Are you looking for a fun drama to help you relax from the daily stress? A good option is Danger-Less Detectives, aka Oretachi wa Abunakunai. It’s a short Japanese drama about two slacker detectives who keep accidentally finding evidence for troublesome cases.

Members of the Force

Detective Takano is trying to get away from investigations and be promoted to an office job. He kisses up to his boss, but mostly aims to make sure anything he does is worth the trouble, or is “cost effective” in terms of effort. His partner Yonaka just wants to avoid danger, and is looking for a different job – any job – that isn’t dangerous. The thing is, he has a real talent for reasoning things through and solving cases.

Detectives Tsukiga and Ikiri are competent and hardworking, and both are looking for advancement. But they often end up taking the brunt of the hard work in the more dangerous cases. They suspect the other two are slacking off, but proving it is harder than you would think.

Officer Uwasa is one of the clerks at the station. She knows everyone and everything that goes on, and often helps Takano and Yonaka with getting information – that is, if they come up with the right bribe, such as specialty pastries or cheesecake.

The Formula

The episodes usually begin with the police chief explaining the latest cases and giving out assignments. Takano and Yonaka sit in the back of the room, Yonaka analyzing things and deciding where the trouble will happen. And then Takano figuring out how to stick someone else with the dangerous stuff so they can sneak off and take it easy.

And then they always walk smack into the middle of things. For example, they go hang out at their favorite cafe only to find suspects in the latest case walking in for lunch. The way they react is illogical and hilarious. There’s a new story each episode, and yet most of the craziness in all of them comes from these guys trying to ditch work and then trying to not get caught.

General Impressions

This is an amusing show and an easy watch. The characters are silly, nothing is very serious, and everyone overacts just a little. No one but Takano would tell the suspect that crime isn’t cost effective, and no one but Yonaka would tell him to just get a different job. I was a little surprised to realize after watching it at the end of a really rotten day, how much better it made me feel. We need more of this kind of escapism. It is only eight 25-minute episodes on Viki. Let me know if it works for you!

Telzeytalks

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi