A Japanese businessman murdered in London triggers a Yakuza gang war in Tokyo. Police officer Kenzo Mori is sent to London to return his brother Yuto to "justice" and stop the violence. Yuto was thought to be dead, and his disappearance had roots in previous gang violence. Kenzo travels to London under the guise of completing an exchange training program, but the clock is ticking for how long violence in both cities can be held back from overflowing.
By the time I watched this, I had seen lots of praise for this show and had gotten the idea it was an incredibly serious drama, deeply bedded in character and small moments. Not sure why I thought that - I guess anything that gets praise I assume must be deep maybe. There is a certain amount of this, but mostly Giri / Haji is a solid crime drama with plenty of incident, violence, twists and turns. It presents exaggerated thrills to keep the plot moving, often riding on convenience in the writing to keep things moving. It does work though, and what helps it is that it does put time into the characters. The mix with this side of the drama is not always seamless, but it does help the engagement that the characters have lives and consequences hanging over them.
The performances help this a lot. The characters are often exaggerated but the actors deliver them well, with a lot of quality from the leads and the support. The design of the show is effective too. At first I wondered if the cross-cultural element was simply going to be used to make it seem different, but it doesn't do this. Tokyo is not presented as the city of Akira as it often is, but more just a normal place with people living in it. The use of animation is a nice touch, and other flourishes in the delivery add to this (the flashback structure, the chapter titles, and best example of the rooftop sequence in the final episode).
It is a strong series, not perfect but with all the components working well together.
5 out of 6 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
