Mr. Brain

Ryusuke Tsukumo  used to be just a chick magnet until he had an accident. After his brain operation he became a different man. In order to understand more about himself he pursued neuroscience and became foremost in that specialty. He was offered a job at the National Research Institute of Police Science. His resourcefulness and analytic skills were put to the test as he goes head to head with the most baffling cases.

This 8-episode series is a must-watch. I got hooked right away in the first episode. Tsukumo's brilliant skills in putting together puzzle pieces of a case that don't exactly fit at first glance is intriguing and fun to watch. Add to that his antics with co-worker Kazune Yuri and the police/investigators Hayashida and Tanbara he continuously annoys and helps in the investigations.  

It's a good mix of comedy, mystery, and drama. There are plenty of funny scenes but the more emotional scenes were delivered expertly. Viewers can also pick up trivia about the brain. Takuya Kimura is such a good actor and is supported by an equally great cast and powerhouse guests (Gackt, Nakama Yukie, Sato Takeru, and more). Each case is unique and becomes more difficult as the story progresses. The only downside is that it's too short for a great series.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Cast:
Takuya Kimura as Ryusuke Tsukumo
Haruka Ayase as Kazune Yuri
Hiro Mizushima as Toranosuke Hayashida
Teruyuki Kagawa as Tomomi Tanbara

Sei Hiraizumi as Junpei Funaki
Osamu Shitara as Junichi Kanda
Shigenori Yamazaki as Koichi Ochi
Shiho as Mariko
Yukina Kinoshita as the cleaning lady
Shunya Isaka as Katsumi Namikoshi
Yasufumi Hayashi as Kiyoshi Iwabuchi
Katsuya Kobayashi as Ippei Seta
Yuji Tanaka as Mitsuo Natsume
Tortoise Matsumoto as Jotaro Nanba
Mao Daichi as Miharu Sasa