Review: 'Galileo 2'

One of the great things about the explosion in popularity of online streaming media websites is that American viewers are being exposed to a rich variety of overseas programs. It's more than just a bunch of British shows and the occasional bleak Scandinavian cop series. It's possible to see the best (and worst) shows from countries ranging from Russia and German to Japan and India.

Hulu Plus just added the Japanese drama "Galileo 2," and after watching a couple of episodes I have to admit that while I'm not in love, I'm in strong like of this quirky police procedural.

Some of the Japanese TV shows I have watched have been a bit too loud and over-acted for my tastes. But this Fuji TV series (which premiered in Japan last spring) manages to be cute and quirky while still retaining its grasp on normality.

"Galileo 2" is a follow-up to the 2007 series "Galileo" and the 2008 film "Suspect X." In those projects, the plot centered on the relationship between Detective Kaoru Utsumi (Kou Shibasaki) and professor of physics Manabu Yukawa (Masaharu Fukuyama). Yukawa is a genius, albeit a brusk and mysteriously handsome one. With his self-centered approach to cases and his lack of social skills, Yukawa has more than a bit of Sherlock Holmes in him. If Sherlock Holmes spent most of his day teaching physics. Detective Utsumi spent her time tackling mysterious cases and using Yukawa as her science adviser. Assuming he wasn't in the middle of trying to prove some theory that had very little to do with the case at hand.

Episode one of "Galileo 2" has Det. Utsumi exiting Japan to serve as a police liaison in Oklahoma. She's told that since she investigates weird mysteries, she'll feel right at home there. And among other things, she worries about things such as frogs falling from the sky, which she has heard may be one of the things that happens often in the state.

Utsumi introduces professor Yukawa to her replacement, newly graduated detective Misa Kishitani (Yuriko Yoshitaka). Kishitani has a more than a few quirks herself and it doesn't take long for the duo to tackle their first case. The leader of a religious group named "Kuai"  sent energy to cleanse a follower he suspected of stealing from him. The man then jumped out of a 5th story window and the fact that this entire event was captured on film by a visiting journalist meant the "energy" was more than just the claims of some cult members.

Of course, the mystery is eventually solved by Yukawa, but the answer isn't apparent until the moment of the reveal. Which is a rare event in a procedural and just that fact makes the show worth watching.

But the real draw of "Galileo 2" is Yuriko Yoshitaka's Det. Kishitani. She's glib and head-strong and has the same kind of casual sexiness that you see from Stana Katic on "Castle." It's impossible to take your eyes off her and what more can you ask from any actor?

One complaint about the show is that since the audio is in Japanese, you'll likely need the English captions. The captions often seemed to lag behind the action and sometimes a group of them would flash by so quickly that they were impossible to read. It's not enough of an issue that I would warn you to stay away. But expect a couple of frustrating moments here and there as you watch.

Click here to watch "Galileo 2" on Hulu Plus.