Quick Review #14: Kyousou no bannin (Summer 2022)

Title: Kyousou no bannin 競争の番人

Season: Summer 2022

Broadcast by: FujiTV

Rating: 3/10

Recommended for: those who like David vs. Goliath stories where the underdog does not give up when faced with a more powerful enemy or want to know more about the Fair Trade Commission 

Liked:

- The cast although it was such a waste that they didn't get to perform to their full potential

Disliked: 

- David vs. Goliath stories are interesting to watch only if the underdog manages to overcome the odds to topple the giant. However, the biggest limitation of FTC is that they do not have the right to arrest anyone and any form of judicial action taken on a case they have investigated has to be conducted by the police and prosecutors. As such, the drama was already "handicapped" in the first place because the members of Dairoku cannot exact justice on their own and always had to let others take credit for their work. In addition, those being investigated actually can refuse to have their premises searched which further cripples Dairoku's power to seize evidence for their investigations. Without such a "climax scene" in this drama, you can imagine that there was effectively no "climax" for viewers to look forward to in each episode.

Despite these limitations, the drama didn't try very hard to show a way out of this dire situation and simply kept emphasizing that Dairoku was powerless and so weak that they could be bullied, belittled and ostracized. Compared to "Ishiko to Haneo" which tried to offer alternatives and got creative in seeking justice for the weak who suffered injustices, I thought that the way how the drama portrayed the FTC was extremely unflattering and it was really difficult to root for them as "heroes" to take out those who engage in anti-competition behaviour.

 

- As I've not read the original novel, I cannot ascertain if the bland developments/cases in this drama were due to the novel or the script. However, considering that they took 3 episodes to work on 1 case and everything else after that was rather standard and predictable (even the one against the big baddie), it felt as if not much effort was put into the story. That last episode was truly redundant too and could have been a standalone SP instead.

Seriously, it can't be a coincidence that FujiTV "messed" up 2 novels from the same author in 2 consecutive seasons (the other being "Motokare no yuigonjou" in spring) so I can't help but wonder what happened this time. Is it because the novels concerned are not so suited to be dramatised or is it that the method to dramatise these novels was somewhat lacking? 

- Due to the inherent problems with the story, the cast were severely handicapped in developing their characters. Other than Koshobu (Sakaguchi Kentaro) and Shirokuma (An) who had slightly more airtime showcasing their lives outside of Dairoku, not much is know about the others. As such, the key members felt rather flat and one-dimensional and it was difficult to relate to them or feel for them. It was such a great pity though because these actors definitely could deliver more than this.