Guilty : Mid Series Thoughts
Framed for a murder fifteen years ago, Meiko has spent majority of her life behind bars for a murder she never committed. Now out of prison, she has restarted her life as a timid, but lovable, pet stylist who’s work has now garnered the attention of the rich and famous… but, she holds a double life – exacting revenge on those who lied and put her in prison.
Meanwhile, a rogue detective notices a connection with a series of recent suicides, a murder that happened 15 years ago, and this woman. As he gets closer to her, he begins to fall in love with her, not knowing that she’s the one orchestrating these suicides. While, on the other hand, his feelings for her begin to make her feel conflicted with her vengeance.
he srsly has this constant fuuuuuuu face going on
I’ve been watching this show since episode three since the previews that air after Freeter bring back that Joker/Maou nostalgia I love so much. Its a clash of romance, suspense, action, and drama all rolled up in this uneven ball of stuff… that leaves you feeling like there’s something missing.
Guilty is about Meiko Nogami and her quest for revenge all the while trying to suppress her human emotions and keep a distance from everyone around her. When a rogue detective, Takuro Mashima, gets in contact with her Meiko becomes even more conflicted as she begins to fall in love with him. Likewise on his half, he has fallen in love with her despite knowing that she’s connected to a brutal murder case that happened 15 years ago in which several people connected have committed ‘suicide’.
While it sets up to be a great story premise, Guilty falls extremely short in the suspense department. The story is broken down into two episode story arcs where one episode is dedicated to the ‘human conflict’ of Meiko and the second episode dedicated to her exacting her revenge. This kind of format drags the story long to the point where it becomes boring to watch. Especially since it seems like, to me, the growing love affair between these two individuals seem rushed along faster than the actual story itself. I honestly didn’t come into Guilty expecting to watch a love story with a suspense back story, and the way its presented in this drama, it pretty much kills everything else.
their love story is truly a bore
Don’t get me wrong, Miho Kanno as Meiko totally brings a lot of life and emotion to the character and I really enjoy her as an actress, but watching her cry for nearly an entire episode is not really something I really want to sit through. Its almost reminiscent of Ryuusei no Kizuna in which all Toda Erika did every other minute was cry about how much the curry reminded her of home or how much their love is forbidden blah blah blah you’re annoying. Then there’s Hiroshi Tamaki’s character, Takuro Mashima, that only knows two emotions: AUUUUUGH ANGST FFFFFF MY PARTNER and AUUUUUGH DIS GIRL WHY DO I LOVE HER SO?
He has a constant FFFFFFFFFFF face going on this drama.
If this drama wasn’t broken down into two 45 minute story arcs then it wouldn’t be so bad and the romance aspect wouldn’t be so painfully obvious. But between scorned ex-girlfriend trying to cockblock Mashima and boohoo whhhhy am I falling in love Meiko, Guilty seems to be less than desired. Though, I still will continue to watch it because I do enjoy what little suspense is left in the drama. Meiko is a force to be reckoned with and out of all the ‘revenge’ inspired leads in dramas past that I have watched, Meiko seems the most deadliest as she toys with her victims personally before going for the kill. Where as in the case of Maou, Naruse Ryo was strictly out to take everyone out and with Joker, Date was only doing a job to repent for his so called sin. The interesting thing that they do present Meiko with is how everyone is inching closer and closer to the truth without her truly realizing it. How long can she maintain this double life seems to be the only true suspense element of this drama.
This week marks episode 5, the mid point of the season, let’s see what awaits.
lets see how far she'll go before it all crumbles