Fugou Keiji – 10 [Life shouldn’t be printed on dollar bills]

Welcome all to the penultimate episode of Fugou Keiji! Apologies for the wait, I had to catch a plane and those don’t really wait for anime blogged. On the up side though we have a lot to talk about this week as Daisuke and Kato catch the bad guys and the story starts to wrap up. Lets dive in!

Starting off I want to get some production concerns out of the way. Because for all that Fugou Keiji tried really hard this week, the production made it… awkward at times. With the entire episode taking place at night, on this secret ship, the lighting really should have been better. From Daisuke’s black hair and suit to the dark rooms and exterior, the lighting made it difficult to see what was happening. I understand that lighting a night scene is difficult, especially in anime of all things. How do you make things easily readable without sacrificing the dark and oppressive nature of well… darkness? However this is a solved issue for the most part, with the hardest part being the execution: Use moonlight! Frame the moon behind people, throw a slightly bloom filter, something! Just let me see Shigemaru’s arm clearly against a black background, please!

That aside though, like I said, Fugou Keiji tried very hard this week, like A+ for effort. Whether or not the series succeeded is an entirely different question, but Fugou Keiji really tried to instill as much character into the villains and setting as it could this week. Take for instance the Russian, who was all over this episode. Taking money to teach Daisuke a lesson, enjoying knocking people around and authorizing kill orders once he got annoyed with them. Playing with the helmsman, offering him tea or jelly, and generally being a snarky villain throughout the episode. He was still barely a character, since I cant even remember if he has a name. But an attempt was made to make him something more. It does something similar with the Adollium as well, by having it power the ship, etc. A lot of legwork went into fitting this episode together.

Fugou Keiji didn’t hold back when it came to our lead characters either. We saw the culmination of a lot of growth for both Kato and Daisuke this week, though both could have been more. Kato at least was done well, as he finally fired his gun this week, not to kill but to save. Everything from dropping the container but purposefully avoiding the kill to showing the gun stop shaking at the end was great. And having Daisuke call Kato out for how he dropped the container only made it better, because it was an issue I had as well. The best part though was easily the flashback to all of Kato’s previous heroic saves. Showing us that not only has he consistently been this way, but that Daisuke was watching him the entire time. Watching and being influenced/inspired by this no-name cop and his heroic actions.

Its because of this flashback sequence, showing us that Daisuke was always watching, that his own big moment of growth works at all. Because as great as it was to see him put justice, Cho and Takei’s murder first over his mothers and the “family matter”, the leadup wasn’t great. I want to believe it of course, I think Daisuke’s struggle with legality and justice vs his ability to do whatever he wants outside the law was always a core conceit of the show. But we didn’t really see that struggle or comraderie this episode until the end. Instead we mostly got the proud and rude Daisuke, shoving Kato off, forcing him to be bait and generally still being a prick. Had we seen him treat Kato with more respect leading up to this, I think it would have sold the scene a lot better.

Don’t get me wrong, I still really liked the scene. Lighting aside, it was a great culmination to Daisuke’s character and what little of an arc he has had. But like many things in Fugou Keiji it feels incomplete. The groundwork was all there, as I said we have seen hints of this throughout the season. How he helped Kato with the kids dog in episode 4, the whole “He is happier not knowing” etc. How little he cares for money when it comes to saving people, all that jazz. Its only in this final execution, the leadup to Daisuke confronting Shigemaru, that I think Fugou Keiji flagged a bit. It’s a shame to, because it could have been one of the best moments of the season I feel. Maybe build up Kato as more of a hero in Daisuke’s eyes, show a more grudging respect, etc. It coulda worked.

The only thing about Fugou Keiji that really continues to disappoint me is the complete and utter underutilization of HEUSC. Seriously, we have a neigh omnipotent computer program at our leads beck and call, right? And the villain, who has even greater access and is able to shut them out of it… barely makes use of it at all. And our leads still continue to trust it. This is such a huge piece of lost potential, its staggering. On a comedic level, Shigemaru could have been on par with Daisuke, fighting Balance: Unlimited with Balance: Unlimited, throwing literal money at each other. Meanwhile on a serious narrative level, Shigemaru could have stripped Daisuke of his money super power at any moment. Reverting him to episode 4 useless Daisuke while showing how much he has grown as a character to be able to still operate without it. It’s honestly really disappointing.

All in all, Fugou Keiji has once again managed a fine episode. For all its faults, for all that it could be more, for all that I can critique it 6 ways to Sunday: I still enjoyed it. I have spent enough time with these characters, enjoyed them enough, that even without the proper buildup this finale has worked. The flashback of Kato still worked, Daisuke confronting his father still worked. There is just something about Fugou Keiji, from its style and flare to its take on the billionaire super hero that I am really enjoying. I will do my best to put it into words by the final review, I promise. For now though you will have to content yourself with this: I am enjoying Fugou Keiji, and I hope you are to. See you next week for the finale!