BOSS 2 [ep 11 finale]

Finally, it's the end of the season. And BOSS 2 ended last week, this is a bit late, I admit. Nevertheless, here it is. The final episode.

Erika Toda comes back for the final episode. Well, the last two episode is more like it. And it's a nice touch. It is revealed that she isn't actually deported to some countryside police station just because of the incident 2 years ago, as assumed by all members of the team. It turns out that she is sent there to spy on something, and that comes back to Tokyo and the final case they are investigating.



They find out that the perpetrator is someone from inside the police department and hoping to find out more by decoding the CD Kimoto found when she is a spy. Meanwhile, they also find out about the threat to kill the Prime Minister during the Summit.



Which they successfully defused the bomb, but it's far from over. The target isn't the Prime Minister, but the professor who found a new solution for fuel. A scuffle happens during the Summit and the assassin is captured. The professor is sent to the hospital, but Eriko warned Kimoto that he may still be a target.



Kimoto manages to find the bomb planted near the Professor at the hospital and catches the person involved. Meanwhile, in the last episode, we saw Hanagata being shot by one of the members of the team, Sachi, who is actually working for the enemy. But instead of getting rid of him, she saved his life.



The person behind the mastermind is caught. Or at least, they thought so until Eriko receives a call from Rika, and she finds out the REAL person behind everything.





Despite her illness (she is injected with R4 virus, whatever that is) by one of the bad guys before this, she gathers all her energy to meet Rika's father. There, they have a deep conversation, about why he created such a group inside the police force.



Of course, the saddest person would be Rika herself. Working with the team trying to find the enemy, and in the end, just to find out it is her own father, causing all these trouble and killing people, is definitely not the kind of thing she'd have expected.



Well, the finale is okay. Nothing to shout about but I still enjoy it.



The team goes back to normal after the case, but I really want to know the development between Eriko and Nodate LOL...I mean, c'mon, give us something from them! But that's as far as they'd go.



Hanagata is recovering from his wound, Sachi survived too, though it isn't shown how she'll be punished for helping the enemy. Kimoto? I think from now on, she'll stay with the team. Since her spying job is done.



Rika seems to be going somewhere far as both Iwai and what's his name again? Sorry, there are just so many names to remember. Anyways, will there be a BOSS 3? Oh you never know. It didn't say in the title as FINAL like how JIN 2 did. So with JIN, we know that's the end of everything. But BOSS could very well have another season in the future. Rika stated how she'd like to join their team, officially in the future. Overall, this is a very enjoyable drama. Great lovable characters. The story's got suspense, and not too bad after all. If there's season 3, I'm all for it xD

Boss 2 [ep 9]

Summary: 
Guest star this week is Asada sensei (Kenji Sakakuji) from the Iryu series. He plays the role of a mercenary from France returning to Japan to take revenge for the murder of his whole family when he was little. 4 victims and the team members have to race against time to prevent more victims. But like always, BOSS is not just about investigation, one thing I never failed to be amused constantly are the humor they inserted here and there. As we all know, the members are a bunch of misfits.
Take for example, Katagiri's MOST EPIC facial expression.


He is depressed over whether he should take responsibility about a certain thing he and the current girlfriend did. Well, we all know what it is. Anyways, he is acting all strange and this PRICELESS look is just the best of the episode. I was all ROFL the moment I saw this.


There's a girl involved in the case and when she is put under protection, Iwai acts all motherly lol...It's really nice to see this side of him, other than the usual gayness he showed.


Asada in villain role.


He looks the same as he did in Iryu 3...maybe hair is bit longer. His whole costume design is also similar to what Asada sensei wears outside hospital. Boots, jacket...like some mercenary. The only thing missing here is the huge green bag he hauled back in Iryu. xDD

Anyways, the case itself was a bit disappointing. I thought with him as the guest, they could've at least give him a better role with a solid storyline. But his talent was wasted. Sighh...despite the easy case to crack, I did enjoy it, for the amusement. And boy am I disappointed too with the  few seconds of Kimoto's appearance. The last trailer was such a mislead! Rawr...but it seems like she's back next week to help out in the case. Let's hope she has more scenes.

BOSS 2 [ep 8]

Summary:
So Nodate managed to persuade Eriko to attend an Omiai (blind dates), convincing her that the guy is handsome. Ishikawa is working as Forensic scientist and we can say that Eriko is rather satisfied from the date, until she found out all her underlings, are following her, because, let's face it, it is such a RARE occasion for her to go for dates! lol...then, they meet again for the second time, working on a case, very similar to the Angel Killer case 5 years ago.

All smiles, Eriko!







I think they really kinda went over the top with the scene below. They were talking about the aura...as you can see, that glowed around both Ishikawa and Eriko.


Iwai is so gross!!!




Tadokoro...is always eating. But she never gains weight!

Katagiri? Still feeling uncomfortable alone with girls. Sighhh...

Back to the case, they made a mistake with the killer. They thought it was this old doctor, who had stroke 5 years ago and hence stopped until now after rehabilitation, and then began killing again. I shall not say out loud the real killer's identity, but the spoiler is down there.



The ending and how they solved the case was rather good though, at least the insertion of helium gas was funny! The guys just wanna make fun of Eriko, by making her voice Chipmunk-ish!

Overall:
The case was rather...easy I think. There's nothing complicated, everything just worked out too fine and smooth for them. Was a bit disappointed with this week's case but the humor is still es entertaining.

ALSO...KIMOTO IS BACK IN THE NEXT EPISODE!!! Time to celebrate! I know there are a lot of viewers who miss her, since her absence starting from ep2. She's definitely a guest star now. But it's always nice to have her pop in once in a while. Oh, and the next case seems to feature none other than IRYU's best doctor! Yup! Asada is gonna appear, looks like he's the bad guy, but it's too early to determine. I can't wait!

