okay. I really enjoyed some of the guest actors, there were a few familiar faces, which is always nice.
The production value was quite standard, no outstanding but sufficient for conveying the story. The editing choices, with a lot of flashbacks, made the script feel a bit redundant. The scenario (and therefore the filmmaking) had a tendency to overexplain things, to make sure the viewer understood what happened and how the mystery was resolved. To that effect, the music was really heavyly handed...it lacked subtlety and felt almost childish somewhat...Each time the central character told a life lesson, there was a (pretty) melancholic music popping up in the background, which felt a bit manipulative to me...
I would recommend this to people looking for a mystery formulaic series. If you enjoy drama with kind of "case of the week" stories, you will likely enjoy this. I also think there are a lot of "reflective"/"life lessons" moments that could resonate with the viewer. For me, those were too heavily handed to appreciate all of them and I wish the various episodes had a stronger common thread allowing me to be more investing in the overall story. The show has a relatively open ending, so I will definitely watch the Special Episode...And then maybe the movie to round it up.
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My thumb never hit the fast-forward button.
It's true. I binged-watched this series, and my thumb never hit the fast-forward button. How's that possible? Almost 12 hours, and I watched every single episode the way they wanted me to: fully engrossed, and worried I'd miss something if I blinked. This series is really good, as in, 'WHOAH, DON'T MISS THIS ONE, IT'S SO GOOD'. I don't even want to think how much coffee the writers had to swill to come up with such evilly twisty who-done-it plot lines.Though I was put off by the main character in the beginning of the first episode, I grew to love the reluctant-sleuth Kuno Totono. Like Sherlock, he's got astounding observation skills and a mind made for matching clues to motive and means. Unlike Sherlock, he's not instinctively compelled to follow the trails all the way to the bad guy. He's more like the kid that unravels a sweater by absently pulling on a loose thread of yarn. He didn't start with the intention of deconstruction, but once the sweater began to not look like a sweater, he got interested in how it was made. This brilliant kid is an outlier; he's all alone in the world; and at the story's onset, he seems determined to remain so, for reasons that become somewhat clearer as the story progresses. That detached mindset suffers a subtle erosion as the episodes pass, and that is the major part of MtI's hook: the more you watch the kid fight it, the more you want this kid's protective bubble to be sandpapered down. So, does he change a little bit? Can't tell you, that probably falls under Spoilers, Sweetie. I can say this though: you know how your throat hurts when you really want to ugly-cry but you're too old to ugly-cry over a tv show, so you suffer with wet eyes and a sore throat? Well, they might have got me there. Okay, I broke my ankle, and I'm wearing a cast and I'm pretty much super glued to the couch, so maybe I'm a little softer than usual, but, I'll admit it: for ten minutes during one delicately rendered emotional moment, they absolutely got me. That script and those marvellous actors (I'm looking at you, Masaki Suda) managed to bring me to the borderline of the ugly-cry.
Grumble alert: hey producers, if you're going to push the writers to position the series for a second season, be forthcoming with details of the when and where.
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Suspend all disbelief while watching this.
I'm serious, don't try to apply logic to Lopez because there is none.Kuno Totono is not a "mystery-solving college student". Kuno Totono is a magic 8-ball, therapist and Sherlock Holmes all in one.
He falls into cases somehow and solves them with little to no effort because our fluffy bunny is a magic savant.
all jokes aside, it was a good watch. Aside from the improbable happenings, and almost ridiculousness of the plot, I liked the characters and the mysteries that weren't really mysteries.
I liked the female rookie detective who believed in the good in people and had to reconcile with the reality of the world and her proximity to evil by virtue of her job after her first real brush with a monster.
I liked the younger male detective who mostly served as a comedic factor but the actor's timing was great.
I liked the older detective. while he didn't get wrapped up in the Totono of it all, he still didn't disregard his words and skill which showed that he cared more about the purpose of his job than himself.
I liked Garo. he seems to be a bit off the deep end with the sister obsession but he was the first person to make Totono feel somewhat normal/ordinary and they're both different sides of the same coin.
