Kindaichi Case Files Returns Episode 4
What They Say:
Kindaichi unmasks the true Poison Dragon! Did Miyuki really murder three people in Hong Kong?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the accusation leveled at the end of the previous episode, the structure for the series is nicely set as we see how it can unfold. Decompressing the storytelling a bit for a detective story can be both good and bad, but for those that like this style it’s definitely a nice change of pace from how we usually get them. With Kindaichi and the others going through the motions, retracing steps and looking at things clearly so it’s more than just in his head, it all came down to the reveal at the end as Kindaichi accused Miyuki of being responsible for the three murders that have happened since they came to Hong Kong to find some missing people. It’s certainly a bit of a twist considering what she’s been through so far.
Of course, there’s the obvious twist that comes in since he realized that Miyuki hasn’t been acting herself and that clued him in that she’s not who he thought she was. With the introduction of the near twin with Ran early on and the little twists involved with the way Ran was involved with the group for a bit, it was an interesting couple of bits that were seeded that we now see unfold in a very different way. This ends up giving us a bit of back story for Ran as she explains what had gone on during her life and the pain she suffered, which had lead her to this series of revenge against those that she had felt had wronged her. Growing up as a child on the run certainly will color ones views on the world, especially with the way we see her just wanting a normal life with her mother and being unable to have one. It goes into things pretty well with a solid darkness to it that definitely makes you connect with Ran and her pain, which in turn has other hooks to show Ran as she grew up and made strong realizations.
Of course, they do wrap things up all neat and tidy here and seeing Ran admit to her crimes, gain support from her friends and accept that she has to pay the price for it is a bit simple in a lot of ways. It is a show aimed at a certain age group so it’s not going to go all dark and creepy or do things like a shootout and attempt to escape. This does in some ways undercut the serious nature of things since once it moves to the explanation phase and the suspect ends up revealing the truth, we end up getting some lighter moments and even some shared joviality that’s a little off-putting. And it naturally gives us a little catch-up time with the real Miyuki who finally returns to the screen. But it is the kind of closure that shows like this get since unlike a lot of other more vague story endings that Japanese storytelling tends to prefer, mysteries like this have to be closed fully.
In Summary:
The first storyline of the new series comes to a close here and it works in a fairly predictable way once we get the true reveal here. The finale goes through all the back story and explores what happened in the actual events we saw through a different lens so that all questions are answered. Yes, it’s neat and tidy and in the end everyone is happy – except for those that died of course – and we get a nice bit of closure for all of it that firmly closes this chapter. Looking at the arc in full, it’s an interesting one to start the series off with since it took them to Hong Kong and really didn’t do much in the way of introductions, instead expecting the audience to either figure it out along the way – good for a mystery series – or that they expect the audience knows everything already. I’m definitely glad to be back in the world of Kindaichi, though I wish I could get the manga as well.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.