Crime and Conundrums

Eun Oh, who happens to be able to see and come in contact with ghosts, is wandering the nation in search of his mother who left when he was young. Arang is a girl who was murdered, and asks Eun Oh to find her killer. Thus begins the mysteries in Arang and the Magistrate. Are they connected or not? What kind of answers await our peculiar duo?

I feel like I should start with this... Bitter Blood is a crime show that does not take itself seriously at all. It is campy and ridiculous, and I loved it. I had been watching a lot of serious dramas, and really needed a lighthearted one, and bitter blood fit the bill perfectly. If you're looking for a good mystery show, look elsewhere, but if you need a cute, just fun show with cases being shown, you're in the right place.

Sahara Natsuki is a rookie detective who is assigned to  the  Investigation Division of Ginza police station where Akimura Shimao is. Akimura Shimao is a veteran detective who also happens to be Sahara's father who left him and his family when Sarahara was young. Well of course the two are assigned as partners and thus the fun antics start. With an interesting crew that is like family they solve cases together.

Mysteries pertaining to our main character's lives in 1930's occupy this drama's story. Han Se Joo and a handful of others have been reincarnated in present day, however only two really seem to remember tidbits of their past life. Han Se Joo has memories first come to him after encountering a Korean typewriter in Chicago. Jeon Seol, however, had memories of killing a man, a good man, since she was a child. This is the first question to be answered, but the main point is to find what exactly happened back in 1930, and to unravel their stories to finally be told. 

Similar to Chicago Typewriter, Circle has two stories unfolding at the same time, and Circle is trying to solve a mystery of the past. However, in its case, the past happens to be present day and the other time is 20 years in the future, but their stories are tightly entwined. Now, Circle does a great job at keeping the audience guessing, so I'll leave it at this: Circle revolves around the mysterious disappearance of twins and the unraveling of the secrets of New Earth.

(aka Circle: Two Connected Worlds)

Lee Moon Gi wakes up with amnesia. Suddenly he find himself with a ghost buddy who seems to know a lot about him. After some time, a bit of his memory returns, and he realizes he has to try hard to remember what happened in order to solve something major to him.

At the heart of this story, we have a Jang Deuk Cheon who is the chief of a crime squad and a loving father to his daughter. One day, his daughter gets kidnapped. He has already lost his wife to a man mad at angered at him, and refuses to let the same happen to his daughter, and so follows the kidnapper's requests. However, one of these such times, he runs into two men who look identical (and as MDL already lets you know), clones. Thus paves the entry into a mystery involving the two clones and the question of how his daughter became involved. 

(Just putting this in, try to make it through the first couple of episodes... while Deuk Cheon is annoying, and overly violent in the beginning, Sung Joon helps to calm him down. (not to mention incredible acting from Yang Se Jong))

Han Jin Woo is a genius, and what does he know the most? Medicine. Due to wanting a change/ struggling with something, he transfers to a group that deals with cases containing rare diseases. Here he meets Kang Kyung Hee, a police detective who is assigned to work with the group. Together, with a smaller team, they work to solve homicides, or just learn how someone died.  God's Quiz is mostly episodic, though there are little hints added at little bits that culminate till we reach the finale that solves the bigger mystery. 

For our first season this means Jin Woo is struggling with something personally, as well as is being messaged by a mysterious person who seems to know him. (Personally I kinda got a Sherlock/Moriarty feel from this >.<)

(aka Quiz From God or Wrath of God)

Second season follows the first season pretty closely with somethings that happened in the first season affecting this second season. There's some behind the scenes works that Jin Woo needs to try to figure out. Also a new face to the team, enter a new criminal profiler.

(aka Quiz From God or Wrath of God 2)

I feel like each season kept getting a bit darker, and season 3 is no exception, in fact there were a couple of times that I got little chills (at least I wasn't alone, Jin Woo was getting freaked out as well). This season had a lot of cliff hangers at the end of the episodes that featured Jin Woo once again struggling with something internally.
This season also is the first time the show itself felt different. New haircuts, Kyung Hee is replaced by Bae Tae Shik randomly for just this season ( so we have the detective and Jin Woo butting heads again), but other then that I really enjoyed this season, and it still keeps true to what it was before.

