After an exhausting run of four back-to-back specials, it's a relief to go back to basics with "The Young Master's Murder", a pretty straightforward episode of "Furuhata Ninzaburô" which nevertheless is one of its more interesting entries. I'm always thrilled when the show covers traditions and worlds exclusive to Japan. Any detective show can have a pathologist killer but only a Japanese one can centre its plot around rakugo - an ancient form of storytelling. Thankfully, Kôki Mitani seems quite knowledgable on the subject and gives us a fascinating overview of its many traditions. I just wish we got to hear more of the rakugo tales as they seem quite entertaining.
Performing the tales is Samegoro Ichikawa, a pretty famous kabuki actor who makes for a good killer. He has the arrogance and the irascibility and Furuhata winds him up fairly easily. Returning to the old "Furuhata Ninzaburô" format means that we get lots of scenes between Ichikawa and Masakazu Tamura and they are as ever a real treat. I particularly liked the final scene in which the confrontation between the two is mediated by the younger man's teacher played with grace and humour by Yasuyasu Umeno.
This episode also marks the return of director Keita Kôno. After the cinematic direction of Masayaku Suzuki, it is hard not to view Kôno's more conservative approach as a step backwards but there are a few surprisingly well-executed scenes in this episode. Especially shocking is the brutal murder scene which would not feel out of place in a Giallo film!
The rivalry between Shintaro and Saionji continues and I must admit the little guy is really growing on me. He is Shintaro's better in every regard and the scene in which they compete to come up with the funniest punchline to a rakugo tale is a real delight even if it's obvious padding.
The story itself is quite interesting and, keeping in style with the theme of tradition, an excellent example of the shin-honkaku school of mystery writing. In other words, here we have what is essentially a logical puzzle. A mystery in which evidence is less important than the reasoning which gets you to the solution. Had "The Young Master's Murder" been presented as a straightforward howdunnit (i.e. If we didn't see how it was done) it would have been a perfect example of this particular style of Japanese detective fiction.
Performing the tales is Samegoro Ichikawa, a pretty famous kabuki actor who makes for a good killer. He has the arrogance and the irascibility and Furuhata winds him up fairly easily. Returning to the old "Furuhata Ninzaburô" format means that we get lots of scenes between Ichikawa and Masakazu Tamura and they are as ever a real treat. I particularly liked the final scene in which the confrontation between the two is mediated by the younger man's teacher played with grace and humour by Yasuyasu Umeno.
This episode also marks the return of director Keita Kôno. After the cinematic direction of Masayaku Suzuki, it is hard not to view Kôno's more conservative approach as a step backwards but there are a few surprisingly well-executed scenes in this episode. Especially shocking is the brutal murder scene which would not feel out of place in a Giallo film!
The rivalry between Shintaro and Saionji continues and I must admit the little guy is really growing on me. He is Shintaro's better in every regard and the scene in which they compete to come up with the funniest punchline to a rakugo tale is a real delight even if it's obvious padding.
The story itself is quite interesting and, keeping in style with the theme of tradition, an excellent example of the shin-honkaku school of mystery writing. In other words, here we have what is essentially a logical puzzle. A mystery in which evidence is less important than the reasoning which gets you to the solution. Had "The Young Master's Murder" been presented as a straightforward howdunnit (i.e. If we didn't see how it was done) it would have been a perfect example of this particular style of Japanese detective fiction.
