Hero - Season 1

Hero already ranks as a classic among Japanese series, but that's just one of the reasons to watch this series. In this series, attention is paid to both main characters and supporting ones, so from that point of view, the series feels very believable and one can sympathize with the characters. Kimura Takuya was a good choice for the lead role since even though he is a member of SMAP, he can't sing; but he can act, and here he also wins everyone over with his charm. One enjoys going into the field with Kuryu and thinking about how or why this or that happened, then deciding on that basis whether or not to take the person in question to court. He takes his job very responsibly – like a proper Japanese person – but you don't feel like the series is especially lecturing you on values; this is probably due to the fact that each of the main characters has their one flaw or fetish. It's an interesting series with subtle humor that spices everything up – as does the presence of Tanaka Yoji as the anonymous bartender. (10.11.2014)