BOSS 2 [ep7 review]

This episode is pretty good and refreshing. Refreshing in the sense that they go back in time of their pasts. I like it when they reveal certain things in the past, and you get to see a different kind of image of that particular person. The beginning sets the mood just right. As Eriko is walking in the hallway, reflecting on how good it is if only we can turn back time to change something.

And we know immediately that this week's episode has something to do with the past. But comic relief is something which will tag along and the first few scenes are funny, as always.

 Nodate proposes that they have an intimate tour with fellow citizens who are curious of their daily activities, hence the different crowds as we move from one character to another.

Kawamura with a bunch of obasan

Iwai is in heaven surrounded by men

 And the funniest of all....Katagiri wearing some sort of cartoon head costume and his bored face tells all.

 I'm thinking if his head will just pop off if they high schoolers continue to shake it violently lolz...

 So the case begins with a mysterious guy decides to hand cuff himself in the interrogation room. And he speaks of how several assignments will be given to them, and tells them to find out who he is.

And they go off in a chase against time, racking their brains for anything relevant towards the clues given by the villain, in order to find out the exact locations of said threats. But all of them are just boobby traps.

Kawamura never fails to be the laughing stock in the drama. Look at him as he tried to fish for the villain's bag. That was unnecessary, but it does make up for a serious drama, otherwise. I like random stuffs.

 Then, as the case goes on, we see how the infamous sign Nodate showed back in Season 1 came about. It's a secret sign that only both Nodate and Eriko shares whenever something is going on.

 We can see Nodate in a more ruffled hairstyle and Eriko with a more rookie cop feel back in the days. See that's why I like it when they go in the past and reveal things. For example, the origin of the secret sign.

Halfway through the episode, we know that the villain somehow holds a grudge against Hanagata. But I'm not going to spoil everything.

This episode is a better one than the last, imo. I like it when it involves everyone, even if little. And the whole past thing and how the team was created, gives a more in depth insight to all of them, as we are brought to appreciate them more.

Here's to next week!

BOSS 2 [review up to ep6]

BOSS came back for another season. It was a pretty good drama, at least I'm liking it. There's really nothing new in detective series but they opt for one that showcases a bunch of weirdos in the team, thankfully led by an elite from FBI. 

We see most of them back in Season 2, however there are few changes in characters. Well, three of them actually, which I shall elaborate in detail later. As much as being an elite in the police force, Osawa Eriko, still maintains her usual awkward characteristics, one example being a hopeless single woman, despite hitting the big 40.

 Katagiri, showing improvement from Season 1 where he was scared of shooting, but now...it becomes a routine.

 The one and only gay character in the entire drama, Iwai...still as funny as ever. Always taking advantage of handsome guys whenever he has the chance, example? Butt-slapping has become one of his habits. Although there are few characters mainly there for comedic effects, I'm loving it as long as they stay on track with the cases.

 Hanagata, returns to reprise his role as the outgoing and totally energetic rookie cop.

 Yamamura-san, probably the oldest sergeant in the team but as absent-minded as always.

Of course...how can we ever forget the one and only Nodate!!! No doubt, one of the reasons I'm watching this is for  him. Yutaka Takenouchi in one of his carefree and womanizer characters.

So I mentioned there were some changes in Season 2.

One of the BIGGEST role I'd miss dearly is Kimoto, who was back for only 2 episodes this season. She couldn't join in the casts because of another project but I think at least they gave her a proper story with justification to leave. Still...her character will be missed very much and I know I'm not the only one.

So why did she leave? In the 1st epi we were told how she did a mistake in one of the cases, fooled by a fake bomb, causing their Head of Police department (or whoever) shot by the bad guy. Hence, she asked for transfer.

The following scene was brief but funny. As a womanizer, Nodate makes a brief move towards Kimoto...by stepping nearer towards her, but Kimoto awkwardly steps further from him later. It was just for 2 seconds but it was hilarious!

 Another character leaving is the forensic scientist from Season 1. They just gave her a common excuse used so many times by other dramas...getting married.

But I'm glad her replacement wasn't a typical new character, as it turned out, the new one was the first case's villain.


The 1st and 2nd epi were a continuation, so they had the same case, sort of like a farewell bid to Kimoto's character as well as she was involved in it for the last time.

 Oh, another new character I forgot to mention is the new techie. A genius computer geek. There wasn't much scene with her, except for a few here and there, I do wonder why they didn't make use of her that much. Still, a good addition to the team.

They did a replacement for Kimoto, though I still think Kimoto was given better screentime than the newbie. Still, the newbie has her moments. I think I began to really appreciate her character, ever since the dismissal of Kimoto in episode 5 where she played a huge role in. Though it wasn't as big as in ep6, the comedy in ep5 were worth praising. I really laughed during those moments. I like random hilarious moments.

 

While we've been talking about the good guys, time for a bit of the baddies. I'm sorry for this abruptness in the flow but...I can't just ignore this character. I like this actor, I wish he has more roles than just a few minor ones like these. He is handsome, okay. He is. 

Arghhh...i wish I can get better screenshot of him than this side one, but yeah...I just couldn't because the rest were either too fast or dark. This was the best I could get. Anyways, he's the only bad one worth mentioning. xDD

 

 Though a bit of shuffle in the characters in Season 2, the cases keep coming and the comedy as well. Some are a bit over the top, and cheesy but not too much to turn me off yet. I'm glad they made a comeback for another season. They haven't lost their touch, despite the absence of few characters. Well...I can't get enough of Nodate! So keep it coming!