I gave this drama a try for the same reason everyone else tuned in, Masumoto Jun of Arashi stars in this drama. We as viewers are being kind of superficial but this is how it works with finding good dramas to watch. You either walk into a random drama blindly and hope that its good or you watch drama based off of who was casted.(I look at the plot also.) Many of my favorite Japanese actors and actresses choose interesting scripts to act for and Arashi does this the most. So I'm always excited to see what dramas they will be involved in creating.
99.9 -Keiji Senmon Bengoshi was added to my drama lineup in the mist of me watching the Korean reboot of "The Good Wife". These are both two lawyer dramas and I normally don't watch dramas that have the same subject matter back to back but 99.9 would not let me go. The shooting was mostly done in Tokyo right in the center of the city where most of the bustling crowds are alive. I noticed that the shooting style is one I have seen before so I'm guessing this isn't the first drama Ive seen by this director. City shots containing the mid movement gliding of the camera in motion gives a the viewer an idea of how big Tokyo, Japan really is from above. The lawyers travel many places but the drama is shot to have a central place featured in each episode while having places such as the office, the jail, and the bar as recurring areas. The director knows how to shift from different angles with ease to make sure the action is not only shown but intensified. I always loved how when the killer is uncovered the camera angles will constantly change angles to show the different character's reactions in the span of a short period of time. A shaky camera angle is also added in there sometimes. You have various shots that show the bigger picture while also being active and all over the place. I can't imagine how many takes had to be done in order to create the final product of what was shown on television.
Matosumoto Jun was casted along side Veteran actor Teruyuki Kagawa, and actress Eikura Nana. Ive seen both costars in other dramas especially Kagawa. He's always casted for these angry old man type of roles that make you laugh as a result of his antics. Kagawa and Kagawa constantly butt heads when they are together but their interactions are what make the show funny. With that being said. EVERYONE IN THIS DRAMA IS A LITTLE WACKY. Not one character has a normal trait about them. If I went to their law firm, I would think I had taken the wrong entrance and ended up in a mental hospital. Matsumoto Jun is the craziest of all of them. He acts as a man who goes about his day with a smile on his face, loves adding his own sauces to foods, loves word games, and has amazing power to recall everything a suspect has said to him just by playing with and unplugging his ears. Weird? I know. Eikura Nana is a Japanese wrestling fanatic and is freakishly strong.(She drinks her milk and takes her vitamins obviously.) The rest of the characters are there for more comic relief and to starts conflict behind the scenes like we need anymore. Jun is the engine for this show for the most part. Had he been a bad actor, the rest of the performances would have crashed and burned like a car accident. He got to that point in his mental state that a screw is missing somewhere. The way he reactions and views situation are completely different than a normal human being but this doesn't affect the character,s strong sense of wanting justice for people who have been falsely accused of crimes. This is the only instance where all the characters seem more human than comical.
Each episode deals with a different case. You will find as you watch more episodes is that its not about whats one the surface but what lies below the surface. The lawyers not only have to catch the killer but they also have to prove the person charged with the murder innocent. Some cases span from years ago to the most recent but each actor and actress did their part to make human emotion a huge part of why someone would hurt another person, a person they might not even have met. I also got a kick out of the facial expression of the real killer when they get caught. Its like a Scooby doo episode," I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you metaling lawyers!!!!!" This drama contains a lot of references to Japanese pop culture new and old. If your not familiar with the history of Japanese pop culture than a lot of the jokes made might be lost on you. Japanese viewers must have laughed until they cried though, as this show has no filter with the jokes being thrown around. I don't think a season two will be made of this drama because its feels like the incompleteness was done on purpose to show that these lawyers have taken on a never-ending war.
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| I JUST CAN'T...... HAHAHAHA |
Japan is one of the masters of taking wacky and mixing it with serious to make 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi. Anytime you throw a scene of a group of children dancing with big smiles on their face in the middle of a dark movie, you know that Japan is just experimental.
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