Review of BOSS - Spring 2009

To me, this is the best drama in Spring 2009, at least among those which I've watched. If not for Mr.Brain, this would have been the No.1 in terms of ratings. Till today, I still do not accept the fact that Mr.Brain grabbed the No.1 spot with such a lousy ending. It still makes my blood boil when I think of it.

Although there were some episodes in BOSS which I consider to be lacklustre (especially from Ep 2 to 5), the good episodes managed to balance out the entire feel of this drama. The ending was done so well that I think it managed to eliminate the bad feelings I had towards the unsatisfactory episodes. Here's a list of the episodes with their guest stars and why I like/dislike it. By the way, if you do not wish to know the outcome of the cases, it's better to skip this episodic review portion:

1) Takeda Tetsuya
The momentum of this first episode set things off to a good start. Although this was an extended episode, the story did not do a plain introduction of the main characters before they entered into the case facts. I feel that interweaving discoveries about the characters' traits with the progression of the case is a good way of not losing pace. In addition, Takeda Tetsuya's showdown scene with Amami Yuki was done in a sleek manner. It was so exciting to see them exchanging blows and Amami outsmarting him when the viewer least expected it. That was when I started to think: Boss is probably going to be different from the detective dramas I've watched so far. Most of the time, we see the interogation progressing in the manner of the culprit's emotional defence being destroyed by the police officer and then he/she confesses. That's kinda cliche and overused. This time round, the culprit gets cornered by the facts he is presented with and his own mistakes during the interrogation. This was definitely more exciting than a culprit sobbing miserably about his/her mistakes.

2) Nomura Hironobu
This episode did shake my confidence in BOSS for a while. Reason being, the story's pace was relatively slower and it was pretty easy to guess that things were not as simple as it seemed. Too predictable. In addition, this episode made the biggest mistake by making someone who was out of the running as a possible culprit in the first place, become the criminal at the end. It is taboo for thrillers to do this. Remember what happened to Koori no Sekai and Triangle? I was quite unhappy that the police officer turned out to be the culprit. That's being unfair to the viewers because we were not given any clues as to his identity and yet gets the facts shoved into our faces. And for the first time, it seemed that the team was left out of the whole case while Amami Yuki's role, Oosawa Eriko hogged the limelight. It would have been better to allow everyone do what they are best at.

3) Sakai Wakana
This story is even more predictable than the 2nd episode but at least there were clues to show the viewer who the real culprit was. Frankly speaking, the showdown between Sakai and Amami was really boring. Sakai isn't up to standard yet when it comes to acting skills so she was practically overshadowed by Amami.

4 & 5) Yamada Takayuki
Another boring episode. Taking the police on a wild goose chase doesn't warrant the use of 2 precious episodes. 1 episode would have been sufficient. That was a big waste. In addition, I hated seeing Yamada in that sloppy image. For heavens' sake, he should really do something about it. I simply don't think people who are ostracized by others and wallowing in self-pity should look like that all the time. The producers should break out of this stereotype and show us something different for a change.

6) Shida Mirai
This was when it changed my opinion of BOSS and made me give this a 2nd chance. I was really prepared to drop this drama despite liking most of the cast members. The last 3 episodes was a big test to my patience. Fortunately, the reunion of "Joou no Kyoushitsu" alumni i.e. Amami and Shida spiced up things. Their battle of wits was something worth checking out and the tension was as good, if not better than what was presented in Episode 1. Shida has really matured a lot over these years and she was great at playing this haughty genius who was fragile emotionally.

7) Tomita Yasuko
This time round, it was quite obvious who the killer was. However, the issue now becomes how she did it. As such, the focus on the killer was there all the time and the approach to solving the case was the key of this episode. Much as I thought that Tomita and Amami were on par, the sparks this time paled in comparison to what Ep 6 had presented.

8) Konishi Manami
Well, it wasn't too difficult to guess the culprit. Again, the issue lies in the motive. There wasn't any direct interaction between Konishi and Amami so there wasn't even a showdown to speak of.

9) Namase Katsuhisa
This was another well-crafted episode. The story seemed quite simple but in actual fact, the ending wasn't. It left a pretty big impact on me and I really liked the acting of Namase in this episode. Most of the time, when it comes to nabbing the criminal, it would usually be a great sense of gratification to see that all ends well. However, this episode was a bit of a contrast with the rest of the episodes in the sense that I really felt sorry for the criminal no doubt his actions were despicable.

