The Mysterious Thief Yamaneko #review

怪盗 山猫  /  Kaito Yamaneko

Drama -  Mystery, crime
Original work -  Kaito Tantei Yamaneko series by Kaminaga Manabu (神永学)
Writer -  Shogo Muto
Network -  NTV
Episodes -  10
Released -  Jan - Mar, 2016
TV Ratings -  10.7%

CAST

PLOT

Based on the novel "Kaito Tantei Yamaneko Series" by Manabu Kaminaga (first published July 29, 2006 by Bungeisha).
Yamaneko (Kazuya Kamenashi) is a mysterious thief. He steals money from people and corporations doing evil. In the process, he also exposes their evil deeds. ~AsianWiki

REVIEW

Weird.

Japanese humor weird but still a fun and sometimes interesting watch that included about as much suspense as there was slapstick and pun-o-rama.

Still, it is a mystery (which I love) and kept me guessing at times (which I adore) so there is that and why I rated it higher than it actually deserves.

However, by the time the answers are revealed, I patted myself on the back for knowing ahead of time that it would turn out that way.

Yamaneko is a product of some wicked old man who used orphans for a government-backed scheme to produce spies.

When Yamaneko is old enough, he sets out on his own and becomes a vigilante of justice type Robin Hood.

He's loaded with insider trade secrets and easily works his way inside even the most secure of fortresses in order to steal back what doesn't belong.

The police are on his tail, but he also has the help of a detective, which means that all of Neko's 'crimes' end up making headlines -- with him as a hero.

It's been awhile since I last watched Kamenashi's work, and this particular drama isn't a help when it comes to gauging his skills.

However, it is with relative ease that I assume he read the comic and projected literally throughout these ten episodes.

the manga

The actors did a lot of bantering infused with pratfalls and even copied a few TV game show scenes -- all of which proved funny -- even if I am not privy to said shows.

In the final episode, he and the detective answered viewer questions, and it was a delight to hear one of them voice a concern of my own about Neko's abuse of an elderly woman.

I was shocked and then upset, but when the Q&A portion arrived, they played it well and made me laugh again.

I'm not and never will be a fan of abusive behavior, man to woman or woman to man, but Neko tended to abuse the girl he hired to help him with her hacking skills to the point of my being mildly annoyed.

I still don't like it, and I don't like it when men get in another person's face to shout more verbal abuse.

This drama was loaded with that type of behavior, so minus a star.

Now, the story itself was an interesting one and though it took its time playing out, when all is finally revealed, it made better sense why everyone behaved the way they did.

Too much shouting, too much in-your-face, and too much pent-up rage for my taste, but because it starred Kamenashi, I'm giving it more than it is actually worth and would suggest that you read the Manga first.