Welcome all, to the first show of the new season: Migi & Dali! I loved this one so much I just had to cover it. It’s so weird and out there that it felt like the dark horse of the season. And so far, 2 episodes in, I’m feeling vindicated by that! So without further ado, lets jump in.
Starting off, Migi & Dali continues to have really solid direction. The use of music, the shot composition, scenes like the twins slithering around like snakes only to cut it all off, music and everything, for a gag as the door bursts open. It somehow manages to be comedic without losing that underlying creepiness that made me interested in it. All of the jokes are just presented in such an unnerving manner that, until the punchline hits, you can’t tell if they are even mean to be jokes or not. Setups are done such that they could easily be misunderstandings through the eyes of naïve children or nefarious secrets if played straight, making you unable to properly dismiss them. It’s like the show is outright telling you something is up so clearly that it almost wants you to call its bluff. Everything about it is just so clever like that!
Getting into the episode itself, this week we learn the big “plot” of the show, the overarching story. Basically the twins, Migi and Dali, are here searching for the person who murdered their mother, the same woman from the opening shots of episode one. While still dark, this not only makes it clear the twins aren’t the villains of the show, it also gives the town an air of danger. Before I thought the twins were the danger, that they would be the ones bringing ruin to the town. Now though we know that someone here is a murderer, is the target of their revenge. This makes it so that we will start suspecting everyone we meet, making us suspicious of every possible red herring. The only exception to this would be those to young to commit such a murder, the other kids.
Lucky us then that Migi & Dali introduces a few this week hmm? That’s right, this week we also meet a number of the neighborhood kids. And while early impressions aren’t much, they were only around for a few moments, it at least expands the cast a bit and sets up few interactions. The big one here of course being Eiji Ichijo, one of the older kids and the first person to possibly notice what is going on. Not their murder attempts of course, I mean that there are 2 of them. How he does this I’m not yet sure, maybe he noticed how their hair swirls in different directions or he was just able to put 2 and 2 together, I don’t know. But the fact remains he suspects, meaning we now have a risk of discovery to go along with our revealed plot.
Getting back to the twins, we also learn this week just how willing they are to kill people. Sure they’re inexperienced, leading to a lot of silly mistakes like olive oil not being flammable at low temperatures, same with ingested liquor. Migi & Dali plays these ridiculous mistakes and mishaps for jokes true, and they are cute in a terrifying sort of way, but that doesn’t change that they willing to go through with it. Will Migi & Dali slowly shift this towards more realistic, and dangerous, attempts? Or will it stick to a more gag format and keep them simple but ineffective? I’m honestly not sure, not where it will go nor what I would prefer. Should it get more serious about them it risks losing that uncanny balance between gag and horror, yet the inverse could be just as damning. It’s a fine line to walk, but I’m looking forward to it.
One thing I know for sure though, and I think is really cool, is how Migi & Dali is handling the twins relationship. It became clear to me in this episode that, despite both them and the show billing them as one person, they really aren’t. We can already see the cracks forming as one of them starts to actually enjoy and appreciate having a “real family” for the first time in years. They are legitimately happy it feels like. Meanwhile the other is so focused on revenge they are more than willing to hurt their own brother to ensure it happens. Even the OP hints at this split. The question isn’t of “if” but “when” and “how”. Will they turn on each other completely? Or will the two who have become one split, becoming two once more, though still united in purpose? I don’t know, but again, it’s cool.
So yeah, overall this was a great episode. A lot of the potential I spotted in the premier is still there, and I think Migi & Dali is doing a great job of slowly expanding on the initial premise. Introducing not only other kids but a murder mystery plus a crack in the twins relationship? There are so many different directions it could go, all of them contributing towards the same end-goal of finding their mother’s murderer. So long as it can do this without losing that unnerving comedic vibe it has, the ridiculous physical comedy like them sliding out of the tent like snakes to that creepy circus music, any of them should work. Suffice to say, I’m really excited for this show.
