Atami no Sousakan

Original Title: 熱海の捜査官

Atami no Sousakan (trnsl: Atami Investigators) is an 8-episode mystery comedy written and directed by film director Satoshi Miki (Turtles Swim Faster than Expected, Instant Swamp), and stars actors Joe Odagiri (Sway) and Chiaki Kuriyama (Battle Royale, Kill Bill) as two special branch detectives arriving to the city of South Atami to solve the mysterious disappearance of a bus with four schoolgirls from a private school.

But there’s more to it. A lot has been drawn in comparison to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. South Atami seems to be some kind of in-between place between the worlds of the dead and the living. There’s not a sense of time in it, and there are times that the characters completely lose track of it. However, this is also Satoshi Miki’s work and it’s clear with the humor used in the show, brilliantly showcased by Eri Fuse (often working with Miki) ,who could literally steal any scene she’s in.

Performances are also on par with the quality production, from seasoned actors, contemporary actors, and a brand new batch of talents that includes Ayaka Miyoshi* in the role of the enigmatic Shinonome-kun, and Fumi Nikaido, who has an uncanny resemblance to Aoi Miyazaki, playing Shinonome’s classmate Remi.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Watch it on ViKi.com – no subtitles yet

* as pointed out in the comments, there was an error between Ema Sakura, who plays Minami Sakayaki, in the show.

Ghost Writer

Here. There. Everywhere. Punished soul that usually watches what nobody wants, but sometimes gets lucky.

6 Responses

  1. Amy says:

    I loved this show. I would also recommend it… and please, you can listen to Tokyo Jihen's theme song – it's amazing. 天国へようこそ/Tengoku he Youkoso (Welcome to Paradise)

  2. kamalachan says:

    I want to see this!!!! :)

  3. Doki Doki Morning says:

    Ayaka Miyoshi of the idol group Sakura Gakuin plays Mai Shinonome, not Ema Sakura, whoever she is.

  1. May 13, 2014

    […] Though Kuriyama has been involved in a series of film projects that includes some Steven Seagal movie called Into the Sun, Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War, Sang-il Lee’s Scrap Heaven and Mamoru Oshii’s The Sky Crawlers, she just hasn’t had a really big break in acting… unless you count the pretty interesting Satoshi Miki jdrama, Atami no Sousakan. […]

  2. October 10, 2014

    […] that other Twin-Peaks-esque adaptations like Keizoku (mostly in its first film) and especially Atami no Sousakan manage to achieve in their own spins to Lynch’s style, but then again I’m never […]

Leave a Reply to yam magazineCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.