Oh, I loved this episode! In fact, I’d even argue that it was my favorite episode of all of the new series this season so far. The thing that this series has above all other shows this season, is how much details it has put into its stories and episodes. It’s incredibly creative; not just in its themes and setting, but also in how it sets up its stories.
This episode in particular was really well constructed, and it made perfect use of its time to play out; everything was perfectly foreshadowed. The characters involved were all interesting, and at the same time this series just continues to throw in interesting tidbits about its world. I like how the creators chose to evolve smartphones, and how people make use of technology after nearly the entire country has been demolished with little efforts to restore actual structures.
Smart androids are of course nothing new, but the context in this episode was excellent. I especially loved the ending of this episode. As the episode went on, I kept thinking: aren’t we nearly done yet? Why hasn’t this been resolved yet? The murder of this episode suddenly gets resolved in like 20 seconds and the episode ends. That was a very neat idea that really broke away from conventions.
Inga’s powers, I’m beginning to understand their appeal: at first sight they’re just a cheap plot device to resolve mysteries quickly, but they’re much more than that. This show really plays around with certainty: because of her, there’s always one thing that’s certain of each episode: the fact that her question will be answered in truth. It’s something that Osamu Tezuka also loved to play with.
The reason I’m a big fan of episodic series, is because they really have to create a compact and standalone story, for every single episode. They can’t just take one episode as a build-up or aftermath: they always have to be interesting and this format allows much more for experimentation than regularly paced anime. And seriously, Un-Go has been the best version of this in quite a while so far. Each episode so far has been different and very detailed. Every episode has been fun and interesting, to the point where so many details become clear only after a second watching. And in the big picture, it’s creating a very interesting post apocalyptic science fiction world, based on modern technologies. Which it then uses again as the basis for its individual stories.
This episode also was the first that wasn’t just standalone. This still was pretty much the story of one murder that got resolved at the end, but there still is the question of who originally murdered the father, and why the victim here got burned. That’s up for next week. I like this: instead of just focusing this week on build-up, the creators decided to deliver every single week, while building up at the same time.
The worst part of this series is its cast of characters. Most of the time my favorite series of a season has really dynamic characters that are fun to watch. In Un-Go however, they take a back-seat. They’re well acted… but pretty much static. They do their job so that the storytelling and setting can shine, and as long as they don’t get in the way of those, I doubt that I’ll mind them.
Rating: *** (Awesome)]]>
Un-Go – 03
I think this episode too, was the best episode yet- my major complaint with UN GO is that every mystery/crime seen so far was so rushed to the point where I a.) had to keep pausing to understand what was even going on, and b.) that there was no sense of actual intrigue behind the storyline. But now that they made a two parter, that intrigue really shines!
I agree the characters are pretty flat at this point, but we still have 8 more episodes till everything can be really concluded. I’m enjoying the fact that they’re dropping hints about Shinjiro’s past here and there- the whole seemingly-innocuous statement of “I wasn’t in the country at that time” brings up a lot of theories. For me, I’m enjoying the sort of political conspiracy background that makes up this show, and I hope that continues, because to me that’s UN GO’s strongest point so far. The setting is really where this show gets interesting, and I hope that they continue to reveal more about it as the episodes go on. Why did a war start? Who were the sides, and how is that related to Shinjiro and Inga, who is the only ‘fantasy’ element of this show so far? I hope these questions will be answered soon, but until then, UN GO is definitely the stronger noitaminA so far.
Yea this was one hell of an episode. Totally love how awesome this show is in building up atmosphere
I like how we can see a bit more of the transformation of Inga every episode.
This series reminds me a lot of Red Garden. Pretty weak and rushed story, but the interesting characters and amazing atmosphere more than make up for it. The art style is pretty similar too. Look at the noses!
Yup, agree that this show is really creative. No big action scenes whatsoever but I like shows that I won’t be able to predict what will generally happen or how the characters act.
I like how Rin knows what her father is up to and shows that she doesn’t really approve it. I guess having the focus on her in the first episode was a good decision, in that she doesn’t become the ” is always right>” type of character that always annoy the hell out of me.
