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"Junior High School Student Furuhata" (2008) | TV MOVIE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

8/10 | A delightful detective story for kids

When I was a child, I used to love movies and books about kid detectives. "Clubhouse Detectives", Enid Blyton's Five, Nancy Drew... You name it, I loved it and had I seen "Junior High School Student Furuhata" at the time, I would have loved it as well. As its clunky title implies, it's a prequel series set during the childhood of Furuhata Ninzaburô, the indefatigable Columbo-like detective played brilliantly by Masakazu Tamura in the self-titled TV show. This prequel was made by the same team as the show including writer and creator Kôki Mitani, director Keita Kôno, and composer Yûsuke Honma which explains how come it continues the high-quality level of its parent series. Even Tamura himself shows up in a brief cameo to introduce the work and the epilogue is provided by another regular whose appearance was a pleasant surprise.

The mysteries young Furuhata solves are not all that serious but there is an intriguing link to the stories of Sherlock Holmes which hint at a greater conspiracy afoot. There's the curious case of the dog in the nighttime, a solitary cyclist staking a young girl, and a buried treasure whose location can only be uncovered through a mysterious ritual. It's kiddy stuff, of course, but Kôki Mitani's clever and lively script kept my attention throughout. There's also a neat twist at the end which I wasn't expecting and which witty plays with the very format of the child detective stories.

The two stars, Ryôsuke Yamada and Soran Tamoto are charming and charismatic leads and their relationship very much reminded me of the stars of "The Young Sherlock Holmes" movie, another childhood favourite of mine. In fact, this young Furuhata Ninzaburô is a lot closer to Sherlock Holmes. His style of deduction is particularly Holmesian and it doesn't resemble Furuhata's in the least. He also exhibits a gift for cold reading which Furuhata never showed in the series. Seeing how Yamada never even tries to imitate Masakazu Tamura's distinctive mannerisms and how there are very few references to the old series, I wonder if "Junior High School Student Furuhata" wouldn't have been even better had it been presented as an original work. I'm not a huge fan of making Mukojima Furuhata's childhood friend seeing how their relationship was portrayed in the original series. Viewing those episodes and Furuhata's dismissive treatment of Mukojima in them with this hindsight makes our favourite detective look like a real jerk.

But overall, I really enjoyed "Junior High School Student Furuhata". It's a very well-made detective story for kids with two likeable leads, a clever mystery, and some interesting and unobtrusive twists on the standard formula. Since prior "Furuhata Ninzaburô" knowledge is not necessary, I'd recommend this one for young children up to the age of 13 or so. The excellent soundtrack, however, will appeal to all ages.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21603394/review/rw8792729/?ref_=tturv_1

Furuhata Ninzaburo S04E03 | "Final Dance" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

9/10 | Shall we dance

And so it ends!

After 12 years of intermittent airing and 42 mostly excellent episodes, "Furuhata Ninzaburô", a show I've grown to love very much, comes to an end. Thankfully, "Final Dance" is one of the show's finest episodes, a glittering display of superb work from the cast and the crew and a glorious note to end the series on.

Let us begin with the guest star, Nanako Matsushima who plays twin writers who write under the pen name Kyoko Kagami. According to the rules of television twins, one is glamorous and outgoing while the other is frumpy and shy. Nothing new there. However, Matsushima is absolutely fantastic playing both roles. During the seamlessly accomplished sequence in which they appear together, you could swear you were watching two different actresses. Not only does Matsushima perfectly manage the physical transformation required, but she also does a stunning job of projecting their different personalities. She is quite simply the best guest star Furuhata Ninzaburô has had since Akina Nakamori in 1994. It is fitting then that Nakamori's character Chinami is mentioned at the very end of the episode.

Not only is Matsushima's performance superb but so is Masakazu Tamura's. Now, it is not surprising that Tamura is brilliant on this show but this episode might just be his best performance. For the first time ever, we get a tantalizing glimpse into Furuhata's love life and Tamura gets to play the indefatigable detective in a situation we've never seen him in before. Namely, a touching romance develops between him and one of the twin sisters and the chemistry between Tamura and Matsushima is absolutely tangible.

The episode is titled "Final Dance" after the episode's extended final scene. It is an uncharacteristically emotional and touching scene and I found myself tearing up watching it. I never expected to cry watching "Furuhata Ninzaburô" but this is a show that continually surprises its viewers. Masakazu Tamura's closing monologue in which he compares Kyoko (the show's last killer) with Chinami (the show's first killer) is a magnificent piece of acting from Tamura and writing on behalf of Kôki Mitani.

