I am a simple man; when I see Kabukicho in the title of a dorama, I click. Kabukicho Bengonin Rika is a midnight dorama in the vein of the Tadano Hitoshi series, straightforward defender of justice style stories with a pinch of fanservice except in this case, the main character is Asakura Aki playing a lawyer.
Asakura Aki works in a big law firm in Roppongi. Her father who has his law firm in Kabukicho disappears and asks her to take over which she has no interest in. In the course of helping a stalking victim in episode 1, Asakura Aki has to choose between the right thing and her job and ends up working at her father's firm.
After watching one disappointing jdorama after another this month, I'm so happy I finally found a decent one to watch. Kabukicho Bengonin Rinka knows exactly what it is and there is no fat it in. The stories have a familiar beat to them and I wanted to see the bad guys get their comeuppance. The 20 minute episodes fly by real fast and I always look forward to the next episode.
Asakura Aki is great. She's got the charisma and ability to carry the main role. I've seen her in plenty of shows before but I think this is the first time she's the main lead. I enjoyed the Ryu ga Gotoku style stories about hostesses, sexual harassment and murders.
I wonder how she would do as the lead of a Sakamoto Yuki dorama and perhaps one day we'll see it. Watchable. The raw can be gotten from nyaa but I don't think anyone is subbing this.