(aka Quiz From God or Wrath of God 3)

Season 4 is... kinda lighter? For the first time the bigger mystery seems to involve Kyung Hee instead of Jin Woo. However it is still pretty dark in it's own way with our main characters trying to do anything in their power to solve the case. Basically Kyung Hee's life is continously under attack and once Jin Woo finds out, they work together to solve the case that put her life in the cross hairs, as well as the life of some new medical examiners who happened to chance upon said case.

(aka Quiz From God or Wrath of God 3)

Basically season 5 

I found out this was about to come out right after finishing the first 4 on Netflix, and while I may not have needed to wait, it felt good to see this crew back together solving crimes. 

Not too much has changed, other than the fact the series has decided to make the cases 2 episodes long instead of 1. In this season, Jin Woo's great adversary is a... Computer! (I mean who else would be able to connect what disease it is faster?) Actually, it's probably the people behind the AI computer... or the person behind the person behind the computer... Or, perhaps it is the two other people who came off the plane, ready to wreck havoc... That's right, wait 4 years, and reboot up with 4 adversaries for our main lead...  (Bonus points to this season for having one of my favorite psychopaths in the series yet.)

Lee Hyun is a genius profiler who has come back to Korea after being sent something that triggers a memory of the past. Cha Ji An is a police officer and Lee Hyun's stalker, and has been since an incident that left them both fatherless as children. With a couple of other cases that slightly relate to their past and the big case before them, Lee Hyun and Ji An attempt to solve and catch the criminals.

(aka I Remember You)

Yoo Hyun Jae is part of super famous duo J2. He plans on leaving his company however, in search of more money with a different company and has in his possession a lot of money now. However, he has found himself time traveling to the future for reasons unbeknownst to him. He happens to have traveled a year before he mysteriously disappears. In this future he finds a lot of things that shock him. One such thing is his death date. With this news (and the discovery of songs he wrote being sung by someone else), he sets out to learn what exactly happened to him. 

(aka The Best Hit)

Missing Nine follows a group who have, after a plan crash, become stranded on an island. Ra Bong Hee appears in the beginning as the only survivor however, she has amnesia, probably due to the stress. Since the nation is curious as to what happened (due to the fact famous idols were on the plane), she is asked to recount what happened and sent to a psychologist as well to help her remember. However a body shows up as well as a couple others, and it becomes clear fast that not all is as it first appeared. 

Park Sun Woo is a reporter who, due to an accident involving his brother, finds himself in possession of incense sticks that allow him to travel 20 years to the past. It just so happens that nearing those 20 years ago, His father died in a suspicious fire, and Sun Woo is sure he know who did it, ruining his family, and so he's collected information to bring down this man who everyone believes to be great (sorry I forgot his name >.<). Sun Woo attempts to use the incense sticks to save his family, and change the future, but will it turn out as he expects? (I'm asking so I feel like you'll know the answer... but oh well lol >.<)

Sung Hae Sung finds himself waking up 12 years in the future (and by future I mean present day...). He meets up with an old friend, Ho Bang, who asks him if he remembers anything that happened. It is at this point Hae Sung remembers passing away in a car accident, and later learns he was blamed for a murder that happened in his school's art room. Knowing that it was not him, and with Ho Bang's help tries to clear his name and find the true murderer as well as find out who killed him.

Yi Gak is a Crown Prince from the Chosun Dynasty who has found himself, as well with three others from his time (affectionately refered to as the Joseon Power Rangers >.<) to present day Seoul whilst he and the others were trying to solve the mystery of his wife's death. However in the future, he finds someone who looks exactly like his wife, and is determined to still find the truth of what happened 300 years ago. However, there are some more mysteries that he will find himself coming to face to. (Though it's only the past one the audience is not privy to until the end).

Jo Soo Ji(the brawns and field member, as well as ex-cop), Gong Kyung Soo(the hacker and occasional undercover (can't forget cutie) member), and Seo Bo Mi(the social recuse and eyes of the group) all have something in common. They want to make sure justice is done, and done by the law (kinda... basically they find and acquire evidence). The three of them are working via the orders of an unkown boss who assures them, that their cases will be solved. However there seems to be more below the surface than just that, and soon, due to the persistence of Soo Ji, the reason behind the group's creation becomes clear, as well as a increased desire to find justice.

