I've been wanting to watch the "ST" series for a while, from start to finish beginning with this special but my timing was never right and I could never seem to get into it... until today that is! Kubota Masataka, Okada Masaki, and Watabe Atsuro were the only three that I thought I knew in this series, which was why I was interested at first, but when I started to watch I realized that I knew a lot more of the cast than I thought and I gained interest in a few new actors as well.

The story itself is pretty old, but not cliched in the least; the writer(s) and director really took their time and really made this storyline and plot their own. I never guessed the ending, nor did see a few twists coming throughout the special. A couple of pieces of the story felt rushed, and the ending seemed to quickly close off, but all in all, it was a very good set-up for the series! The characters were very well supported by nice back stories and they all felt very real and "human" (mini-spoiler alert).

This is definitely a good special to watch if you're interested in the "ST" series or if you like crime/detective dramas. Though I would not suggest watching this only because of a specific actor, because it will get boring really quick, I think that is what happened to me the first time I wanted to watch this...