Ishiko to Haneo: Sonna Koto de Uttaemasu?

Ishiko and Haneo is an entertaining and educating law drama series. The lawsuit cases are interesting. The main leads switch between bantering foes to supportive friends easily. The romantic sub story was unfulfilling and perhaps should have been eliminated, as the second lead, Abo, although clearing attracted to Ishiko and an attractive man, is wasted in the romantic story. She spends way more time and shares more of her life situations with Haneo. It makes it seem she likes her attorney partner more and they are closer as a couple. The ending points at a second season. To the writers, if you present a romantic story give the viewer some romance, continue with more interesting lawsuits, and explore more in depth the personal lives of the main and second leads.

If you liked Extraordinary Attorney Woo, you'll enjoy this character-based series. Although the law firm is tiny and the protagonists quite different, it has a similar pacing, a strong (not stereotypical) female lead and, with each episode, a new case to explore and mystery to unravel.

The series starts a little slowly, but each episode gives us new insights into the characters' behavior, giving them more depth and drawing us in. Fine performances not only by the two leads, but by the supporting cast as well. A well-written, well-produced series. As for romance, it's understated and ambiguous. I'm really hoping for a second season so we can learn more.

It is a good lawyer drama. The chemistry between the leads are really good (despite the endgame romance).

I enjoyed the cases and the battering. There are some actors and actresses that I recognized as well. Looking at you wentz.

Overall, I did enjoyed it. It was a nice watch during dinner. I don't know if I particularly enjoyed the romance. It adds nothing and they could completely remove it and it won't change anything.

I did said in another review that I like to root for the underdogs, but for this I prefer the lead's chemistry. Or they could just go like legal high and have no romance at all.

Each case really does have quite a compelling premise. The types of cases are also very interesting because they're civil suits, not criminal ones, which we've already seen too much of in both Asian and North American dramas. The problem is that the middle section of each case gets really boring and I end up dropping it for a couple of days before I try to finish it.

What I liked:

• unusual and interesting cases
• favourite case was Oba's
• male and female leads - actors had pretty good chemistry
• creating a protagonist who has a superpower, but who also has a major flaw
• the other supporting characters in the ensemble

What was problematic:

• writer/director didn't know how to build up complexity in a story to keep it interesting
• Ishiko's and Oba's dynamics > actors had no chemistry with one another

Since there are more things that I like about this drama than not, it should have got a higher rating. However, the overall series is just very blah.