(aka Lookout)

Park Hae Yeong is a profiler who has a hard time talking to the police and, due to past experience with them as a child, believes them not to listen to anybody and are negligent in their job. One day he hears transmissions from a walkie-talkie that was being thrown out. On the other side is Lee Jae Han from the past. He informs Hae young of a body in a pit. This helps the kidnapping case from Hae Young's past to finally be solved. A cold case squad is formed from strong public opinion to solve previous murders and later a Jae Han from an even further past and Hae Young, now part of the cold case team, end up working together to solve cold cases and expose corruption in the police. 

Kim Hyun Joon finds himself in the sights of Iris without even knowing who or what Iris is. After being abandoned and being left for dead, and then being saved by a mysterious person, Hyun Joon sets his sight on revenge and finding out why he was set up and chased down. 

The beginning of this show would leave it off this list... but about half way though it fits so... >.> 

Shin Sun Ae is a ghost who doesn't know the circumstances of her death, actually she doesn't even remember her life in the beginning, all that she knows is she died a virgin. Assuming this is her regret that has kept her from passing on, she set on to fix it, however somethings happen and she ends up curious about her death and sets to figure it out and right it. 

Jang Soo Han is a huge bookworm. In fact, so much so, that he gets in trouble for it a lot and ranks the safety of books higher than people. One day, however, a murder and book theft happen, and since he is known to be such a big bookworm, he is taken as a suspect. Using his knowledge gained by books, he shows how it was not him, and is soon hired by a high ranking official to find the book. With only his unconventional knowledge gained by being a bookworm, Soo Han sets out to find the one responsible and most importantly find the book.

(aka: Tale of a Bookworm)

Yurine Tomohisa is the captain of ST team; a police force of rather eccentric characters. Akagi Samon, who the others listen to as leader, in incredibly good at analyzing, however has trouble interacting with others and can come off as just mean sometimes. (Picture a kind of Watson/Sherlock relationship with Yurine/Akagi (Especially BBC's Sherlock)). Aoyama Sho is slightly similar to Akagi, as they both enjoy a good, challenging case. She is the Criminal Profiler in the group, however has a fear of order and so keeps messy (though there is also a spot for her mess). Yamabuki Saizo is a chemist who is also a priest (honestly I forgot what his other trait was...). Kurosaki Yuji is also a chemist with an amazing sense of smell who is also a really good fighter. However, he has a fear of sharp objects, which has grown to even the sharpness in words, and thus he does not speak, and mostly whispers Yamabuki to convey what he has to say. Yuki Midori is the final member of ST. She has amazing hearing as Kurosaki has an amazing sense of smell. However, she can not feel enclosed and needs freedom as she has really bad claustrophobia. 

Together, the team solves a lot of different cases that would be hard, or misinterpreted by other members of the police (who seriously seem to think that murders never happen and everyone who's died was suicidal >.<). 

(aka ST Scientific Task Force)

Ahn Min Hyuk has been gretting threatening calls from someone, but is determined to solve it himself as he has a distrust in the police. Do Bong Soon has super human strength(Hence the title...) and one day Min Hyuk happens to be witness to her defending herself (although normally she hides it as much as possible) and gets a crush on her but also decides to try to hire her as his bodyguard. Part of the mystery in this is who is threatening Min Hyuk... but a bigger part has to do with a serial kidnapper terrorizing Bong Soon's neighborhood and they try to fix this together.

Noh Ji Wook is a prosecutor. Eun Bong Hee is a prosecutor trainee. They become closer as Ji Wook helps her be able to hold her head a little higher after her (then boyfriend) cheated on her. However, one day, he is found dead in her apartment and Bong Hee is arrested. Ji Wook is her prosecutor, and puts his job on the line to proving that there was forged evidence. Bong Hee is determined to find the true killer, but the only clue is a tune the killer was whistling on a bike. Ji Wook, as well as some others who were friends/acquaintances decide to help her look as well. Thus is the main story of this show, however there are a couple of other cases that come to light within it as well.

