Kyojo is an entertaining drama special with a tremendous performance from KimuTaku.

 

I'm always trying to freshen things up with this blog and today's post is another new venture. I recently was looking for something to watch during my down time and stumbled upon a drama special that I had been meaning to see previously. Naturally, I gave it a shot and thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on the novel by Hiroki Nagaoka, the drama special is of course, Kyojo! 

The plot of Kyojo focuses on a group of students studying at a police academy. The students are all of course aiming to become police officers for varying reasons and each come from different backgrounds. Things go somewhat smoothly for the main cast of students until their instructor changes. The new instructor is quite the intimidating figure with a calm, but very strict demeanour and a glass right eye. Kimichika Kazama is remarkably observant as he notices even the most subtle things and keeps watch over his students. Kazama is a charismatic figure and his methods may be harsh, but he is extremely effective at his job. Throughout the course of the series, the students are whittled down to a select few as they are faced with the harsh reality of what it means to be a police officer. 

As a tv drama special, Kyojo obviously was operating on a smaller budget than most movies. Having said that, the direction of Isamu Nakae helps to overcome that. Nakae's focused direction really draws the best performances possible out of the cast. It also helps that the characters have some depth and aren't just wooden planks trying to feel human. So for that, Ryoichi Kimizuka also deserves credit for adapting the novel into a well crafted script. Add to that some tremendous shot selection and you've got a winning formula. The cinematography at times is beautiful. This can be seen in the final episode of the first special were the students are tasked with searching for clues from the body of a dummy that is representing a homicide victim. The forest location is stunning and there are some great wide shots that show off the location rather well. A lot of the drama is greatly enhanced with the camerawork as well. For instance, the most intense scene in the drama were Kazama confronts Nanbara in the shooting range has some stand out shots. The upward angled shot of Kazama holding the gun emphasises his domination of the situation and relays Nanbara's sheer terror and fear for his life as he's on the ground cowering. 

My favourite shot in the drama special is actually the shot of Kazama meditating in the dojo. The use of lighting is really neat as it comes through the windows and illuminates half of Kazama's face and body. The light itself has a subtle bluish tint and just looks awesome.

                              

I really appreciated the fact that all of the main group of students each had a backstory and a motivation for becoming a police officer. In fact most episodes help the audience learn more about one or 2 students in particular and revolve around them. It does this whilst also slowly revealing more about Kazama's character and his past as well as progressing the overarching march towards graduation of the class. This is obviously a good thing as it helps the audience get invested in the characters and makes you want to continue watching to see where things go. 

What I think really elevates Kyojo above the more mediocre dramas is the performance of Takuya Kimura. You can tell that the man was truly committed to the role as he stole every scene that he was in. KimuTaku is one of those talents that has a unique charisma and he used that to great effect. He was intimidating when the scene called for it and the calmly charismatic, strict mentor to a group of students when needed. He also portrayed the role with depth as there's a hint of regret at his past actions underneath the surface. It also helped that he was willing to change his usual appearance and he looked badass. The gray hair and glass eye actually looked awesome on him. 

Ryosuke Mikata also had his moment to shine in the role of Yota Tsusuki. His acting felt authentic with some raw emotion that doesn't cross into being over the top. This is especially apparent in a powerful scene in which his motivation for becoming a police officer is finally revealed. He has a good arc in which he starts out distrustful of Kazama before coming to respect his mentor. 

I really enjoyed Shuhei Miura's performance as Jun Kusakabe. His motivation was one of my favourites as he was a man that was down and out seeking redemption. His personal arc sees him regain the self confidence that he had lost whilst recognising that he is his own enemy. It was a good parallel to that of Hazuki Hishinuma's arc in which Hishinuma was overly confident and needed to be humbled.

I was also a fan of Yuko Oshima's performance as Shinobu Kusumoto. Her arc showed the stupidity of making false assumptions and allegations with no real evidence to go off of. Oshima succeeded in making me sympathetic to her plight whilst also cursing her for some rather dumb decisions she made. 

Overall, I thought that Kyojo was a really solid show with a good cast and a tremendous performance from KimuTaku that showcases his skills as a serious actor. I'd recommend it to fans of dramas and KimuTaku. I'd also recommend it to those that are fans of academy settings.