Let’s cut right to the chase, because this was a big week for Fugou Keiji. Not because of any great narrative events, though we are seeing the beginning of something greater. Rather because Fugou Keiji seems to have decided what it wants to be. Until now it has been struggling with an identity crisis. Is it a comedic and ridiculous romp, riffing on rich superheroes like Tony Start and Bruce Wayne? Or is it a serious detective story with a touch of the fantastical in Daisuke? This week Fugou Keiji seems to have decided on the latter. There was very little levity and the series seems to be setting up some rather serious and impactful arcs to come. Some jokes were still there of course, but almost all of them were worked into the story. Were tinged with something more serious. So with that in mind, lets talk detective stories.
On the joke/absurd comedy side there really wasn’t much going on, so we can get through this quickly. There were some gags involving our department and their interactions with the First Division, but these didn’t do much for me. More than anything they seemed to exist to flesh out the relationship between the two departments. To really show just how much of the First Division is made up of elitist assholes. The only non-department related joke came at the end, when Fugou Keiji had to explain why a Janitor had a key to the super secret panic room. Putting aside how illegal it is to make a key like that, and how much trouble that janitor would be in, it got a slight chuckle out of me. That doesn’t excuse the ridiculous narrative implications for an otherwise serious story. But credit where it’s due this was a good joke.
Moving on to the bulk of the episode though, we come to the serious detective stuff. Fugou Keiji tried to do a lot here, from a terrorist plot and suicide to trying to make them sympathetic and introducing Kambe family drama. The first two are rather straight forward and the main thread of the episode. We have the President of a Latin American company coming to sign a few deals for a construction project. Being cops our team is guarding him, and lo and behold terrorists strike. This is all rather straight forward and though Daisuke being there not as a cop but a businessman is interesting, it doesn’t change much. It’s a basic plot thread that Fugou Keiji uses to give structure to everything else going on in the episode. Something that can be introduced and resolved immediately. That doesn’t mean its perfect though.
For the most part I enjoyed the plot, as I said it was straightforward and clear. However Fugou Keiji did something at the end that I don’t think it has yet earned. That being how it attempted to make the terrorists sympathetic, to talk down their crimes a bit. Fugou Keiji makes it clear that this terrorist wasn’t seeking mass murder or anything. They very clearly setup the bomb to only get the President. It tries to frame the whole thing in some sort of misguided patriotism for the terrorists home culture. In effect its trying to pull a Planetes. However unlike Planetes, Fugou Keiji hasn’t set this up enough nor treated the subject with enough respect to really earn this portrayal. It came off as a very awkward attempt at moral ambiguity in a show trying to prove it can be “serious”.
On the flip side though, Fugou Keiji has started something very interesting with its developments around Daisuke. As in this episode, and by the episode title, we learn he isn’t actually in control. Daisuke does not own or actually have his resources, rather it seems they are granted to him by his family. On it’s own this would make for the start of a rather interesting familial investigation plot. But when I combine it with last episodes focus on Daisuke without his money, I get rather excited. Because for all that I love Fugou Keiji as a wacky parody of money-based superheroes, I think this opens up a lot of doors for Daisuke to grow. As rather than parody the money-based superheroes, Fugou Keiji seems to want to take one and grow them into a fully fleshed out character. A transformation of genre/focus in a way.
This isn’t the only mystery Fugou Keiji introduces this week either. As throughout the episode we are given scenes with Chosuke Nakamoto, the old cop nearing retirement, that are downright incriminating. From getting the day off too viewing the jamming device in the background, to his scene at the end with forensics. Each of these are shot in a blatantly suspicious manner. Fugou Keiji wants us to suspect him. So much so that I almost feel like he is a red-herring. Meanwhile the real inside villain, because we know we are getting one, is probably going to be Yukihiro, the fat division lead we opened on in the elevator. He seems to run his agency with an almost comical disregard for actual work, and the opening elevator scene was… just a tad creepy. Just enough to put him on our radar without giving him away.
So all in all, how was this weeks episode of Fugou Keiji? Long story short, it looks like the series has decided what it wants to be. It’s identity crisis is, hopefully, over. And while I still want some gags in the future we can no doubt expect a lot more serious stories to come. I will admit to still being a tad nervous, and maybe a little annoyed by this change though. As the opening episode and all of the introductions in Fugou Keiji promised us a more light-hearted/comical series. So while I can appreciate the attempted evolution of the story, I am a bit sad at what it is we are losing. Lets just hope that Fugou Keiji manages to stick the landing of this sudden switch, eh?
