Forum - View topicCase File nº221: Kabukicho (TV).
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Takkun4343
 Posts: 1499 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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This, this, a thousand times this. It's strange that they'd just announce her demise with an "Oh, by the way, she's dead," with only thirty seconds left in the episode. It's suspicious that they'd mention that they're keeping her body in a certain location/planning an autopsy without showing the body in a manner that would support those claims, and the one time we do see her body is in a still-frame flashback that could easily be metaphorical, if not some degree of staged. The show may be trying to convince us she's gone, but with all the hints they're dropping that suggest the opposite, I don't buy that Irene is good and dead for a second. I agree that Sherlock knows Irene's alive and is putting on a kayfabe that makes it look like he's just as affected by it as everyone else, even if it makes him look a little out-of-character. After all, he was the first one to say "Irene's dead". What's more, I think Mycroft's in on it as well, with their discussion about the moving of Irene's body for the autopsy being coded speak to keep Watson in the dark about her being alive. (He seems like the kind of person who'd let it slip were he included in the plan, which would definitely be counteractive to my theory as to why they're claiming she's dead, to trick Jack into thinking so as well.) That one line at the end of their convo, "Tell Moran that Irene's body and belongings were already incinerated", suggested that the Holmes brothers are using deceit in whatever plan they've got cooked up involving the body transfer, which could theoretically double as foreshadowing to there being more to this plan beyond the at-face implications of that line. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
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Japanese ghosts don't have feet, which tells me she's still alive.
 Beyond that, I really don't have a clue. I'm just glad to see the story finally shaping up to something over the last 3 episodes.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#11
Bluff and double-bluff in this episode. Irene as suspected by others turns out to be alive, but earlier suspicions about Moriarty being responsible for the deed are completely shattered by the episode's pre-OP scene. Everyone bar Watson was 100% confident of Moriarty's innocence since they knew exactly who he was. Watson being the outsider didn't know any better, nor would the audience who didn't know his background until this week. As soon as Holmes started talking about Peyote and how it could be used to manipulate others into specific psychological states, I knew Kyogoku had been set up by his "squeeze" Maki. Not sure how many would have predicted this outcome since the Kyogoku-Maki development arc though. The plot doesn't end here, the follow-up questions remain unsolved. Yes, Moriarty is extremely clever for someone his age, but why does he merit a contract killing? With the destruction of the USB drive, viewers won't ever know. As a side-effect, Watson's original purpose of coming to the East Side to seek Holmes's help is no more as Holmes has solved it for him as a matter of course. Watson will probably stay to act as the audience's eyes and ears into this world, Holmes owes it to him anyway for the way he was used as hook for the real killer. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Yeah, this series did not earn being able to make a trans person turn out to be a psycho killer. It is not that you can't make a trans person be a villain, but the show had not really been that accepting of trans women in the first place, treating a number of them as jokes to be laughed at for bein unattractive. Such as the one who has a full on beard, and has been in a few jokes such as you can see in the OP by Watson being freaked out by her, and that one episode which had her starting a game to try and protect a guy she thought was hot, being too pushy after it was resolved.
I thought perhaps it could make it up a little bit by having the erratic guy love and date the trans girl who was also a little overweight, even if it seemed they were presenting it as a bit of a joke. But then they just had to make her a serial killer that they kind of made a show of making as ugly as possible (saying as such), give a reasoning to her trans nature as being because she has a small penis, like that is the complex for a trans people, and she has womb envy that she eats those of her victims. Not to mention the statement made by Sherlock in questioning why she might have decided to keep her penis, like a trans person would have to change that, and I think showing it as a bit perverse when she claimed that she was perfectly fine with it. I don't want to sound like some radical protector of trans rights, but it was all kind of yikes, and answer a conflict I have been having in regards to the show that will have me marking it down. I guess not everything can be ZLS or Stars Align. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
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This series has been treading on thin ice from the start, but this episode crashed through it like a ten-ton bulldozer. Every point at which I thought it had hit rock bottom, they just kept digging deeper into the pit.
Is there another episode, or was that abrupt ending it? Morbid curiosity would make a wrap-up ok with me, but I'm also ok if they just bury the corpse here and now. edit: just looked it up and oh hells, no, it's two cour.  Once again, shit gets multi-cour while good series just get read-the-source non-endings.
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Takkun4343
Posts: 1499 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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This episode was so damn good, even if it was understandably problematic. (If TWIA ever revisits this show, I expect a lot of animosity towards the Jack reveal.) I was already glad I chose to watch this series out of all the ones that aired this season, but this only solidifies my decision. Stay mad, haters. Stay mad.
