SPEC - Birth

Kind of like X-men cross with US TV show Heros or that one about family with super powers. But in a crime genre.

2 outcasts works in a special police department that deals with 'mutant's if you will. They don't explain the background - which is good as it can get ugly. Each show has a crime resolution and a long term plot also.

As with most Japanese crime genre, case resolution is neat. The 2 main actors are great - especially Toda. She use minimal makeup and scruffy hair doo - and it works for her smart character.

The ending a bit open for followup and a bit sketchy. But good enough for me.

I can only guess this series is based on a manga comic. The characters are one dimensional, the plots are nonsensical. There is a lot of forced humour. There's nothing remarkable about the production, the special effects or the direction.

And yet somehow it works.

Everything is silly, and I'll forgive viewers who are appalled by its childishness. Others, like me, will love the by-lines, caricatures and self-confident story arcs.

I don't know why, but "series" 2 and 3 are single episodes 1.5 hours long.

You might like to view No.3 first, although there are one or two spoilers, the entire episode is the backstory.

I assume "Spec" means specification or special. It doesn't matter.