Title: ストロベリーナイト Sutoroberī Naito (Strawberry Night)
English Title: Strawberry Night
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2012
Episode: 11
Cast:
- 竹内結子 Takeuchi Yuko
- 西島秀俊 Nishijima Hidetoshi
- 宇梶剛士 Ukaji Takashi
- 小出恵介 Koide Keisuke
- 丸山隆平 Maruyama Ryuhei
- 生瀬勝久 Namase Katsuhisa
- 遠藤憲一 Endo Kenichi
- 渡辺いっけい Watanabe Ikkei
- 高嶋政宏 Takashima Masahiro
- 武田鉄矢 Takeda Tetsuya
- 戸田昌宏 Toda Masahiro
- 中林大樹 Nakabayashi Taiki
- 大和田獏 Owada Baku
SYNOPSIS
Himekawa Reiko is a capable police detective at the Metropolitan Police Department. She is considered a non-elite as she doesn't have any connections and she did not graduate from the top universities but she has risen fast through the ranks due to her hard work.
Kikuta Kazuo is Reiko's second-in-command in Reiko's investigation team. Always cool and collected, he knows his boss well enough to anticipate her thought processes and commands.
Ishikura Tamotsu is a police detective who wears out his shoes through interviewing people in order to gather information about different crimes. His calming presence helps Reiko to calm down when she sometimes gets emotional.
Yuda Kohei is the happy-go-lucky member of Reiko's team. He is enthusiastic about his work and his superiors have much to teach him about being a police detective.
Hayama Noriyuki is a new addition to Reiko's team and he was initially disappointed to have a female superior. Hayama thinks that females are weaker and being a police detective is not an ideal job for a woman.
REVIEW
Strawberry Night is one of the best investigative dramas I've watched. Most of the cases are interesting in that it is not easy to figure out who the killers are as well as how and why they committed the crimes. It's also amazing how one of the main characters are particularly relevant in one of the cases, in terms of personalities or work habits or personal circumstances.
The first episode tackled one case and succeeding cases took two episodes to be resolved. This is what I didn't like about the drama because I have to wait for about two weeks in order to figure out the criminal, and to find out what really happened.
I have always hoped that romance will develop between Himekawa Reiko and Kikuta Kazuo, mainly because they look good together and they work well together. I think Kazuo is in love with Reiko and he is aware that he is in love with her, but he just couldn't find the right moment to confess his feelings. I think Reiko is indifferent not because she doesn't like him but more because she hasn't given the matter a serious consideration. Of course, I may just be reading something between the lines because I want something to happen between them.
What's really great about Strawberry Night is Reiko's team because everyone respects her and is willing to follow her as their leader even though she is a woman, which seems to be viewed as a disadvantage in the field. It's also great that they are always supporting each other and looking out for each other. Their camaraderie makes them look like they treat their team members as not just work colleagues but as close friends, or even as a pseudo-family.
I don't really know why the drama is still called Strawberry Night when the cases discussed are not anymore related with the Strawberry Night case that was tackled in the prequel ストロベリーナイト Strawberry Night but perhaps it's because it's a continuation? Anyway, most of the characters returned for this sequel, at least those that could considering the story line, and there are also some new characters.
Related:
ストロベリーナイト Strawberry Night (2010)
ストロベリーナイト Strawberry Night (2013)
ストロベリーナイト Strawberry Night (2013)
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ストロベリーナイト Strawberry Night
