Unfair na no wa dareka? The Special!

So, I watched Unfair: The Special: Code Breaking. It was just as good as the series. Andou even popped up because Yukihira was so distraught she had "visions" of him talking to her about the case. The only bad part is that they ended it in a cliff-hanger that continues in the movie. And, seeing as how it only released in theaters in March I am going to have to wait and wait for it to come out with sub-titles. ((I'm STILL waiting for a version of Trick: The Movie 2 to have sub's)) But, if you want to make sure that you catch it all in one go, you should wait. But don't forget about it because it's a really excellent series. It's a nice change from the bubblegum sweet stories that I usually catch.
For an actual "summary" of the special: The special takes place nine months after Andou's death and starts out focusing on a series of deaths of older Japanese men, dying of apparent natural causes. Yukihira believes that they are murders based purely on instinct. After a lot of digging it turns out that they are in face, murders and they are somehow connected to Yukihira, the batsu-site and Yukihira's father. She must find the murderer before they get away with killing the last member of the group - only she has to figure out who it is first! Oh - did I mention that Mio-chan is talking now? SO KAWAI! Lot's of movies portray Japanese children as being UBER-creepy (The Ring, Ju-On, etc) so it's amazing I find her so cute. Except when she whispers. Whispering kids are super sKary.

アンフェア na no wa dareka? (Drama Review: Unfair)

Ryoko Shinohara as Natsumi Yukihira

Eita Nagayama as Kazuyuki Andou

Mion Mukaichi as Mio Satou

Teruyuki Kagawa as Kazuo Sato

What is unfair? (Unfair na no wa dareka?) is the question of the entire series. Ryoko Shinohara plays tough cop Natsumi Yukihira, the top murder detective in Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department. A series of murders begin to surround her, and as suspiscion begins to creep around every corner of her life, she begins to fight for her family and her life.

I really enjoyed this series. I am excited to watch the special tonight, as I own it already. The movie looks amazing too, but I have to wait for that to be released on DVD. I was pretty impressed with the level of acting in this series too. Usually with series that are a little quieter in mass appeal, the acting is lack-luster. I was blown away with each plot twist and the acting ability of some of the more minor characters. Mion Mukaichi was adorable. Her roll as Mio-chan was great. She plays as an eight year old, but I think in looks she is about four! It must have been tough for her to act without speaking at all. (Don't worry, it's not really a spoiler since you know right off the bat why Mio-chan doesn't speak.) I'm glad that in the snipets I've caught of the Unfair - The Movie she is back in the action. Eita did a good job too. I think that he's been growing as an actor, after Waterboys, this is a good grown-up roll for him to take on. Watch this series if you have time and like mystery and good acting. As a bonus - Yuna Ito sings the theme - Truth.

Five Stars - *****