10 & 11) Sorimachi Takashi
Well, I liked the ending of this drama not because of Sorimachi Takashi. Although the press focused a lot on the showdown between Sorimachi's character and Amami's character Oosawa, I thought the interaction between them was a bit lacking. What got me more excited was to see the ex-Beach Boys together on screen again. Again, this was an episode where the culprit is known but I would say this was partially. I guessed that something wasn't quite right at the end of Episode 10 and then at the beginning of the finale, I already knew the direction it was taking. Nonetheless, it was still nice to see everything falling into place nicely just as I had expected. That ending was truly in sync with the usual style of BOSS: unexpected, a clean wrap up of things and truly memorable indeed. Takenouchi Yutaka was so funny in this episode and his exaggerated way of acting is a far cry from his usual serious roles over these years. Coupled with the fact that he had great chemistry with Amami Yuki, it was a joy to see them outsmarting the criminal. From the way it seems, there could be a SP or sequel since Sorimachi's character "predicted" that he will meet Oosawa Eriko very soon again. Hmm...I wonder how long would that be?

With regards to the main cast members, I would say that Takenouchi Yutaka's role, Nodate is my favourite. Although he looks like a frivolous chap, he hides his true self under this facade and shows that he got to this position with his strengths. Amami Yuki's role Oosawa Eriko was also very outstanding and I liked the interaction between Nodate and Oosawa very much. There was this article about this trend of male and female leads in dramas or movies having a platonic relationship instead of the past trend of making them fall in love with each other. Luckily, the scriptwriter didn't force Nodate and Oosawa to get together. It would have been a nightmare just to imagine it because it just didn't blend with the story and the characters' traits. I like the idea of having them taking the roles of buddies who have nothing romantic between them and their chemistry truly captivated me this time.

Toda Erika was pretty good this time too as Kimoto Mami where she toned down on her glamour side and showed the clumsiness of Kimoto when it comes to dealing with people and sticking to regulations. This was a pretty great change from her pretty and appealing image in "Ryuusei no Kizuna". Nonetheless, she still got the chance to flaunt her looks in the opening credits where everyone was dressed to the nines and featured in a glamour party of sorts. Another interesting character was Kendo Kobayashi who played Iwai. Up till now, I am still not sure whether he's gay or not in real life because he really fitted the role of Iwai with so much ease until I have reason to suspect that he's like that all the time ^__^ Either he's a good actor or he's just bringing his real life antics into the story. Nukumizu Yoichi's potrayal of the absent-minded Yamamura was also eye-catching. On the other hand, I got a bit bored of Tamayama Tetsuji because he was trying too hard to act cool. Likewise, Mizobata Junpei's role also got on my nerves a lot especially with his flamboyant dress sense in the drama. Why is that people like Amami, Takenouchi, Toda or even Kichise Michiko can look so stylish while Mizobata looks so weird with the mish-mash of colours? The stylish-in-charge can probably provide some answers to that.

Talking about the credits, I thought it was a brilliant idea to put fashionable in this context. Usually, when we talk about police dramas, the stereotype is of police officers who wear dark colours, look so stern and gruffy all the time and the whole atmosphere is sombre. However, in BOSS, we are shown the glamorous and stylish sides of these detectives. I guess this was to distinguish BOSS from the competition. In addition, it was to emphasize the message that the people who make up the Special Crimes Unit are a bunch of extraordinary people who couldn't fit into the rigid structure of an organization which focuses on discipline.

With regards to the theme song, it didn't leave a deep impression on me at all which I thought was a pity. The short intro in the opening credits was quite good though.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 8.5 out of 10 (It was a bit lacking in consistency with regards to quality but the good episodes and strong ending made up for it.)
Acting: 8.5 out of 10 (This is mainly for Amami and Takenouchi. Also kudos to the guests who did especially well i.e. Takeda Tetsuya, Shida Mirai and Namase Katsuhisa)
Theme song: 5 out of 10 (If for the short intro in the opening, I would have failed BOSS in this category.)
Visual effects / Scenery: 7 out of 10 (Nothing particularly interesting in terms of scenery but I liked the fashion displayed as well as the set design for the Special Crimes Unit.)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 9 out of 10 (Three cheers for Oosawa and Nodate!)

Total: 38 out of 50