Diver: Tokushu Sennyuhan (2020)

Definitely an Underated Drama

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Given the 7.7 rating, I had my expectations low for this; however, I was pleasantly surprised. It has really good plot twists, different kinds of characters, and good acting.

Characters
I have to say that I definitely enjoyed the slightly antihero-like ML. It was refreshing to see a character who wasn't the typical epitome of justice character.

Of course, there was also more justice focused characters such as Date and Sanemura, but even they have their own struggles over question of 'What is justice?' They do sufficiently contrast the ml's thoughts and ideas.

Female characters Akatsu and Minamoto
Both the female characters in this drama were enjoyable to watch. Neither of them were the weak character who needed help. Both of them were strong and very capable. Other dramas honestly need to learn from this ?

There was some problems with the characterization of a couple of minor characters, but those can be overlooked. For example, how do characters like Kagami and Endo manage to even exist in the workforce?

The acting of the cast members did justice to all the characters.

CONS
- The length of the drama - The length of drama made it hard to see much character development. I would have also liked to see the ML's past more fleshed out, so that we could understand him more. I also wish I could have seen more interactions between Sanerma, Date, Hyogo, and the rest of the d- squad.

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this a try. Don't let the 7.7 rating bother you!

Read More

This drama was awesome! Short - only 5 episodes 45 or so minutes each - but so good! It told the story of a special unauthorized police unit nicknamed Diver and the cases they solved.

For me, the main draw was Fukushi Sota as Kurosawa. His Kurosawa was a ruthless genius who had no care for his life or his safety, who focused solely on "eradicating evil" at any cost, including dead bodies if need be. Because once, in the past, he made a mistake and it cost someone dear to him his life. And since then, he had no tolerance for mistakes or bad guys - or corrupt cops.

One thing I didn't like much was the very abrupt ending, that there was no "bridge" between the pier scene and the last scene. It felt like there was so much that the drama skipped. I really wanted to see Kurosawa and Sho bond, Kurosawa telling him the truth about what happened back in the past... And also - how was Kurosawa saved, considering he got shot twice?! Argh!

Overall, a great drama with no fillers. Loved it!

Read More