In a world in which so much media industry output is politically correct, predictable, and dull, it is fun to come across a well-made production which really is out of the ordinary. Such is the 2020 Japanese TV serial “Gourmet Detective Goro Akechi” – 9 episodes of approximately 45 minutes each, available on Amazon & elsewhere.
The title protagonist, the scion of a wealthy family, is ducking his familial obligations and instead runs an apparently none-too-successful private detective agency. His Dr. Watson is a cute young female cook who runs a roadside food truck, where gourmet Akechi is a frequent (albeit deadbeat) customer.
The story also involves a small group of additional characters – the young woman’s fat foodie friend; an arrogant police detective who is not quite as incompetent as he first appears; the police detective’s enthusiastic young trainee; the protagonist’s domineering mother; and a group of murderers. Some of the characters might initially appear to be cartoon-like, but they all flesh out as the serial progresses.
Akechi sets the ball rolling when he helps a lady who suspects her husband of infidelity. Unwittingly, he turns her into a murderous mastermind who is passionately obsessed with him. This is not so much a “Who Dunnit” as a “Why They Dunnit”. Along the way, the story line is set against some of the more unusual features of life in Japan.
Some have pointed to Shakespearean echoes in the serial as it swings between high drama and low comedy. It is definitely different and unexpected; worth watching if one’s tastes run to the uncommon.
