So I am a huge Japanese detective buff, so here are some of shows I liked. Most of them will be detective shows, but some are really obscure picks.
The Japanese adaptation of The Long Goodbye. Phenomenal adaptation, I would recommend this to people who don't even normally like watching Japanese/foriegn shows.
Kagi no Kakatta no Heya. The locked room mysteries. This is more of your run of the mill style detective show focused on a gimmick, in this case, every case is a locked room mystery. It's alot of fun.
Biblia no kodansho jiken. The entire name may be longer. Kind of watches like a Hallmark special, it's about mysteries surrounding books. I liked the human stories in it.
Akuma to Tenshi. Angels and Demons.
This one is basically cold case, if the main character was a lawyer pushing plea bargins.
Hard nut!
This is another one of those gimmicky detective shows about math. The main girl is really clumsy and cute.
Watashi wa kirai na Tantei. The detective that I hate.
This show is a comedy goldmine. Basically it's a parody detective show, making fun of Japanese detective shows. The best part is that there is this insane meta narrative where the 4th wall is breaking down, both of the main characters know this is a tv show but are hiding it from the other characters. It's amazing.
Kurokochi.
Possibly the most insanely controversial show ever made out of Japan. Basically, lots of Japanese conspiracy theories are in this show (some of the darker ones I know are unfortunately true). It's kind of a thriller. Has some screwed up shit in it, but it's legitimately amazing.
Jin.
Looks like a samurai drama right? But it's actually a medical show about a doctor time traveling by accident right before the Meji Restoration. It's awesome to see him try and invent medicine before it would even exist, along with the historical politics.
Coffeeya no Hitibito.
A really obscure one for sure. This is a really dark human drama about a man running a coffee shop as he starts to get into a relationship with the widow of the man he killed. Lots of human stories, pretty grim but realistically handled. Mostly.
I'll still love you in 20 years.
Romance, with time travel. Basically dude is trying to break up his past self and his future wife before they get married and eventually a divorce. Pretty funny, and heart touching sometimes.
And to finish it up, Odoru Daisousen. Bayside Shakedown.
Outside of Tokyo Love Story and The end of the world (Don't watch that one, it's literally so depressing that people have committed suicide watching it), this is one of the most famous shows in Japan. Everyone who is 30 and up will know it.
Basically it's about this unorthodox cop (columbo if he was 20), who gets into trouble and his silly department he works for. Episode 2 is one of the greatest comedy episodes of all time.
So there is my list for you guys. Also, for those of you who posted The Man who can't get married, that show is great as well. Loved it.
I used to live in Japan, so alot of these shows came out during the time period I was over there.
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