ザラ Notes: SPEC～零～ SPEC Rei

24 October 2013

SPEC～零～ SPEC Rei

Title: SPEC～零～ SPEC Rei
English Title: SPEC Zero
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2013
Episode: 01
Cast:

戸田恵梨香 Toda Erika
加瀬亮 Kase Ryo
神木隆之介 Kamiki Ryunosuke
城田優 Shirota Yu
福田沙紀 Fukada Saki
伊藤毅 Ito Takeshi
川島海荷 Kawashima Umika
向井理 Mukai Osamu

SYNOPSIS
After training with the FBI in the US, Tōma Saya returns to Japan to work in Mishō, a special division in the police department that solves difficult and mysterious cases.

REVIEW
SPEC Rei is a great drama to watch because the characters are quirky and interesting, the cases are strange and complicated, and the outcome not always black and white.

I especially like the SPEC series of production because it explored the mysteries of the human brain and human abilities. It is said that the average person only uses around 10% of their brain so what is the 90% for? Perhaps people who can manage to make use of the other 90% (or part of it, thereof) of their brain have special abilities and extraordinary characteristics.

Tōma Saya: A typical human normally uses 10% of his brain. We still don't know what's hidden in the other 90%. But the powerful people of this world has already concluded that there are people whose latent abilities or SPEC has been awakened. And so, those people with SPEC or SPEC holders become human resources just like oil and rare metals.

Because of the special abilities of criminals or other people involved in the case, it is difficult to try to figure out what the special ability was and who has it, who was the real criminal, and how the crime was committed exactly. So when it's time for Tōma Saya to explain what really happened, everyone's all ears.

SPEC Rei can be considered as a short introduction to the world of SPEC. It shows snippets of what happened in Saya's past and in Sebumi's past, including things that were not presented in the previous SPEC productions.

This is a confusing drama to watch as the scenes are not presented in a linear way, and the scenes go back and forth without much warning whatsoever. Generally though, most of the scenes in this production occurred prior to the time frame in the ケイゾク 2: SPEC (Keizoku 2: SPEC) drama.

For people who have watched the previous SPEC productions, I don't really think it is necessary to watch SPEC Rei because I don't think any of the new scenes are in any way significant. I may be wrong and the new scenes may be important, but right now I think otherwise.