Gonzô: Densetsu no keiji

Nothing is really a 10. But this is close. Very very close. How does a TV series get so meticulous is beyond me.

Everything takes its time. The setup, the dialogue, the lighting, the direction is so patient.

The story is nothing new - a detective with a difficult past now relegated to the props department rises again to a new challenge. The genre is crime. And even towards the end, who is the killer is not a surprise - there is no real mind bending twist here.

But the key is connection. Connection to make every little thing together as a whole. So you as the audience feel the effort of the writing. Every line of dialogue has meaning or will come back to at some point. Every minor character has a turning point. Every scene makes sense. But you wonder, was it a good director see the excellent script and stuck to it? Or is it a good script meeting a excellent director? Or maybe it's the producer ?

From the first episode, you see they want to cover a lot to track you in. And it does - not with over the top excitement, but with the a split story of the 2 male leads. And the multipple cases. All is there. It sets you up.

Now the acting maybe a small weak point. The lead actor I don't find particular subtle or charismatic. But the story doesn't need him to be that way. So I wonder? Or is he that good?

And the last episode has 1 or 2 things I can gripe - as to the history of the killer. But that is tiny 10min out of 450? I'm not complaining, really.

This is as good as it gets.