No, the two shows really don't have that much in common, one is based off of a famous series of Polish books that were turned into a wildly successful video game franchise, while the other is a new crime drama that simultaneously takes place in London and Tokyo and deals with the Yakuza. But those shades of grey, dark characters, pull-no-punches plot, and, of course, lots of brutal violence, make the shows a lot more similar than one might expect.
Netflix is currently streaming eight episodes of the thrilling new BBC drama (which was co-produced with Netflix) and fans can't get enough of it. The name of the show translates to Duty/Shame which is an overarching theme for the new show that permeates every single episode. The series protagonist, Kenzo Mori (Takehiro), travels to London in the hopes of finding his brother Yuto who's gone missing and is a member of the Yakuza syndicate.
While there, he teams up with detective Constable Sarah (played by the always amazing Kelly Macdonald of Boardwalk Empire fame) and Rodney (Will Sharpe) who plays a delightfully entertaining drug addict and sex worker who is half-Japanese; he's easily the highlight of the show for many. They're rounded out by Kenzo's daughter, Taki, who comes from Tokyo to help her dad out while his wife (and Taki's mom) stays behind to care for his sick father.
When you hear "crime drama," it's easy to think of a procedural format that is very ho-hum in its rhythm and is paint-by-numbers, so to speak, but not Giri/Haji. Some episodes take a creative approach to filmmaking, like the show's fourth episode, which is all made up of flashback sequences. The way it handles concurrent narratives in both Tokyo and London is laudable as well, and the use of split-screen storytelling is expertly done.
This series also contains a ton of Japanese dialogue, which builds an even more immersive world and makes that threat of a growing Yakuza rivalry spilling out of Tokyo and into London that much more effective. The real stars of the show are its uhhh... stars. Seriously, the scenes between Rodney and Taki are some of the best in all of the eight episodes and perfectly balance out the high-stakes criminal activity Sarah and Kenzo become deeper entrenched in.
