Japanese title: クロサギ
Aired on TBS
From 2006 April 14 to June 23
11 épisodes + a movie (2008)
Main cast:
Yamashita Tomohisa: Kurosaki (Kurosagi)
Horikita Maki: Yoshikawa Tsurara
Ichikawa Yui: Mishima Yukari
Yamazaki Tsutomu: Katsuragi Toshio
Okunuki Kaoru: Hayasa
Aikawa Sho: Kashima Masaru
Tayama Ryosei: Momoyama Tetsuji
Kato Koji: Shiraishi Yoichi
Note: This drama is based on a popular manga that I haven't read.
Review: +
Title: Kurosagi is the nickname of the main character, it means "black
swindler" which is to say, the ultimate swindler, the swindler of
swindlers.
Boy: He's like a super hero. Dark origin story: check. Disguises:
various. Super power: being incredibly clever and self-controlled. Motives: taking
revenge and helping victims. He is lonely, has turned off his emotions due to a
tragedy and in order to devote himself to the destruction of swindlers but you can
see glimpses of kindness. Glimpses. (+)
Girl: She wants to be a prosecutor so she's at odds with Boy's
occupation which consists in breaking the law. She's very normal but I found her a bit bland. It's
weird because she has her own agenda and expresses herself but I didn't find
her interesting. I feel like she was more a token character because someone had
to point out that there are laws etc. Besides, I didn't get why she loves him, just because
he's hot and mysterious. She should be intrigued, maybe attracted to him but
he's so indifferent to her, she ends up acting like a doormat. (-)
Relationship: Weak. Were the relationship between the two main
characters a lot more compelling, it would have been a Fav but... as I said,
Girl is boring, and there is no chemistry. The romance subplot isn't organic,
it seemed like they had to add it. You know there is a problem when you ship
another girl with Boy. (-)
Plots: Each episode, Boy takes down a swindler. Each time, it's a
different scheme, with fake(s) identity(ies). It often requires suspension of
disbelief but it's entertaining. (+) I just wish it would have been a bit more serialised.
Other characters: - Girl's best friend: I like her though she can be mean.
We have some backstory, she's lively, she’s way more energetic than Girl. (+)
- Foe: A policeman who wants to arrest Boy. I just can't with him. His
characterization is all over the place, his backstory is the least credible
thing in the drama and he laughs maniacally for no reason like a villain in a
C-movie. (-)
- Allies: I didn't really get them. There is a old man who is very
important and I warmed to him in the latest episodes but in the first ones,
he's just disgusting, kind of creepy, like he was supposed to be mysterious but
ended up as annoying. There is a woman who cares for him and I didn’t really
get her either. (-)
One backstory is dropped for each character and then almost never heard
of again, except for Boy. Even for him, we see the same images again and again
and only at the end, we get some additional flashbacks fleshing out the origins
story.
Funny factor: Hmm no.
Music: I liked it.
Bottom line:
Two things saved this drama for me and made it compelling to watch:
1) Yamashita Tomohisa is magnetic in this drama, I just can't take my eyes off him in this drama. (Corner of superficiality: his hairstyle in this drama suits him and his character perfectly. Look at the picture above! It's actually promo for the movie but I like it better -except for the tear...- and anyway, it's closer to how he looks in the drama, since his movie hair is less black.)
2) Swindling
plots: original, interesting guest characters, new and distinctive challenges.
However, I can't deny the shortcomings: Most characters are uninteresting and you feel like you don't
know them and can't understand them. A romantic subplot is shoehorned.
It also feels like they wanted to keep stuff for a second season that never
happened.
But a movie happened. I was hoping resolution, Boy finally taking down
the big boss that ruined his family and I was disappointed. It was like a
random episode of the drama stretched to two hours (so too long) only with less
Girl (she has maybe 5 minutes of screen time but she doesn’t do anything), an obsession
with Julius Caesar by Shakespeare I didn’t totally get and an added emphasis on Old Man which would have been interesting if I, you know, was interested and not grossed out by him. Movie: -
