Un-go – Episode 9 | .Ani-Maybe.

Un-go – Episode 9

Kaishou Rinroku’s Crime

.Synopsis.

A group of hackers, calling themselves “Full Circle”, have been leaking information about the JJ (Japan Justice) Systems. From accounting documents to Rinroku Kaishou’s private meetings and other affairs. Rinroku is said to appear live on a news program to discuss nationalizing the energy industry, but he is nowhere to be found.

Before Rinroku arrives on set, Full Circle released statements on the internet, stating that the lives of the other people on the show might be in danger. The other guests are all enemies of Rinroku, some being politicians, one being a writer who leaks information and the like. Everyone reads the statements, but are confident that Rinroku isn’t the type to kill numerous people on live television. Once Rinroku does arrive, he apologizes for his tardiness, blaming it on the train that he took to get there.

His daughter, Rie, is taking a bath when the maid informs her that news show is about to start. She claims she doesn’t care, but she secretly has a mobile device in the bathroom with her. It switches back to the studio where they are on commercial break. Rinroku leaves due to a phone call. The other guests joke about him blowing all of them up, when suddenly an explosion occurs. Rie gets her shoes on and is starting to head out of the house, but Rinroku stops her. She’s stunned. He claims he appeared on the show via a webcam, and he’s going to go see what happened. The prosecutor, Izumi, is already at the scene and finds Rinroku in a stretcher.

The next day, Inga is walking around looking for the hospital. He stops when he notices a shadow come across him. It’s Bettenou floating in the air above him. He doesn’t realize, but there’s a man behind him who whispers something.

There are many news stations reporting from outside of the hospital. Some claiming that Rinroku might have been responsible for the attack. A security guard is fending of cameras, when he tells them that they dropped Rinroku off at the station themselves. Shinjurou is nearby trying to get in. He’s stopped at the door, when Yajima (an old friend of Rinroku’s, introduced in an earlier episode) exits. He says a few words to the reporters, and tells the security guards to let Shinjurou in. Once inside, he learns that Rie asked him to come because she wants him to investigate the explosion. Before leaving, he speaks to officer Heigen. Heigen tells him that the military, as well as the police are investigating, and that the explosion was abnormal. As Shinjurou is walking away from the hospital, we see Inga looking through a window at him from inside. We see someone standing behind him.

Before he can get too far away, he hears a scream. A girl from the Japanese Diet (the Diet has a constitutional power to have a citizen testify in court before them) is denied access to the hospital, and is pushed to the ground by the security. Shinjurou helps her up, and they leave. He learns from Mine, the Diet girl, that she was sent to get testimony from Rinroku assuring foreign countries that something leaked by Full Circle is to be used for peaceful purposes. They leaked something about microwaves transmissions which could be used for military purposes. They got this information from the JJ Systems.

Shinjurou goes to the producer of the news program to get information. The producer is testing out something in a microwave. Shinjurou learns that Rinroku was acting normal and that he took the train to get there. Also that, according to Full Circle, the explosion could’ve been set off with military grade microwaves (my guess is the actual wave length and not the appliance). Sort of like putting metal in a house hold microwave. Shinjurou goes back to Rie and tells her that he thinks Rinroku is innocent, as he wouldn’t blow up the very building he was in. She pulls him into a room and tells him that she saw Rinroku at their house. Shinjurou is upset that she didn’t tell him, and he leaves.

Back at his place, Shinjurou is in a rage, kicking chairs and flipping tables. Inga has returned and isn’t acting like himself. Shinjurou has realized that Bettenou is involved, and that Rinroku is probably using her. Inga tells him that he can’t win against Bettenou and leaves. Shinjurou is pissed that he tried to prove Rinroku’s innocence and calls the Mine, the Diet member.

He sets up a ruse, having Mine tell Rie that he father’s innocence should be broadcast live on T.V. She agrees to get Rinroku to testify. Meanwhile, with the help of the producer and Mine, Shinjurou has set up a vocal synthesizer in a van. He plans to use it to mimic Rinroku’s voice, since he assumes Bettenou’s powers are controlled by voice. He’s going to use the fake voice to influence Bettenou. He leaves the van and Mine joins him. There’s a short exchange, then Shinjurou walks away.

.Impressions.

This episode is pretty exciting. Because of Bettenou’s involvement, it’s hard to say what’s real and what isn’t. Shinjurou seems to think that Rinroku is controlling Bettenou. He’s assuming that Rinroku had every see himself on T.V. and in the hospital so he could get away with killing his enemies and have little to no suspicion brought upon himself. The viewer can deduce that Rinroku isn’t the one controlling Bettenou due to the strange figure we saw following Inga. My guess is that the strange man had Rie see her father at their house to lead Shinjurou away from the truth, knowing that Rie would go to Shinjurou.

It’s hard to say definitively at this point, but the person controlling Bettenou most likely has something against Rinroku and is trying to ruin him. The writers are doing a great job at revealing just enough information to make the viewer have to think about what’s really going on without making it too obvious. I’m enjoying the way one case takes up more than a single episode. I said in the beginning that the show should be an hour long. I’m also glad the episodes are intertwined, and it’s not just a random case every episode. Plus the cliff hangers make the next episode highly anticipated, especially if you’re into this kind of storytelling.

.Episode Preview.

The next episode is entitled “Kaishou Rinroku’s Funeral”. Rinroku is going to be put on trial to testify, and Inga says that he is going to die. I doubt that.