I wish they had delved more into the ML as there seemed to be a lot of trauma and pain hidden behind the curls and doe eyes. He somehow sees everybody's pains and secrets yet nobody sees his. the only person to ever come close or try was Garo
This was a character driven drama-you stick around because you care about them and want to know where their story is going.
You stick around because you want to see Totono grow and expand his world beyond his apartment/kitchen. You stick around because you want to see Garo get resolution for his sister and find his way back. You stick around because you want to see the female detective find her footing and voice.
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Adorable and Intriguing
I went into this drama with zero expectations and WOW I was just blown away by all of it.The first thing to talk about is of course, the main lead. He's eccentric and intelligent and just so lovable. Following the ML and seeing him randomly roped into mysteries was super fun and it never felt convenient. I loved his interactions with every single side character. The way the ML perceives the world is so interesting too; there are a lot of memorable quotes in this show.
Speaking of side characters, the drama also did a really good job of giving every single side character, even if they only appeared in a two-episode case, backstory that actually makes you feel for them. The acting is fantastic for every single one of them. I was really impressed with how fleshed out the subplots were and how they ended up tying together.
The plot is just super smart. This is one of those dramas that gives you pieces of the puzzle out of order, and everything becomes clear once you keep watching and start piecing it all together.
Such a great watch and I can't wait to watch the movie and see a season 2.
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"Don't Call It Mystery" ~ call it quirky!
Loved it. Quirky, compelling, with mixed and intriguing characters that were so well cast. Masaki Suda was SO good. His character portrayal was my favourite and I feel he really made this drama go from "not bad" to "great".It isn't perfect, but so very enjoyable and gripping; I loved the dry wit too.
Kept me engaged all the way through and I binged the whole series very quickly.
I really hope there is a S2, as there were a number of loose ends and unanswered questions ??
Really annoying that the minimum review characters is so high... I've written all I feel I need to, but can't post ? Try again...
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This review may contain spoilers
over-hyped but worth a watch anyway
While I'm enjoying this drama, I'm not loving it. The cases are too formulaic, the "mystery game" set of episodes makes no sense (3 out of the 7 invitees know his history and the history of the house, so how can they fairly be involved in the game play?), and I was having definite "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Diagnosis Murder," "Castle," and "Murder, She Wrote" flashbacks. That's what happens when someone who is not a PI or an actual law enforcement officer ends up embroiled in mysteries. They can be fun to watch, but usually nothing more because they're falling back on overly-used tropes that have been around for decades.I like Suda Masaki. Most of the time. Here, he's entertaining, but the character doesn't have a whole lot of depth other than being a fairly smart-mouthed college student with so much intellectual prowess that he has a superiority complex. Rather like a certain literary detective everybody keeps alluding to. What that means is that this has been done before, and better, by far more skilled storytellers. And I am not impressed with any of the secondary actors. They're rather lackluster and only in entertainment would cops actually allow a citizen to help with crime-solving. Plus, the female cop is driving me bananas. If she had more confidence in herself than others would have more confidence in her. And she has no chemistry with the ML who she is supposed to be crushing on. So that side plot is just irritating.
The drama is certainly worth finishing. But in the mystery/thriller genre, it's not going to be a favorite. I won't regret watching it, I know that much, but there are already other mystery dramas that I like so much better (Shoutai, Seigi no Tenbin, Gourmet Detective Goro Akechi). It reminds me of "Strawberry Night Saga," so much anticipation and a bit of a letdown. I don't mind camp. Sometimes I actually prefer it because it works with the story (like Gourmet Detective Goro Akechi). What I hate is pretentious writing and this drama is full of it. And this is coming from someone who loves Jdramas.
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This review may contain spoilers
What a great series!
Love Masaki Suda in this series. When he makes his curry before going on his date and then processes that this is going to be a date - I have shown that scene to so many people. Always makes me laugh.Love his character. Love the attention to detail. Love the stories and how they all tie together. I won't bog you down with a detailed analysis but, I will say that I keep this in my watchlist so, I can go back to it often whenever I need a Sherlock Holmes type fix. My favorite episode is when he encounters the bomber who has temporary amnesia - so well done.
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