JDrama review: FAKE Kyoto Bijutsu Jiken Emaki

The drama I´ll be reviewing today is titled  "FAKE Kyoto Bijutsu Jiken Emaki". It´s a Japanese drama series that is set in Kyoto.

If you´re looking for a mystery series that focuses on fast-paced action and chasing after the criminal, this isn´t for you. It isn´t for you either if you want to see a series like CSI, which uses a lot of technology in their investigations.

This series is a very calm an slowpaced mystery drama that focuses on the artistic aspects of the crimes (which are always related to some sort of form of artistic expression….from paintings to pottery to Noh masks). I began watching this drama aiming for the mystery element; I stayed because of the lovely settings, the interesting look into different aspects of Japanese culture and art, and, I´ll admit it, the clothes. You get to see quite a few people wearing traditional clothes alognside people who "dress modern", which I found particularly interesting.

The two main characters are female—the police officer and Urasawa Yu—and it´s enjoyable to see how their relationship develops from an initial "can´t stand her" to an "I´m actually quite fond of her; she´s not a bad person at all for all her excentricities".

It would have been interesting if there had been slightly more focus on one of the "side investigations" (the person who´s painting fakes) and why Yu left Paris; it´s mostly just barely hinted at, though I expect that it´ll be revealed in the last episode. Five episodes have already been released, and the sixth and last one will probably be available soon on Dramacrazy.

I´d classify this Jdrama as "short and sweet", a must-see for any person interested in seeing and learning a bit about traditional cultural aspects of Japan, especially art. Hard-core-mystery seekers beware, you´ll find only average "investigation" cases here. Though some of the endings do have a bit of a twist, which is a very nice surprise.