Joker Game is still proving to be an interesting thriller though this episode started off a bit rough. There was over four minutes of flashing back to the previous episode and even the opening of this episode. In a way it was used to show just how Sakuma came to his conclusion which revealed the man to be an American spy but it felt a bit excessive. That said I love how this all played out and just how the American managed to fool the Japanese military on the first search of his house. It truly is a mark of genius to place the microfilm behind the imperial portrait as based on the mentality of Japanese soldiers of the time, they would never dare desecrate the portrait and leave it untouched in a search. At the moment Sakuma was about to cut his own stomach open, he remembered the lessons of the spy agency and managed to figure out the trick. It’s a great moment to see the smug look of the American disappear into pure panic as one of the members of the D agency revealed his hiding place. And with that all’s well that ends well correct?
Wrong. For there was more to this raid than our soldier was privy to. The second raid on the Americains home was all a ploy to disguise his superior’s failure to find anything in the first raid. He intended to make Sakuma a scapegoat in order to keep his reputation clean. He never intended him to find anything. Through some elaborate investigation Sakuma manages to find out this as well as details about the boss of the D agency and his intentions of taking advantage of this matter. He does so well that the boss even offers to train him as a member of the D agency. What we have is a series of schemes in tandem. The American spy was trying to steal intel, a superior officer was trying to cover up his mistake and the boss of the D agency trailing the superior in order to find an exploit to blackmail him into investing more into the D agency. In the beginning Sakuma berated the D agency for making use of underhanded methods and here he now understands that the military is not above such measures. HIs final resolution is interesting in that he has not embraced the D Agency’s philosophy but rather he wishes he can die with honor rather than be used as a tool for someone else’s agenda. To me those things are the same but to a nationalist member of the society of the time it may not be the case.
At the moment while I do love Joker Game, I find it’s being a little too straightforward in it’s storytelling. I feel we could have a greater layer of nuance in its production as this small doesn’t leave much room for moral complexity. Everything is laid out and explained so even a child could understand the plot. In some regards that’s a good thing as simplicity doesn’t mean it’s bad but considering it’s a fairly mature story I would think it would be good to leave things up to interpretation. I for one would have liked to speculate more on just why the Boss walks with a cane despite his legs being perfectly fine. I would have likened it to a psychological tactic in order to make people underestimate him but instead it is spelled out to be a distraction from the bosses real disability. His left prosthetic hand. On that note I am surprised he can get a prosthetic hand of such quality which can fool people into thinking it’s real. I am not certain on the plan of disguising a disability with another disability other than preventing him from being identified by word of mouth. Despite my gripes there is an air of style around this piece; it has an atmosphere that clarifies the word cool. There is a certain suaveness in how the characters carry themselves and the smug knowing smiles that exemplify a kind of hidden badassery. Even if this doesn’t appear to be a particularly deep story, at least it’s going to be an entertaining one.
~AidanAK47~
I actually think the first 2 episodes are THE perfect introduction to Joker Game series. All the main themes are explored, from the Joker Game itself, the conflict between soldier’s attitude and those of spy, making advantage out of others weaknesses… All of these are investigated in the American spy case. The case itself, like you said, is not complex but it does provide deep examination here. The episode ends perfectly as well, just when Sakuma can be able to see all what going on behind the table, but still refuses to join the “Joker game”- makes him a much more compelling character.
It is a good introduction to the series but I was more referring to the presentation. Everything here was spelled out for the viewer. The big zoom in to the smug smiles the spys get, the way the dialogue lays down what happened in detail so little speculation can be made and everyones feelings are so openly blatant. If this presentation continues throughout the series then it would feel like this show considered me the type of person who wouldn’t be able to understand the plot unless the direction made it as conspicuous as possible.