Mondai Bukken (2025)

A good mystery show with a twist

So the plot could be sumarize like this: a dog investigates haunted houses. It sounds like a Scooby-Doo adaptation, but it's something very different. For starters, the dog transforms into a human whenever the less-than-skillful FL needs his help with one of the cases. Surprisingly, this is the only supernatural element in the series: the haunted houses (or stigmatized properties, as they are more properly called) always have a rational explanation. The detective side of the show has strenths but also weaknesses: on the one hand, the initial presentation of the mysteries as rational impossibilities is very intriguing; on the other, the small number of suspects makes it easy to identify the culprit in each episode.

But the best part of the drama is the dynamic between the leads; it's very rare to find two leads with such chemistry without sexual tension. Both characters are somewhat extreme: Wakamiya's clumsiness and nervousness can be exhausting at first, and the same can be said for Inugashira's dry delivery and strange aloofness, but both become more appealing as the episodes go on. Detective Arimura's comedic touch is brief enough to be enjoyable. And let's not forget Masahiro, who is there to give the viewer a dose of sentimentality related to why Inugashira protects him.

In the end, you'll want to spend more time with these characters, and luckily the ending is open-ended enough to allow for a second season. Fingers crossed.

P.S.: The Kokuchi Jiko Ari Drama Special is loosely related with this series:

https://mydramalist.com/787952-kokuchi-jiko-ari-sono-jiko-bukken-de-okiru-koto

Miyase Ryubi's character and Inuta make a couple of guest appearances there. Be warned: that Drama Special focuses much more on horror and the supernatural than this series.

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