Devotees of British crime dramas will be thrilled to discover yet another superb thriller available to stream - and chances are you've never come across it before. The outstanding series has earned extraordinary acclaim from critics and audiences in equal measure, firmly placing it in the same league as Line of Duty and Broadchurch, two shows universally regarded as the pinnacle of British crime drama.
The underrated programme originally aired on BBC Two in October 2019, before landing on Netflix for a broader international release in January 2020. A joint venture between Netflix and the BBC, this gripping crime drama has managed to truly captivate viewers across the globe, and the widespread praise it has received is testament to that.
Giri/Haji, Japanese for 'Duty/Shame', is a bilingual production available on Netflix, written and created by Joe Barton of Black Doves and The Lazarus Project fame. Boasting an extraordinary international cast including Takehiro Hira, Kelly Macdonald, Will Sharpe, Yosuke Kubozuka, Justin Long, Masahiro Motoki, Anna Sawai, and Charlie Creed-Miles, this unmissable series plays out across London and Tokyo, weaving dialogue in both English and Japanese throughout.
The official synopsis reads: 'Translating to Duty/Shame and set in both Tokyo and London, Giri/Haji is a thriller about a Tokyo detective named Kenzo Mori, scouring the London underworld to find his allegedly deceased brother, Yuto. Yuto was accused of brutally murdering the nephew of a yakuza member, which could lead to the onset of a gang war. Kenzo's investigation into the disappearance lures him into dangerous elements of the corrupt underworld of London's criminal circuit.'
Supporters were devastated when the programme was axed by BBC Two and Netflix in September 2020, though not before leaving a lasting impression on audiences worldwide. Achieving a flawless 100% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Giri/Haji has garnered universal acclaim from critics everywhere.
One reviewer said: 'There is simply nothing else like this anywhere on television,' while another, mirroring this view, added: 'If you love gangster thrillers, Giri/Haji is unbeatable.' A third critic wrote: 'It's complex but often deadpan funny, and then deeply serious about family matters. Visually startling (created by Joe Barton who also wrote for the series Humans), it's like no thriller made in the past decade.'
Meanwhile, one reviewer noted: '[It] cross-pollinates genres - mixing cop show, yakuza thriller, love story, anime and hokey family melodrama, all spiked with bits of offbeat comedy. Giri/Haji is unlike anything else on TV.' Another captivated viewer remarked: 'The resulting tangle is highly stylised (slipping into black and white, animation and at one point what I can only describe as slow-motion interpretative ballet) and unlike anything else I've watched on the BBC.'
Viewers were equally bowled over by the British-Japanese production. One fan wrote: 'This is by far one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. It's artful, creative and existential in all the best ways possible. The fact it isn't more widely known is a sad indictment on the current state of television.' A second viewer added: 'Gripping from the first moment. Intelligent script, stunning cast, brilliantly crafted. Blends thrills and humour.'
A third fan, describing the crime drama as 'outstanding', wrote: 'Just an amazing show with both visual and verbal attributes that are mesmerizing and the duality of the show goes beyond the parallel locations but is intertwined to the depth of the characters. There are some scenes that just surpass anything that I have seen on TV in recent times if not ever. Just outstanding...'
Voicing their dismay over the show's axing, one viewer lamented: 'This is a very classy, well acted, intelligent and witty show full of drama, action and twists. Things like this don't come along that often, an absolute gem, please can we have another series?'
