Reasons to love Miss Sherlock (as non-spoilery as I could make them):
Hands down the most true-to-the-original-stories modern adaptation I’ve seen. Sherlock is a chemist! Hatano-san (Mrs Hudson) being so vital! Wato’s war doctor trauma being dealt with in a realistic way that isn’t “oh you just need to find a new calling”!
The mysteries and corpses are so delightfully Victorian Gothic ❤️ Family secrets, vengeance, codes, politics… This is all true to the stories too.
Cable Street Irregulars! Okay, only one shows up properly, but you can tell Sherlock has a stable.
AESTHETIC. Sherlock’s room and clothes are a temple to 1890s opulence. So many textures, the warmth of the wood, the dressing gowns! The set designers did their homework and it’s all spot-on. And in other locations, every single thing has meaning. Plus I loved the run-down locations and characters, lower-class Japanese clearly standing in for Victorian slums.
Sherlock not being just a brilliant bored asshole. She’s so dedicated to her work and willing to drop everything for a case. She’s clearly neuroatypical - and wow Takeuchi Yuko has done her research, the fidgeting and food issues and personal space and attention span - but she cares so very much, she just has trouble with acknowledging the importance of the relationships she actually has formed.
(I can’t get over how dumb Shibata is. Idiot, she picks on you and shoves you around and shuts you up with her hand because she’s comfortable with you and trusts you not to hurt her. Honestly, he’s the third person she’s the most physically comfortable with, after her brother and Wato.)
NOT downplaying the effects of violence. And I don’t just mean the visuals, though blood flows freely, but the effects on people. The whole point of the overall story is that violence breaks people. What Sherlock does at the end is directly, straightforwardly led to by what she experienced before.
There’s a particular breakdown scene after a killing that just stabs you in the gut. I think this is the first time I’ve seen so piercingly shown that a good guy can break down because of the simple fact of taking a life - such a contrast to Western stories in which heroes blow away legions of mooks and dust themselves off before celebrating. That’s the theme, the way violence damages/destroys all parties involved.
Which relates to - letting both men and women cry and break down in ugly ways. Takeuchi and Kanjiya are both stunningly beautiful, and yet their emotions aren’t shot with a male-gaze aesthetic view. There are so many scenes where the script lets the actors do their thing and the words don’t get in the way. The camera, too, lets the story breathe, lets the actors have their stage, and that makes for good art.
Oh! And I want a Kento! He’s the Mycroft character, and for once there’s no sibling rivalry at all - Kento and Sherlock clearly adore each other, she climbs all over him, and he’ll go through hell for her (and also hire her to solve his work problems, which, so much trust on both sides). Ozawa Yukiyoshi isn’t actually that big, just tall, but somehow he just exudes teddybear. (And in some scenes, big brother grizzly bear.)
Finally, it’s such a female series. Not just both the leads - but how central the landlady is, and so many issues the cases are built on. Having so many women in the cast means they can be all things. (And so many guest stars playing professional women!).
In conclusion: not just lesbian and/or Zuka fan catnip, though dammit, it’s good Zuka fan catnip too…
And where’s our second series???
