Basic Info
Title:Puzzle
Type: J-Drama Special
Length: 4 Episodes, 23 mins/episode
Year:2006
Cast: Yanagi Koutarou, Nakamura Yuiichi
Summary
Class 3-A of Tokumen High consists of Japan's top students, and to ensure their success further, a training camp is held especially for them. With strict rules on studying, only the best of the best can stay in 3-A. One day, howeverr, a group of armed men takes hold of Tokumen High and takes a teacher and a student as hostage. Left with no other choice, Class 3-A is forced to complete a puzzle on the villains' whim, to save the hostages. With less than 24 hours to complete the puzzle, the future of Class 3-A hangs on the balance.

Plot (8.5/10)
A medium is deeply rooted in the culture that gave birth to it. In this case, Puzzle comments on the seeminly cold-hearted side of Japanese society, where an individual is defined by the success or his potential to attain it. With Japan having sky-rocketing figures on suicide, Puzzle addresses this issue by portraying one of the most prevalent causes of suicide -- the pressure society puts on the individual to succeed and make a name.

Although, Puzzle fails to answer some of the questions that a critical viewer may have, with only four episodes it has managed to present a complete and concrete story. The pacing was also just right, something not very common for Japanese shows.

In the end, the dorama fulfills its purpose, which is to leave its viewers a definite impression.

Cast/Acting(8/10)
Aside from the two D-Boys who are relatively known to a definite fanbase, the cast of Puzzle is virtually unknown. This does not prove to be a liability for the show, however. For the cast it houses, the acting was neatly done. Most surprising of all is Yanagi Koutarou's significant improvement in acting, as his roles before Puzzle tend to be rather flat. Although the character of Yuasa is stereotypical, Yanagi manages to pull it off by putting his own spirit in him. It seemed like there was nothing special about his acting in the first episodes, but it was toward the end that Yanagi showed his skills .For this dorama, Yanagi has managed to express the character's thoughts and feelings clearly.

Nakamura Yuiichi, probably because of the similarity in roles, has performed his usual "bitchy self." I seriously think that he should get a change of roles for him to show more range. Still, he was able to portray his character properly, and give life to the show. In scenes that Yanagi fell short of expectation, Channaka was able to fill the gap, and thus bring out a well-played scene.

Dialogue (7/10)
Puzzle is clear in the theme it wants to express and thus revolves around it. There was no play on words, nor witty metaphors, but the lines served their purpose in creating a story. There are a bunch of quotable lines in the end as well.

Cinematography (8/10)
There's not much to say about the cinematography of Puzzle, however for a show with only two settings, the play on images did not make the scenes monotonous.

Music (9.5/10)
Somebody tell me what the title of the ending song is! I have to commend the show for having an excellent soundtrack. The BGMs were fitting, and the ending song just strikes through you. Its one of the memorable things when watching this show.

Final Say:
With a clear message to say, Puzzle manages to capture its viewers not only with the suspense and mystery it brings, but with a theme that resounds even after you have finished watching it.

Over-all Rating: 8.2/10

Tags: channaka, dorama review, j-drama review, puzzle, yanagi
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