(Also, I'm glad to see my "Irene's still alive" theory wasn't a case of me setting myself up for disappointment.) |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#12
Part #1 of the aftermath episodes for episode #11. The cat isn't just a gluttonous gourmand, it has a read on the regulars of the Cafe and knows it can make itself scarce to get most of them back to their normal selves again once Hudson put out the commission. Kyogoku is out of this series for the forseeable future thanks to the mental shock he received. The cat knows this, so it didn't bother pushing it at his bolthole. The others weren't as affected by the unexpected murder, although the ex-detective Michel has strong words to say for those who laughed at James Moran's actions. Speaking of which, his background story hasn't aired yet, so I wonder how his daughter ended up dead while he was still employed with the police. Irene takes her leave now that her role in the first half's main mystery is over. James Moran calling her teacher didn't make sense until she revealed she was Alex's tutor, which would explain why she was able to steal the wanted USB drive so easily from the mayor's possession. Her husband is overseas making trouble for consumers again, so she'll probably be at his side to clean up whatever grift he'd planned this time. As for Moriarty, it looks like he has other problems to worry about in prison. One of the other prisoners has his eye on him. The preview line is almost certainly from Mycroft, who is not at all pleased to learn the USB drive was most certainly destroyed by James. Sherlock doesn't like his brother, but the latter knows all of the psychological hooks to get him to work as a detective whether he wants to or not, so it's up to Mycroft if he wants to keep the professional relationship going. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#13
There's a new ED with animation to go with it. Not sure what to make of it, since it doesn't really make an impression on listeners. First episode of the second half and the backgrounds for Sherlock Holmes and James Moran are revealed. The Holmes family has always been brilliant, but Sherlock has an emotional deficit which he uses Rakugo to try and fill. James Moran is the same, but his father Alex may have a good reason to fear his son which Sherlock seems to be aware of since their very first encounter. Mycroft is spying on his brother, or at the very least installing remote listening devices in the toilet. The Ripper case is over and the drive destroyed, so why is he still working ostensibly on behalf of the Mayor to keep tabs on Sherlock? Watson treats James Moran as a minor (which he probably is since he was school-going age at the time of the murder) so why is James incarcerated in the Ward prison for hardcore criminals? I'm not fully aware of the Japanese penal code, but isn't there a special corrective facility for underage criminals? Eighteen might well be the threshold for criminal offences though. He's in trouble if he's inside since his usual comrades cannot help him and it wouldn't be difficult for his father to arrange for his son's "accidental" death inside prison walls. |
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Takkun4343
Posts: 1499 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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This was a really good episode. Sherlock's backstory was very fascinating, and also oddly touching. I liked how the first and most recent cases he solved for Mrs. Hudson (who was on point this episode BTW, between the yakuza wife getup and the angry threats towards the warden) mirrored each other, namely in that he didn't even have to leave the room to solve them both. Moriarty's backstory was a neat touch too. I have to wonder, was his mother's death an accident, suicide, or a murder staged to look like either? Whatever the case, I'm betting Trump-err, Moran had something to do with it.
I'm none too familiar with the Sherlock lore, so I don't know who this Albert guy in prison with Moriarty is. What I do know, however, is that he's bad news. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#14
A sideshow episode to tie up the loose end that is Kyogoku. One month after the big revelation he's still a wreck, so Watson and Sherlock go over to see if he's still alive. Somehow, the episode ends up turning into a case which the main detective pair end up accepting. Kyogoku's been a figure of fun in this series, what with his excessive OCD and warped interpersonal skills. His background makes him slightly more sympathetic, since his goal of making it big in the West Side wasn't simply for personal gratification and ego. His childhood experiences make him uniquely placed to solve the mystery in this hospital, although it's debatable whether the hints Sherlock gave him were taken up. Going back to the main plot, what has been hinted at for the last few weeks has come to pass. The question is, who added the poison? Is it James Moran, fed up with the prisoners' bullying and letting his hitherto curbed destructive instincts take vengeance with the perfect crime and alibi? Or someone working for Mayor Moran who is not content with seeing his son in prison and REALLY wants him dead as soon as possible? |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#17
