First Impressions : 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi Episode 1

I miss Matsujun so “99.9″ sounds the perfect drama comeback for him. I didn’t enjoy “Shitsuren Chocolatier” so I’m hoping that my love for deka/legal dramas will have me enjoying this. I won’t be doing a recap since there’s so much things, people, and terminologies involve. My experience in recapping “Bitter Blood” made me wary of ever recapping any deka/legal dramas.

Despite that, here is summary of 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi  : Episode 1

Miyama Hiroto (Matsumoto Jun) is a struggling criminal lawyer who mostly wins his cases since he likes to do investigative work to the extent of rehearsing the scene of the crime to prove the innocence of his clients. In Japan, criminal rates have 99.9% conviction rate, this 99.9% comes from prosecutor statements that are always favored by the judges. However, Miyama wants to seek the truth in that 0.1% and eventually wins the case.

Later on, Miyama gets headhunted by one of the head of Madarame Law Firm,  Haruhiko Madarame (Ittoku Kishibe), and he accepts the deal but not the 30 million contract payment. Madarame decides to form a criminal section in his law firm that will be spearheaded by hotshot lawyer, Sada Hatsuhiro (Kagawa Teruyuki), who only accepts the not-so lucrative job since Madarame promised that he will become a partner of the law firm. I’m not really sure about law firms but apparently, becoming a partner in a law firm is like the goal of most lawyers. Joining the team is Tachibana Ayano (Eikura Nana), another lawyer who loves wrestling.

For Miyama’s first case after he joined Madarame, he goes head to head with Marukawa Takahisa (Munetaka Aoki), a prosecutor working under Otomo Shuichi (Okuda Eiji). Based from Miyama and Otomo’s first meeting, it seems like Miyama has some grudge against Otomo. I’m guessing that Miyama’s grudge might be the reason why he chose to be a criminal lawyer because that’s the only way he’ll be up against prosecutors.

As for the case, I won’t go into details but it involves light, jacket, and some cooking.

Comments

The first episode starts with Matsujun looking so young like he just got out of Law School and not some full-pledge criminal lawyer. He smiles like he’s trying to charm someone and he has this trademark smirk that makes him look calm even though he’s obviously plotting something. His antics with Akashi Tatsuya (Katagiri Jin), a law graduate who haven’t passed the bar, is amusing while his treatment toward Tachibana feels awkward. After all, Tachibana is his senpai and a fellow lawyer but he treats her like a lackey. Ugh, I also hate to see Eikura doing supporting roles because she’s definitely a main lead material.

Talking about partnership, it’s still raw but I like Miyama and Sada together; both are dominating, which makes this drama more endearing. Sada obviously knows how to manipulate his enemies and allies with his high-handed tactics while Miyama is all honesty with lots a convincing power to his advantage.

The case in this episode is so-so, not that suspenseful and exciting, but they made it dramatic with father-and-son angle that made me sob. I’m not really familiar with Japanese law and courtroom proceedings but is it really okay to use your own re-enactment of the scene from your client’s alibi to prove his innocence? Is that legit? haha.

One thing that I look forward to is Miyama’s fight with the prosecutors, namely Marukawa and Otomo, though mostly with Marukawa because he looks ruggedly handsome as always. haha. Miyama obviously has something against Otomo, with that smirk of his, and Madarame seems to have something else as well that’s why he hired Miyama and started a criminal department in his firm.

Anyway, Miyama is no Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney) and if I were to choose who will be my legal counsel, I’ll probably choose Phoenix Wright. haha. I just can’t take Miyama seriously though it’s too early to judge his level of maturity. However, I admire the lengths he will go through to prove his client’s innocence.

For first impressions, I’m quite disappointed with this episode. It lacks the pizzazz I’m craving for a legal drama. The courtroom scene, which is one of my most-awaited moment, is not only bland but it didn’t make me root for the opposing team. I don’t care about finding the truth in every case but give me a worthwhile courtroom battle and I’ll cheer for you even if you’re on the wrong side.