Most Japanese procedurals start in the same way: you have a leader-type who’s been made an outcast for some reason (a failure to perform, bureaucratic sabotage, personal trauma), persuaded to work again by a fellow […]. To ensure their success, they’ve assembled a special ragtag team of misfits with a specific set of skills — at this point, they are very unclear because all they appear to be is incompetent. Of course, there’s a reason for all of this! At the end, they overcome their differences and work towards one singular goal. Or you’ve got an eccentric who comes in to really ~shake up~ the status quo and show their resistant team members the TRUE meaning of justice blah blah blah… sound familiar?
SEE: BOSS, Doubles, Keizoku series, Ogon no Buta, MR. BRAIN, etc.
“Kagi no Kakatta Heya”, on the other hand, was like a delicious meal I ate too quickly and spent no time to savor. By the time I digested it, I had moved onto the next set of dramas to devour (as is my year end tradition for dramas — I finished this one December ’12). It wasn’t until the special aired earlier this year that I realized that it was actually pretty decent as a show! Although it relies on a familiar set of tropes, like Enomoto (Ohno Satoshi) as a suuuuuper astute locksmith and Aoto (Toda Erika) as the rookie with a strong sense of justice, it was a formula done right. It played to the cast’s strengths and functioned as a mystery procedural should with a little something extra. I have to admit my expectations were also very low, and wrongfully so. You have my favorite Arashi member, an actress whose dramas/specials I’ve been consistently watching since 2010, and Sato Koichi. How could you lose? I’ve been jaded by one too many mysteries, but this was comfort food well served!
(More) Reasons to Watch: Better than average mystery drama dealing exclusively with locked room murder cases! Guest stars galore.
Honorable Mention: “Vampire Prosecutor” (OCN / 2011), “Let’s Eat” (tvN / 2014), “Around 40” (TBS / 2008), “Keizoku 2: SPEC” (TBS / 2010)