What are the ingredients of a good "Furuhata Ninzaburô" episode? A good killer is an obvious answer as is good humour and good direction. However, I would also add a good mystery to the list of requirements. Considering the open format of the show, such a thing is easy to overlook and yet if some of the weaker episodes have taught us, it's no fun if the killer is too easy to catch. "The Laughing Corpse" was a prime offender in this category - the killer was in the bag before the 20-minute mark. A similar problem befell this season's "Reward for Hypocrisy". "Master of the Game" was an interesting example as well. It featured a complex plot which was then disappointingly unravelled by Furuhata in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, some of the show's finest episodes such as "Furuhata Ninzaburô vs. The Quiz King" put the wily inspector's deductive skills to the test.
Now comes, "Magician's Choice", an episode which shows Kôki Mitani at his most devious. Furuhata really struggles to solve this one even going as far as conducting an experiment with Shintaro as his unwilling guinea pig. Once the murder is solved, however, the climax is even more satisfying. What makes "Magician's Choice" particularly interesting is that both Furuhata and we, the audience, see the murder be committed and yet there are so many questions. Just like "Furuhata Ninzaburô vs. The Quiz King", this episode feels like a proper whodunnit. But Mitani is even better than I thought. Just when you think everything has been revealed and the killer has been safely apprehended, he delivers another twist - even cleverer and more effective than the first. I won't spoil it but it is the kind of twist that makes you slap your forehead and consider yourself an idiot for not seeing it immediately.
But what of the other ingredients? Well, the killer is definitely first class. He is a cocky magician played wonderfully by Shingo Yamashiro, a controversial performer himself. Besides some very entertaining interplay between him and Masakazu Tamura, I really enjoyed the scenes in which he performs his tricks. There is a real air of showmanship and attention hunger in Yamashiro's performance as well as a great presence befitting a highly respected magician.
The humour? Well, "Magician's Choice" is a somewhat more serious episode. Sure, Shintaro does make a fool of himself and Mukojima makes an appearance but there is a more contemplative atmosphere here which makes the episode all the tenser. I did greatly enjoy the scene in which Furuhata assists Yamashiro with his big trick. It's fun seeing the great detective stumped if at least momentarily. Less enjoyable is the opening scene involving Furuhata and a badly trained cat. It's a clunky opener whose whole raison d'être is to provide Furuhata with a reason for attending a magic show and it even does that poorly. So, the humour is the one ingredient in this otherwise wonderful episode that has gone a little stale.
Thankfully, the direction is solid. Hidetomo Matsuda adds a bevvy of clever little touches which liven up the episode without becoming overbearing. Some of the include Furuhata pulling out an endless string from the victim's sleeve and Yamashiro not-so-subtly groping women as he walks through a crowd. The big murder scene is also superbly done through a series of moody close-ups - shocked reactions, Furuhata's analytical stare, the killer's nervous darting eyes, and the poisoned bottle of juice. Had it been edited at a more furious pace it would have resembled the work of the much missed Mamoru Hoshi.
Now comes, "Magician's Choice", an episode which shows Kôki Mitani at his most devious. Furuhata really struggles to solve this one even going as far as conducting an experiment with Shintaro as his unwilling guinea pig. Once the murder is solved, however, the climax is even more satisfying. What makes "Magician's Choice" particularly interesting is that both Furuhata and we, the audience, see the murder be committed and yet there are so many questions. Just like "Furuhata Ninzaburô vs. The Quiz King", this episode feels like a proper whodunnit. But Mitani is even better than I thought. Just when you think everything has been revealed and the killer has been safely apprehended, he delivers another twist - even cleverer and more effective than the first. I won't spoil it but it is the kind of twist that makes you slap your forehead and consider yourself an idiot for not seeing it immediately.
But what of the other ingredients? Well, the killer is definitely first class. He is a cocky magician played wonderfully by Shingo Yamashiro, a controversial performer himself. Besides some very entertaining interplay between him and Masakazu Tamura, I really enjoyed the scenes in which he performs his tricks. There is a real air of showmanship and attention hunger in Yamashiro's performance as well as a great presence befitting a highly respected magician.
The humour? Well, "Magician's Choice" is a somewhat more serious episode. Sure, Shintaro does make a fool of himself and Mukojima makes an appearance but there is a more contemplative atmosphere here which makes the episode all the tenser. I did greatly enjoy the scene in which Furuhata assists Yamashiro with his big trick. It's fun seeing the great detective stumped if at least momentarily. Less enjoyable is the opening scene involving Furuhata and a badly trained cat. It's a clunky opener whose whole raison d'être is to provide Furuhata with a reason for attending a magic show and it even does that poorly. So, the humour is the one ingredient in this otherwise wonderful episode that has gone a little stale.
Thankfully, the direction is solid. Hidetomo Matsuda adds a bevvy of clever little touches which liven up the episode without becoming overbearing. Some of the include Furuhata pulling out an endless string from the victim's sleeve and Yamashiro not-so-subtly groping women as he walks through a crowd. The big murder scene is also superbly done through a series of moody close-ups - shocked reactions, Furuhata's analytical stare, the killer's nervous darting eyes, and the poisoned bottle of juice. Had it been edited at a more furious pace it would have resembled the work of the much missed Mamoru Hoshi.