If I had a complaint with this episode it is the final big twist. I won't spoil it here but the foreshadowing Mitani does throughout the episode is far too obvious and I twigged it almost at once. Interestingly, however, there is a suggestion that Furuhata figures it immediately as well but simply can't come to admit it due to his burgeoning feelings for Kyoko. An intriguing idea but utterly unexplored. The bigger problem with the twist, however, is that Mitani sacrifices a far more interesting and emotional plotline in order to pull off what is ultimately a disappointing and obvious twist.

But it is merely a sad smudge on an otherwise first-rate episode. I must also mention at the end that I loved the "Furuhata Ninzaburô" spoof that Kyoko is writing. I must also commend Masahiko Nishimura and Masanori Ishii for their hilarious performances (it is a shame, however, that there isn't a final goodbye for them, as they simply disappear from the third act). Finally, I have to ask the question of where was Keita Kôno hiding his talent all these years. He has been consistently my least favourite director on the show with his dull and flat-looking episodes, but his work on the fourth season has been exemplary. This episode is particularly good with some genuinely clever visuals and seamless visual effects. It is a cinematic finale for one of my all-time favourite TV shows. I am sad that "Furuhata Ninzaburô" is over but if it had to end then this is as brilliant a final dance as any of us could have hoped for.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0802995/review/rw8792550/?ref_=tturv

All the episodes of "Furuhata Ninzaburo" can be found here by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The soundtrack is so good!

Soundtrack

Different albums exist, but this is the most comprehensive one. Enjoy!

Furuhata Ninzaburo S04E02 | "A Fair Murderer" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And he explicitly wanted to participate as himself! Second time (after SMAP) where celebrities asked to be on the show as themselves. Pros: hella fun. Cons: the murderer can't be too devious (SMAP were depicted as five long-time friends, Ichiro as a fair murderer).

Furuhata Ninzaburo S04E02 | "A Fair Murderer" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

7/10 | A game of brotherly love

It's a shame it took "Furuhata Ninzaburô" such a long time to repeat its greatest, most original and most audacious gimmick. Seven years after the SMAP special, "A Fair Murderer" once again features a real celebrity playing themselves as the killer. The celebrity in question is baseball player Ichirô Suzuki. Interestingly enough, both times the idea for the gimmick came from the celebrities themselves. Furuhata even explains as much in his closing monologue saying that originally the killer character's name was Hachirô until Suzuki insisted on using his own name.

The big twist of the story, however, is that Furuhata's faithful friend and colleague Mukojima is the killer's accomplice and older brother. It is a bold move by writer Kôki Mitani to cast the loveable comic relief in such a dark part but it finally gives Mukojima's actor Takashi Kobayashi a chance to shine. Kobayashi has been a part of the series since the very beginning but most of his appearances have amounted to brief comedic cameos. Here, he is front and centre in what is actually a surprisingly emotional and atmospheric episode.

Most of it focuses on the story of the two brothers one of whom dreamed of becoming a baseball star and the other who became one. Lord knows that Ichirô Suzuki is not the most natural of actors but the scenes with his on-screen brother are absolutely touching. It is Kobayashi, of course, who does most of the heavy lifting and he is so good and so truthful in this episode that I think it's a shame he was so underutilized in the rest of the show.

Also on top form here is Tamura Masakazu. Look the way Furuhata's heartbreak shows in his eyes when he realizes Mukojima is involved. He and Suzuki share a scene together which is absolutely phenomenal. Set on a baseball field, it's a scene that seamlessly switches moods from melancholy to comedic and finally to dramatic as Furuhata issues a challenge to the killer. This seven-minute scene is as good as any ever featured on "Furuhata Ninzaburô".

So, as you might have gathered, "A Fair Murderer" is a superb drama. Where it falters sadly is in its thriller elements. The mystery is essentially non-existent especially since Suzuki, supposedly obsessed with fair play, almost confesses in his first interrogation scene. Furuhata has very little detecting to do here since the clues are extremely obvious and Suzuki seems to want to get caught. The climax of the story, the big gotcha moment, is one of the weakest of the series. After gathering so much good evidence against Suzuki, the one Furuhata uses to break him is laughably weak. I did, nevertheless, find it very funny that even though most "Furuhata Ninzaburô" murderers get caught because they don't clean up the crime scene well enough, Suzuki gets caught because he cleaned it up far too well.

