Trickster

Episode 6

In a future where 3D printing of valuable objects has become commonplace and children play with drones as if they were R/C cars, it's comforting to know that the weather forecast isn't one jot more accurate than it is today. At least real estate has become dirt cheap, with all of our junior detectives not named Kobayashi living in fancy apartments that would be unaffordable for most of today's seasoned PIs.

Instead of diving directly into the next backstory, this week's Trickster sends its main boy detective duo on a series of (mis)adventures. Ranging from comically failed attempts at gardening to blowing up other jobs more literally, there is some nice situational humor to be enjoyed, making it easy to forgive the lack of spatial coherence that pops up once again in this episode. Keeping track of sight-lines isn't one of Trickster's otherwise ample visual strengths.

In the end, what appears to be just nicely colored and even more beautifully scored fluff turns out to have been plot all along, as Hanasaki was only keeping Kobayashi busy for the rest of the club to set up a secret birthday party, complete with the relocation of Kobayashi's beloved Ferris-wheel gondola to the roof of HQ. Kobayashi might not know his own birthday, but that doesn't mean he can't still move in with the gang. Hanasaki's efforts pay off when Kobayashi not only asks him if he's hurt after coming to his aid of his own volition, but also manages to find something to smile about for the first time, leading to an interesting development. Sleeping peacefully, his force field rebuffs an approaching bug in an almost gentle manner instead of vaporizing it.

Hanasaki has theorized that Kobayashi might lose his invulnerability if he starts helping others, pretending it might lead to a way for Kobayashi to die when he's really looking for a way to show him something worth living for. I always found it doubtful that Kobayashi just happened to wake up one day with invulnerability replacing his memory. There's clearly some sort of emotional trauma at work here manifesting as the supernatural version of inviolability, just as Inoue's disability is psychosomatic. Learning to care again will let Kobayashi become vulnerable, but the question remains if he will then care enough to work through the pain and overcome his desire to die, or if giving more than a slice of pizza will be the thing enabling him to fulfill his death wish. (I grow more and more convinced that this death wish was there before he became quasi-immortal.)

Hanasaki's forceful adoption of Kobayashi shows that his investment goes beyond the desire to solve a new puzzle. His undiminished genki-ness is hinted at having similar mask-like qualities that we've seen in Inoue and Kobayashi. It's not exactly a shocking revelation, but if executed well, it can still endear the character to viewers sympathetic to Stepford smilers, especially if a lost brother turns out to be what made Hanasaki compensate with twice as much recklessness.

Since I have a weak spot for this character type, I'm almost willing to forgive Hanasaki for confusing his Terminators.

Hasta la vista, Baby.

Rating: B

Trickster is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.