@Chris, Red Garden was a massive disappointment for me. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a bigger drop in quality from beginning to middle in another anime. This had better NOT be like that one, seeing as it’s the only show I’ve had eyes for this season since reading the synopsis…
Definitely the best episode, and also the best story so far, what with the AI aspect, although, that was easy to guess. But the bit where he replied with ^_^;; emoticon faces via the wardrobe door was a pretty good twist on the genre. What’s more, as a second parter, I really do want to watch the next episode to see the resolution to the mysteries that remain.
I agree with prior comments that the characters feel flat, but today I noticed that the detective guy has really nice blue eyes. Which mean I’m less bored while looking at him.
The best thing about this show is the setting, it’s got that great mix of future/present/past
I mean, AI plus, destroyed building, plus girl who dresses in victorian clothes, plus an oppressive state? It pretty unique.
For some reason though, I want to compare it with Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, because of the mashups, which I hold as gold standards, and this show pales in comparison. There’s a real lack of dynamism here.
The first two episodes I was annoyed with Inga, but he/she has grown on me somewhat, and I may finally be coming to terms with the magical transformation thing that seems so out of place with everything else.
The name INGA, means cause and effect, or karma, and finding that out is interesting.
I also need to go and read the essay by Ango on decadence, because I think that’ll help me to understand the world setting better.
The EP keeps playing over in my head.
Well, I completely disagree with you about this series. I am not enjoying it at all- I’m sure part of that is because I don’t like the detective genre, but I also think the character development has been almost nonexistent so far. The whole magical Inga character doesn’t make any sense and for the most part I dislike episodic series which is what this has been so far.
i completely agree with ender650. I just read someone else’s review and I’ll just translate some parts here.
“Early detective novels focus on deductive reasoning…Then a new type of detective novel appeared, the “society” type, which focuses on more characters’ motives (i.e.why they commit crims) and attempts to reflect some social problems. However, the “society” type is more like parody on some social problems than true detective litrature. Thus around 1980s, the Japanese novelists try to bring back the old format, while blending in some “society” elements.
Therefore, Un-go is more like a “society” type detective novel. Deductive reasoning is reduced to minimum in Un-go because of the aforementioned cheap plot device. Instead, the male lead constantly questions the criminals’ motives. However, due to the length of each story (1-2ep), it fails to elicit any emotions from the audience. The first two episodic stories definitively need 3-4 episodes to portray all the characters…
…The police department is there to provide a social perspective on each case but fails to do so because of the little screen time given.”
The reviewer also compared Un-go to Mōryō no Hako and stated that Mōryō no Hako is a textbook example of how a good “society” type detective novel should be.
Basically my point is, if Ungo is a detective novel, then it needs more deductive reasoning. If it aims to be a “society” type detective novel, then the emotional input is far from enough.
I have enjoyed many episodic series, Mushishi and all 3 seasons of Nastume Yuujinchou to name some. However I don’t believe this series is very good. The buildup in each episode is not sufficient. I find myself pausing while watching and going to do soemthing else. The characters and plotlines do not hold my attention. What was more interesting to me in this episode was the post 9/11 scene and something about iphones? There’s no mystery really to unravel, because the solution just appears when Inga transforms and the detective just needs to ask the correct question.
As for the “detail” the blog post mentions. I just don’t see it. Yes, when they are filling in the damaged landscapes, but no as to how the story goes.
I’m more interested about the relationship between Inga and Shinjiro. Not a pleasant one it seems.
This show is rather fun to watch. I am not expecting any great detective mystery or social commentary here, so maybe that is why I am not disappointed like most other people.
For an episodic show, this really has been doing pretty good mystery stories. Unfortunately, detective fiction doesn’t work well if you have to cram everything into 30 minutes; that’s too little time to have both good pacing AND good investigation/reasoning. If you get the chance, you should watch “Murder on the Orient Express”: there is no way to fit that into 30 minutes without butchering it.
I’m hoping that this particular story, since it covers at least 2 episodes, will be better than the previous ones.
As for those who aren’t satisfied with the character/setting development: with 30 minutes you can have either a little subtle character/setting development along with the story, or you can have a dash of story with a nice amount of development. I, for one, don’t want to see ANY episodes of a series that logically should be subtle focused on developing setting, character, OR over-arching plot until at least 4 episodes in. If you want everything in one big glob then don’t watch the show, go find a wiki and start reading everything in it instead, stop rushing things.