Giri / Haji

Giri / Haji is a smart series that rewards your attention (and a bit of a slow start as it builds) as a deeply satisfying story. Its ambiguous ending also somehow feels complete, because the shame part of the narrative has been addressed for everyone. Though it would be wonderful to spend more time in this world with a second season, there is a palpable and beautiful sense of healing that has ended this one.

There is an artfulness to this drama -- the split screen, the surprise shift to cartoon animation -- that promises it won't be just another international crime tale. For its sake I hope Sharpe will be centre-stage.

A professionally mounted and consistently engaging regurgitation of stock crime-fiction archetypes and entanglements, it’s a bilingual work (available now) less interested in reinvention than in solid, straightforward dramatic thrills. On that count, the series achieves its modest goals—and, thanks to a few unexpected flourishes, occasionally exceeds them.

Apart from the novelty of seeing Japan’s capital unfetishised – this is a Tokyo where people live, work and manage the daily grind, not a neon-soaked fun palace or futuristic hellscape – and the odd animated interlude (created by the company behind Hey Duggee, fact fans), nothing here feels new or revelatory.

WOW! This series was just about perfect in every sense. At first I thought it was simply a brilliant show, but as it's more artistic style evolved so to did it elevate the show to a new level (one scene in particular). The masterfully blended British and Japanese side of things is another aspect that should definitely be used more often in story telling, whether on the small screen or silver screen. Absolutely brilliant.

This show is a legitimate masterpiece and I am honestly shocked it isn't garnering more buzz. Effortlessly weaves together 2 disparate worlds and creates something smart, funny, and deeply engaging. If you are at all a fan of crime dramas, asian cinema or Guy Ritchie you really owe it to yourself to check this out.

Epic drama. Great acting and sympathetic characters. Full of suspense. Cannot find any negative about it.

The core of the show it is actually a really good crime world setup. The world of the modern Yakuza is really interesting and this shows has a good way to represent it but at the same time lacks of more in depth of the Japanese crime world. Another thing I do not understand and like is the obsession Netflix has to bring in every type of sexuality to its show bringing in too many background stories with no sense that only slows the show. We all agree with inclusion in many shows, but please it is unnecessary to make everyone homosexual or spent that much time in those no sense scene. Definitely it would be a 9-10 TV Show if they could focus a lot more in the crime world and brother relationship.

The suspense does not last beyond the first episode, as it becomes very conventional after that. Partly this is due to the time allotted to the personal lives of the characters. The most prominent reason this proves to be only slightly better than a television show is the introduction and interaction of its characters. One person becomes a character simply because he happened to be in the same bar at the same time as the main protagonist, and is overheard by the latter. Often, side characters interact in meaningless ways or screen time is given to them even when they have no place in the basis of the show as presented in the opening episode.