... I'm just gonna copy and paste MDL's description for this one as I think it does a better job than I could... I mean, TOTALLY original summary here >.>

"1983: Ji Hwan, a high school music teacher, is soon to wed his colleague and girlfriend, Yoon Jeong. Yoon Jeong becomes involved in a case and Ji Hwan attempts to protect her. Moments later, he is fighting for his life after he is stabbed by a mugger.
2015: Police detective Geon Woo is shot by a suspect. The two men who live 30 years apart, fight for their lives on the sameday, at the same hospital. As they come back from the brink of death, the two men begin to see through each other’s eyes in their dreams. Gun Woo learns about a case that took place in the past from Ji Hwan. Gun Woo also meets So Eun and, together, they go after the case that took place in the past."

Do Jin Woo has the unusual ability to be able to tell someone's future by touching their bare skin. He utilizes this ability constantly as a fortune teller. One day two girls come in, and as he reads one's future he witnesses her death. Taken aback and scared, he tries to warn her to be careful, but she and her friend thinks that he's just clowning them in a very unfunny manor. With his friend pushing him, Jin Woo sets off to find out everything behind her death in order to stop it from happening.

Park Gwang Ho is a cop in 1986, and is great at his job. He is in charge of a series of murders that are later to be realized to be from a serial killer. However he is unable to solve the case, and ends up traveling 30 years into the future where, the murders seem to be starting up again. Gwang Ho is sure that in order to get back home, he needs to solve this mystery once and for all.

Jang Tae San hasn't really done much with his life. One day, after 8 years, his ex-girlfriend comes to him asking him to get a blood test for their child, even if he had turned them away. Conflicted Tae Sun ends up showing up, and is told he can save her if he remains unharmed/not infected for 2 weeks. He returns to where he was and finds himself framed for a murder and his life endangered. Though he is well aware of who framed him, and on the run, he works to free his name, and stay alive.

Ok... this mystery is really like a combo of a mystery in the webtoon itself. Someone killed Kang Chul's family and framed it as if it were him. The question is who.

(... I'm honestly not sure if I want to make this more Honorary Mention than on the actual list...)

HONORARY MENTION

The reason this is Honorary Mention is due to the fact that there isn't actually any mystery in this show, you and the character know who the true culprit is. However, this does fit the Crime section of this list so...

Tae Seok is a professional Go player who looses his brother in a high-stakes game and is framed for his murder. There he trains furiously and vows revenge against the ones that killed his brother. He teams up with other Go players to get back after serving his sentence, and the movie follows him as he works towards his dangerous goal.

(Warning: this is not for the faint-hearted it can get pretty violent.)

HONORARY MENTION

Ok... no mystery... and no crime... honestly Madame Antoine is on here just because if you like characters like in I Remember You or ST Scientific Task force; characters who are extremely intelligent as good at what they do, then you might like this as well as that is Choi Soo Hyun in a nut shell. (There are also some psychological cases though as some go to him for assistance). Choi Soo Hyun is a well known psychotherapist who is in the middle of an experiment to prove that true love does not exist.

"It's not that I'm crazy about him, but more like... he's fun. He can be quite amusing. (...) First he's smart. There's a certain charisma about him too. And he has an unexpected wolfish side to him. But he thinks he's a puppy."

This puppy aspect, while could annoy some viewers after a while, is the only thing that keeps the viewers rooting for him. It's hard to tell if he really understands everything he's doing. Honestly, I think he doesn't realize all the ramifications of everything he's done... Otherwise our boy be a pimp, the girl he likes, a highly functioning sociopath. And whether they want to or not, throughout the show at least, the two run a prostitution app.
This show is basically a guilty pleasure the whole time watching. I know what they are doing is bad. I know they should be stopped. Yet I hope they end up okay, I hope our main boy can reach his dream which is just so simple in nature that it hurts. I hope that she can find a way for them to survive. And the whole time, I'm hoping that... I know that they shouldn't. 

So basically, there is no mystery, but definitely crime... we're following the villains after all.