Dearest is a Japanese crime thriller drama that was released in 2021 and now is premiering on Netflix for its users across the globe. Netflix never fails to give us the best, and this one is no exception. Dearest is also known by the name Saiai in Japan. Dearest is a suspenseful drama and has got everything to keep us interested. The series is directed by Ayuko Tsukahara. It has a total of 10 episodes each having a run time of 44- 58 minutes.
Dearest tells us a murder mystery along with some romance. It tells the story of an elite businesswoman called Sanada Rio who becomes a key witness in a murder that is being investigated by her first love Miyazaki Daikilura Arata. In 2006, the young Sanada Rio used to live in a village where once a missing person case had occurred. After so many years the 30-year-old Sanada now becomes a material witness to a murder that is related to the missing person case from 2006. Her first love chases after the truth but has a long way to go.
The series is quite engaging with suspenseful elements, which can make the viewers easily enjoy the drama. Suspense, mystery, and forbidden love are the main themes that the drama focuses on. The fact that Sanada gets reunited with her first love not as two normal people but as a detective and a person who is under suspicion of murder is the main catch of this drama. This sets the base for the rest of the story. Because of the mysterious murder cases, each episode will leave the viewers intrigued. Lots of clues and revelations, throughout the ten episodes there is a lot on the plate for the audience, and no moment in the drama will be boring. The pace of the drama is super tight, everything happens in a flow, and the viewers will be left entertained.
The makers have tried to not dissolve the story with too many murder mystery concepts and have also tried to focus on the character development as well. More than individual developments, we see a lot of development between the characters in the mid-episodes. The initial few episodes majorly focus on the themes of the series and the mid episodes focus on the character developments before it goes back to the mystery viewpoint to give us an amazing ending.
Yuriko Yoshitaka (Sanada Rio), Kohei Matsushita (Miyazaki Daiki), Arata Lura, Minami Tanaka, and many others are cast in this series and each of the actors has done an exceptionally beautiful job in giving their performances. Yuriko Yoshitaka delivered the role of Sanada and could express the character’s emotions so beautifully bringing life to the character. Kohei Matsushita who played the role of Miyazaki Daiki also gave a noticeable performance. He could show not only the cool side of Miyazaki but also could show the human side of him.
The show never fails us in any of the episodes. It just continues to gain our attention with each episode until it brings the entire picture together in the last episode only for us to realize all the clues we might have missed in the past episodes. Overall, it’s a very satisfying drama to watch and a good choice for a binge-watch. it has a perfect mix of family, crime/thriller, and romance. The drama also gives us some valuable lessons about life in general. Dearest had also won awards at the Tokyo Drama Awards in a way proving its worthiness. Watch this drama if you are in for the above-mentioned themes. Dearest is one of those dramas that will never disappoint you from the start till the end.
Final Score – [9/10]
Reviewed by - Poornima Balsu
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Publisher at Midgard Times