Review of 33 pun Tantei Ep 2

This will be the last I'm seeing of this drama.

Like what I mentioned before, I will not continue to watch this drama if it proves to be what I deduced from the first episode i.e. deliberately lengthening the episode just to fit that 33-minute requirement. Well, this type of dramas can be a hit or miss so for me, it falls into the latter category. Some jokes were downright silly so I really couldn't bear the thought of sitting through another episode of this drama.

The most fascinating or should I say bewildering thing I couldn't understand was why Ootawara had to go to Rokuro time and again for help when he could have solved the case in just 5 minutes. It just seems like he's been taken for a ride and end up at the starting point. Doesn't he feel silly about this? It is unlike Kindaichi or even the gang from Tantei Gakuen Q who really do the case-solving and be of help to the police detectives. Anyway, I won't bother about trying to think through this point since I'm stopping at Episode 2.

Seems like there are many people who do like this drama based on the ratings. It's been doing relatively well for a late-night drama. Are they watching it for Tsuyoshi or the story?

Review of 33 pun Tantei Ep 1

Let me clarify that I am no fan of Doumoto Tsuyoshi thus my motive in watching this drama has nothing to do with his appearance. In fact, none of the cast members appeal to me in such a way that makes this drama a must-watch. It's just that the concept of this drama seemed rather appealing when I read about it in the entertainment news so I decided to give it a shot. To be frank, I just don't know how to describe my feelings about watching the first episode. To be precise, it's a mixture of disappointment and bewilderment.

To begin with, let me give a brief introduction to this drama. Kurama Rokurou (Doumoto) owns a detective agency and has an assistant Muto Rikako (Mizukawa Asami) whose presence is somewhat like one who brings the weirdo Rokurou back to earth when he imagines too much or does strange things. Add in the police detectives Ootawara and Mogi as well as the information source (Kojima Yoshio) and the forensic scientists and that rounds up the cast. From what I knew from the news, the main draw of this drama is to see how Rokurou solves the case in 33 minutes BUT in the first episode, that is clearly different.

I was given the idea that Rokurou was going to solve the case in 33 minutes but the first episode showed him going round in circles during the 33 minutes just to arrive at a conclusion which was apparent right from the start. This means that he could have wrapped up the case in 5 minutes but deliberately lengthened the solving process to 33 minutes. It just makes me wonder what's the purpose of doing that. As such, you will see Rokurou throwing up senseless conjectures and bringing out irrelevant details which are not that crucial to solving the case. True, it was a bit funny to see him fumbling throughout the way but it got stale as time went by. I just couldn't wait for it to end halfway into the drama.

Well, I'll give this drama another chance before writing it off completely. I'm quite disappointed with this drama because I expected more especially after seeing how its predecessors in the same timeslot had done relatively well in the quality department e.g. Liar Game, SP and LIFE. I hope it will get better instead of dragging it for 33 minutes for no reason.

33 pun Tantei 33分探偵 (The 33-minute detective)

Title: 33 pun Tantei (The 33-minute detective)
Showing on: FujiTV
Timeslot: 11.10pm Saturdays
Theme song: Secret Code by KinKi Kids



Cast:

Kurama Rokurou (Doumoto Tsuyoshi)
Muto Rikako (Mizukawa Asami)
Ootawara (Takahashi Katsumi)
Mogi (Totsugu Shigeyuki)
Ai (Nonami Maho)
Information source (Kojima Yoshio)
Forensic scientist (Satou Jirou)