The last two episodes had hints of a broader story arc interspersed throughout the episodes, but it's this episode that officially starts the gun on the main story arc now that Moriarty has been released from prison. This episode is another one from the source material, namely "The Adventure of the Dancing Men". Moriarty lied when he said he'd reconciled with his father. It appears his father running for re-election is desperate for any and all votes he can corral, so getting his "rehabilitated son" on stage with him is one method. Although Moriarty isn't listed as one of the escaped convicts, he was convicted of murder and there's no legal system in the world that allows murderers to get off on parole in less than two years. Most likely Moriarty escaped during the mass breakout and his father is putting a lid on the media situation. His little stunt with the retired thief Saizou certainly helped with his public rehabilitation, but Sherlock doesn't seem to trust him despite the release gift and the collaborative Rakugo (which looks a lot better than Sherlock doing his usual one-man show). That string of random numbers uttered by the convicts sounds like a bank account number, but there's almost nothing going on it bar certain people randomly going through the string and then getting themselves killed in short order afterwards. The show is going through considerable lengths highlighting the mastermind responsible for the breakout, plus he was responsible for bullying Moriarty while in prison. Not sure how that's going to develop, but it'll be interesting regardless. The last shot at the end of this episode is an interesting one showing the thought process which goes on behind the scenes on the Detective Row scheme. It's an accurate summary of how it should go, although for best results it's clear getting Sherlock on the case means success is guaranteed. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
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Interesting. Sherlock had the 8020463849 number at the start of the episode, apparently derived from something he got from the newscast. He also had the last 6 digits grouped in twos, which I assume he likewise did for the first 4. I suspect it has something to do with the alphabet code the thieves used.
I guess the "more than 40" means there was no code for ° and " kana, nor combos like kyu, which leaves 46. Beyond that, I got nothin'. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#18
Moriarty is hogging all of the cases, so there's downtime for the members of Detective Row. That's not stopping Sherlock from pursuing the prison escape angle, his notebook had the names of the prisoners and the mysterious string of numbers they utter before they kill themselves. Looking at his notes, it's clear the number is common for all of the prisoners, so the question is what does it mean. This week's case started off in a surreal manner, but it steadily got more sinister going forward. I didn't think the indie rock bank from the first half was going to be revisited, but the animators have somehow managed to force it into the ongoing prison escape meta-arc. Moriarty is now reverting to his source archetype with this episode, he's clearly involved with the prison escape and the suicides. That, or he's a willing tool in the trigger which leads to suicide for those affected. However, I can't think of when he had the opportunity to approach the three perpetrators while he was in prison or after he escaped. He's clearly enjoying stringing Sherlock along in this twisted scheme, and he's clever enough to stay several steps ahead of the main duo. Next week's episode suggests something big is going down, what with the revelation at the end relating to the Ripper and Mayor Moran. I won't be surprised if that newspaper editor is next week' victim, lured by the promise of a scoop and a substantial financial reward. |
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Takkun4343
Posts: 1499 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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Damn, this episode was way darker than I'd have expected from the title. A helpful witness killed for little to no reason, the perpetrators being depressed schoolgirls who self-immolated, Mrs. Hudson nowhere to be found... Crazy stuff. It's a shame so many people dropped this due to its "transphobic" nature, and it's not being covered on any prominent review sites for the same reasons, because Kabukicho Sherlock deserves more love and attention than it's getting, thanks to this arc upping the stakes as much as it is.
The question I have after this week's events is related to, naturally, the pre-suicide numbers that've been chanted for the past few weeks. I assumed it was a prisoner thing, since Isshiki and Saizo said them first, but these three girls whose only connection to the escaped prisoners was one of the members of their favorite band being held in the same facility? I'm wondering if Moriarty has something to do with the numbers, since the girls and Saizo said the suicide code after he shouted their full names to them. Oh, and the random Irene cameo was fun.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
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#19
Cat's out of the bag. Moriarty has been pulling the strings all along. The surprising revelation was Sherlock actually let him mess around because he needed the intellectual stimulation that only Moriarty's challenges could provide. Mind control? Not sure what to think about that. It's clear he can't use it for the things which really mattered to him, otherwise his twin sister would never have died. What is certain is he holds all of the cards at the moment and only Sherlock and Watson know what he's really after. Although Sherlock figured out the bomb's location at the end, he was too late to prevent it from going off. Moran's financial backer for his mayoral campaign was most likely the victim, so with him gone it's almost certain re-election is going to be impossible when the newspaper scandal is combined with this latest public relations disaster. What's really scary about this half is that Moriarty has already broken out of prison for murder. This time round his manipulation and scheming is very hard if not impossible to prove in the criminal court, so Sherlock and Watson have their work cut out for them. Nothing short of killing Moriarty will stop this chain of events, but do Sherlock and Watson even want that? |
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