MONSTERS (2012)

Despite being listed as a Comedy Detective Mystery Drama, it's really just a Comedy that happens to involve Detective work. As mentioned in the comments, there isn't really a plot besides the two main characters solving mysteries together (with Hiratsuka being the Sherlock-esque character and Saionji being his Watson), although we do learn a tiny bit about Saionji's background, mainly revolving around his adorable girlfriend, Emi-chan. Aside from that, however, it's basically just a stereotypical Detective drama involving random cases and tons of Comedy.

That doesn't mean the show isn't good, however. The acting in this is superb, and honestly something I did not expect from a Comedy-oriented drama. All of the characters are played extremely well and it's really hard not to like any of them. Since this isn't a super serious drama, you shouldn't expect tons of heavy stuff. It's very light-hearted and some bits are purposely over-exaggerated for the sake of the Comedy aspect, however it's all very well done so it's by no means annoying or anything like that.

All in all, if you like Crime-related Dramas and Comedy, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this. It's perfect for those looking for some good laughs or people who just want to break away from super-serious dramas for a little while.

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I've seen conflicting opinions and I get why. To my opinion, it's all about the mindset of the viewer starting this series.

Before watching I think you need to be ready to watch a somehow goofy drama. The title and poster first led me to think it was a serious drama, but it's really not. And if you're not in the mindset to accept ridiculous acting and goofy scenes in a serious setting, then you're probably not gonna enjoy it. I don't think it's the drama that is "bad" but rather the viewer needs to be ready to go along with the peculiar mood created by the leads, and if not, it's probably come off as bad or ridiculous. But it's actually made on purpose, and I though it was interesting to have, for once, a detective story that isn't 95% serious. dark and guns. I do enjoy those, but I thought a dorky detective story was refreshing. The "cheap" ambiance was actually made on purpose and found it interesting.

The main story is quite good, funny and stimulating.
The cast is also very good, and it was nice to see the actors giving a funny side to their own character for that mystery drama instead of sticking to a serious one like a lot does.

The main problem was that some stories were somehow easy to figure out, even before the main character's search process. Yes, some episodes are somehow easy to figure out but others are harder to guess and that makes it up for it, Not to mention I really liked how the drama really explorer the mind and feelings of the characters.

I also heard criticism about how MONSTERS is somehow repetitive. The drama do follow the same pattern from one episode to an other, but it's a detective drama and a lot of dramas of this genre follow the same pattern. (or even other genres, it''s common to have a pattern and follow it)

The characters were fascinating, and endearing... I especially like Yamashita Tomohisa to be this cute and funny, it was really refreshing to see him in that kind of character after so long ! It somehow reminded me of his cute younger self from Nobuta no Produce~

It's a refreshing drama I'd recommend you to watch !

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This is my first review on this site, been away from j-drama and on us tv series for a while. However, this is something that you won't see in any other tv series from states. I think this drama is underrated and lots of people been giving out bad comment on this drama. However, i think personally i kindda like this drama for a good laugh or something you want to watch during your weekend. While watching this drama, you dont have to think much about anything. Its a easy going drama and fun to watch and very typical detective drama with lot of comedy.

All the mood and tone in this drama already direct you to the point of comedy line so you wouldn't expect this drama to be something else.

Even though i'm not really a fan of the main lead actors but in this drama i think they are the best combination compare to other detective drama, a very decent one.

Overall, don't have to have any high expectation about the storyline or the plot that much just have fun and enjoy the comedy of this show, you would be enjoy i can guarantee that. This show is a example of very typical comedy detective j-drama so enjoy while you are watching it.

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I think this series ended way too soon, it could have carried on for another few episodes; however, that being said, I also think this series ended very well. It was great to see the cast rounded out and all within a "happy ending", so to speak. I liked watching Yanagihara Kanako in this series, it was my first time seeing her talent and skills and I thought she did an amazing job! It was also hilarious seeing Endo Kenichi in a different role other than "serious", if you know what I mean. The guests in each episode were also really great to watch, I couldn't tell who the suspect would be and just got wrapped up in watching the entire series. Katori Shingo is a marvelous actor in this series; Hiratsuka Heihachi's personality, traits, and unique qualities are what made this show, I believe. Although, Yamashita Tomohisa's character (Saionji Kosuke) was pretty great with the comedic timing, witty responses, and his own personality and attitude. My only issues is that I wish this series had more episodes!

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When i started watching this drama i really didn't expect much. In fact ,being a japanese serie, i really thought that i would end up dropping it. I don't know what it is about jdramas but in most of them, al least those that i have seen up until now, the acting and the plots are in general ... how should i put it, well quite horrible. Something that i find quite bizarre because i love anime and i find them and japanese voice actors brilliant. But i digress.
The thing is that l liked this particular drama; a lot. I liked the actors performances ( Yamashita was interesting in the role of the naive, goofy but honest detective Saionji while the "just as you are, just as you are" phrase of Hiratsuka stuck in my mind for days) and i enjoyed the plots of every episode.
Was it the best detective drama out there? Probably not but it was very interesting, smart, at times quite funny and not boring at all. I would in fact look forward to the next episode and missed it when it ended.
If i had to rate this particular drama, i would give it an 8 in total and i would really recommend it. Other than that it all comes down to personal preferences. For me, it was a nice show ( taking into account that it is a japanese drama)

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