ST: Scientific Task Force (Review)

Heyyyyyyyy! I just finished like 4 exams and I have one more, but that one is a week away so I figured I should make this review before it gets really really late. I know its already like 2 months late but whateva la........ 

Synopsis

Synopsis taken from Dramawiki:

The ST team at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department consists of eccentric members. Akagi works as an analyst on the ST team. He won't appear in front of others, but his colleagues trust him as a leader. Yurine is tasked to manage the ST team. He experiences difficulties in dealing with the team. Meanwhile, the ST team come into conflict with other detectives at the police department over an indiscriminate gun firing case and a grotesque murder case. This forces Akagi to appear in front others. Akagi and Yurine work together to solve the case.

Cast & Characters

Fujiwara Tatsuya plays Akagi Samon, the leader of ST and a forensic expert. He's an eccentric character with a fear of people, which leads him to confine himself in his own room and analyze cases based on the information from the rest of the team. In this drama, we see him kind of come out of his shell (not fully) and interact with others more. Akagi is actually one of my favourite 'weird' detective characters I've seen. His reaction whenever he finishes solving a case is just gold and makes me laugh so hard. His bromance with Yurine is also one of the most solid I've seen ;') they just so cute together. Fujiwara does a really really good job here! I never really liked him before (due to shallow reasons) but he's now one of my favourite actors. I honestly thought he was so cute here because of his quirky antics. I'm also adding major kawaii points him because his character is just so damn cute when he hides in that weird brain man costume.

Okada Masaki plays Yurine Tomohisa, an elite inspector and the official captain of ST. He kind of maintains order although no one really acknowledges him. Yurine is kind of like the mother hen of the group. He doesn't really contribute that much in solving the cases but without him, the group would be in chaos. I think Okada is perfect in this role and his hair is really on point lol. A lot of people don't like his curly hair but I think it adds a nice quirk to his character and just makes him all the more cute.

Shida Mirai as Aoyama Sho, a profiler who graduated from an American school with a phD in criminal psychology. She has a particular OCD about things needing to be in exact places. It's kinda funny because she actually needs her desk to be very messy lol. Anyhow, Shida Mirai is barely recognizable in the beginning because of her short messy hair (a wig) and boyish clothes. I didn't like Aoyama as a character at first but after a bit of character and relationship development, I learned that she isn't just some eccentric character created for kicks.

Ashina Sei as Yuki Midori, a physicist with a great sense of hearing. Ahina Sei is new in my book and I've never seen her in other dramas before (or none that I remember). Her character is quite out of the box because she wears a different sexy ensemble everyday even though her job is a detective. I must say she looks amazing though!


Kubota Masataka as Kurosaki Yuji, a chemical expert with an exceptional sense of hearing. I first saw Kubota in Summer Nude (he played the bookstore guy who liked Toda Erika's character) and he didn't leave that much of an impression on me. I now find him extremely charming after watching this drama. His character, Kurosaki kind of gives off the feeling of a little kid because he doesn't speak at all. I forgot the reason why but he's pretty badass.

Miyake Hiroki plays Yamabuki Saizo, a chemical expert who is also a monk. Yamabuki is the wisest one out of the group because of his age and also because he's a monk (duh). He's overall an interesting side character.



Review & Thoughts


With there being so many detective dramas each season, it's amazing how ST managed to stand out. The cases were solid but weren't exceptional. What made the drama so fun to watch was the interaction between the characters. All the members of the ST team are so different but they just somehow manage to fit in together and seem like a real team. I gotta admit there were a lot of heartwarming moments that ALMOST made me shed a tear. In this dramas case, the mystery really takes the back seat to the relationships between the characters in terms of appeal.

look at that cute young face eating a banana

There was a central mystery to this drama like all the other dramas out there. There were always little hints here and there at the end of each episode. Unfortunately, when the mystery was finally revealed, I was a little disappointed. First off, both the mystery/twist AND the resolution was predictable as heck. If they weren't going to give us a compelling background mystery, then I'd rather they just spend more time on the ST team and more cases. HOWEVER, I did love me some Watabe Atsuro. That man is so old now but still so good looking. If you watched him in his prime years, you would know what I'm talking about.

Overall, ST is a solid detective drama. I know the characters a little bit too weird but trust me when I say that they fit their roles perfectly! Fujiwara Tatsuya is especially amazing in his role.

Movie News!

So there’s gonna be an ST movie! It’s tied together with the drama of course and it starts right after the last episode. I’m not going to spoil the ending of the drama for you but lets just say that I was pretty shocked at how it ended. I would’ve been straight up pissed if not for the fact that they told me there was going to be a movie right after. I’m actually not sure if its going to be a movie or a SP. I could search it up but I’m typing this without wifi right now so maybe you guys can just search it up yourselves. Either way, I’m super pumped about the movie even though I’ll have to wait like months.