River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha (2014)

Detective, investigation and a detective agency; so far, nothing seems to be out of place for Japanese dramas. However, River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha managed to become special.

Being in TV Tokyo’s midnight slot is absolutely one of the reasons that made this drama appealing in its own way. That timeslot always witnesses some pretty cool dramas that usually go unnoticed – unfortunately. Even though this drama follows the usual episodic pattern, it managed to deviate its investigation procedure from an episode to another. It always managed to draw attention to every guest’s issue.

The cases in this drama aren’t mind-boggling or deep. They’re usually simple cases about finding people or looking them up, it may sound boring at first sight but everything becomes different when darkness sneaks in many of those cases. Sometimes, a certain case leaves a deep impression and confusion that’s beyond description. I believe that’s what differentiates this drama from its fellow Japanese detective production; it seeks depth instead of solving a case then getting over with it. There’s absolutely no drop cheesiness and happy-ever after clichés in this drama. However, it’s true that not all 12 cases were interesting.

The cast was pretty well fitting. Odagiri Joe as the main lead was such a master stroke. I am not only saying that because he’s one of my favourite actors but this type of role suits him very well. You can clearly see the actor’s traits through his performance: lazy, calm and with a mysterious charismatic vibe. The other two main characters were in a great harmony with our main lead; an old man who’s supposedly in charge and a sexy assistant to turn the detective agency into a welcoming place.
The majority of the guest characters left a good impression; of course some of them were stronger than the others but overall they were well-suited for the drama’s general atmosphere.

I became a fan of One Hitoshi’s screenwriting and directing style after last year’s great piece “Mahoro Ekimae Bangaishi” and now, I am even more impressed with him. He surely knows how to make a simple piece sound very special. Whether it’s the camera angles, the dark cinematography, the characterization or the choice of music; he did it all! I will have to stalk that screenwriter from now on. Although, I rarely care about directing in dramas but he totally made me interested in his style.

Watch if:
-You like different types of detective dramas.
-You like short dramas (27 minutes per episode).
-You like Odagiri Joe because he’s in top form here.

Do not watch if:
-You can’t handle episodic detective dramas.

Despite being simple, River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha managed to grow into a very special piece due to One Hitoshi’s irresistible style.

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Let me start by saying River's Edge is an unusual episodic detective dorama. As a detective dorama, the mystery isn't the main focus. The mystery blends in perfectly with the moody atmosphere and it's darkness. Not all mysteries are meant to be solved and not all questions are meant to be answered.

Before I go on further I'll first introduce the 3 main characters here. Those characters and the casted actors were a perfect fit with what the dorama is trying to portray.

Muraki: Maybe the most mysterious of the bunch. Lazy, laid-back, uninterested, which is most perfectly fitted to be played by my dear old Odagiri Jo. Being usually unconcerned about anything, I enjoyed his interactions with the other two.

Megumi: She's the opposite of Muraki. She's full of energy and always up to something different. For some she may be hard to take on at first but she does grow on you in a big way. She doesn't change or anything, but you learn ti accept her as she is as a viewer.

The boss/Director: He's an interesting old man. I never get tired of listening to him. He's full of wisdom and somehow can have empathy with creepy weird men. His reactions to what Megumi is up to each episode is a delight to watch and he's the only one we get to know a bit about his past.

As for dorama itself, each episode deals with a case. The cases are mostly pretty simple, but need some digging. My only complaint here is that many episodes become repetitive with a number of similar cases.

I found the music to fit perfectly with the dark mood and general ambience of the show.

Finally I need to mention, as a Tv Tokyo midnight time slot, it has more freedom to become more artsy as well as more racy then your usual dorama. Specially compared to your usual detective dorama, although this one has hardly anything similar to the usual detective dorama.

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