Short Synopsis: Ran, Rui, Rin and Midori now have to solve the mystery that lies behind the family curse.
Highlights: A bit of a questionable climax, but an impressive plot nonetheless.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10
oh, this definitely was the best arc of Telepathy Shoujo Ran yet. The story was pretty imaginative and more complex than what you’d expect from such a children’s series. So, if I understood things correctly, the red-haired woman and the first victim’s employer were behind the whole thing. The red mask on your elbow originally was a curse, that would kill a daughter of the family, but this time, they created a fake one, and instead poisoned the poor girl. If guessed this correctly, this basically was a bit of an extreme way to get their hands on the family’s money.
It was a bit anticlimactic when the bad guy appeared, parading around with Rui and Midori tied up in ropes. It’s times like here when the censorship gets a bit out of hand, and it would have fitted much better if they were actually carrying some kind of gun. Or a knife, which was used earlier in the episode. I don’t understand these censorship-laws anyway. Guns are bad, but starting a huge fire in a house doesn’t get censored. At least be a bit consistent in this.
The ending also was a bit of an anticlimax, but it did fit. The big problem with detective children is that it’s very hard for these children to outsmart and overpower adults. So the plot device of having telepathic powers gives these children a bit of extra help to solve these mysteries, and it keeps the series going. In a way, it’s the lesser of two evils. After all, think of the plotholes that this series would need to introduce otherwise.
In other news, I’m glad that Midori’s gawking over Rin still isn’t getting old, even though we’ve passed the halfway-mark of this series. The creators also can’t use the same dividing-joke again, since they’ve now really run out of options, so they’re going to have to come up with something new.
COMPLETE SPOILER
(I’ll try to word it as ambiguously as possible, though.)
The gun bit threw me too. The bad guy is holding something as he gets out of the car to capture Rui and Midori, and you hear a click that could be the sound of a pistol being cocked. But even though I remembered this, I still got briefly confused later because you don’t see any reason why Ran and Rin let themselves be tied up. (The bad guy does have one hand out of sight, though.)
But this bit still completely throws me, even after rewatching several portions of 13 and 14: Why on earth did the bad guys’ plan require an elaborate long-term plan to kill the granddaughter?
1) The only money we hear about is from the theft mentioned twice near the beginning of ep 13.
2) They’re not after the family’s money – it was pretty much lost during land reform (also ep 13).
3) Besides, they apparently intend to leave the grandmother alive anyway. Otherwise there’s no reason to convince her that her granddaughter died from the curse.
4) Sure, they’re “hiding it there,” but why can’t they just leave with it?
Duh. In point 4, replace “it” with “the theft money.”