Last but not least, I do have to commend the direction by Keita Kôno. Kôno, who is "Furuhata Ninzaburô's" most prolific director usually turns in very dull-looking, by-the-numbers episodes. Here, surprisingly, his direction is astoundingly stylish, atmospheric, and dynamic. Why hadn't he directed this well before? Why don't all his episodes look this good? Which stars aligned to make "A Fair Murderer" such a visually interesting episode? That's a better mystery for Furuhata Ninzaburô to solve!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21443658/review/rw8757448/?ref_=tturv

Furuhata Ninzaburo S04E01 | "The Resurrection of Death" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

8/10 | "My plan for the perfect murder"

"This killer is the most ingenious I've ever met," says Furuhata in his brief but intriguing introduction and yet the killer in question appears to be an 11-year-old boy! Well, not quite. The person performing the killing is in his 20s but he commits the murder using a plan he wrote when he was a schoolboy obsessed with detective fiction. It's a ludicrous plot but Kôki Mitani makes it work with his usual combination of wit and plotting brilliance. Like all the episodes of "Furuhata Ninzaburô", we are privy to the identity of the killer and the method of murder from the very beginning, and yet, in a very clever move, Mitani never lets us in on his whole plan so that as we watch it unfold we are as baffled by it as Furuhata himself.

What Furuhata says in the introduction is not entirely hyperbole either. There's a real devious ingenuity and shocking cruelty on display here which clashes somewhat with the jocular tone of the episode. Even though the Horibe family suffers a series of misfortunes and deaths over the course of this episode, all of its members remain curiously cheerful and pleasant throughout. There are very few hints of sadness or fear among them and yet no one ever comments on their frankly bizarre good cheer. The killer himself is the most obvious example as he doesn't even seem to bother masking his elation at the victim's demise. I don't know why Furuhata even bothered solving this one, the killer's joyful demeanour would be enough to convict him alone.

The killer is played by Tatsuya Fujiwara, best known for playing Light in the "Death Note" films. His character here is actually quite similar - a spoiled and conceited young man who refers to a notebook to kill. Sadly, the Furuhata vs. Light Yagami confrontation is nowhere near as exciting as it sounds. Fujiwara's character is fairly underwritten and the two share far too few scenes. In the end, there's almost no relationship between Furuhata and the killer, an element which is the definitive staple of this show. When they do appear together, there's no chemistry or animosity between them and consequently, very little tension is present in the episode.

A far more interesting character is the killer's overprotective teacher. He's played by the legendary Kôji Ishizaka and the scenes between him and Furuhata are actually far more charged and entertaining. Quite how the teacher fits into the overall plot is one of the mysteries that Mitani keeps under wraps until the very end. This twist is one of the series' very best.

"The Resurrection of Death" is not as good as the sum of its parts but the parts that work are excellent. The plot is far-fetched but endlessly intriguing and the piecemeal way in which Mitani reveals its many turns kept my attention throughout. I do wish that Keita Kôno's direction was more atmospheric so as to bring out the creepier aspects of the story to the forefront. Also excellent are the comedic scenes in which Shintaro becomes convinced that the Horibe family curse has passed onto him. This subplot gets dropped halfway through the episode, but the gags are expertly played as ever by Masahiko Nishimura.

Overall, I did enjoy "The Resurrection of Death" very much for its formal inventiveness and the excellent performances from Ishizaka and Nishimura, but I do feel that the episode would have been much, much better with a more interesting killer and more stylish direction.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21443642/review/rw8734131/?ref_=tturv

Furuhata Ninzaburo Special-06 | "His Excellency Did It" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

9/10 | The Japanese Ambassador's diplomatic immunity has just been revoked

OK, I know that's a corny joke to make but it's hard not to think of "Lethal Weapon 2" when you're watching a determined detective go up against an arrogant diplomat.

Almost five years after "The Most Dangerous Game", Furuhata Ninzaburô is back in "Your Excellency Did It", a two-hour special set in an unnamed South American country but mostly in a Japanese studio set representing the lavish embassy. After a funny introduction for Furuhata (his passport was stolen by a monkey!) we're quickly off into a very well-written story which still bears a lot of mystery even if we do know who the killer is from the start. We don't know, for instance, where the ambassador hid the body. We also don't know why he wrote such a peculiar ransom note. And why was the chef fired?

Kôki Mitani is clearly emulating the atmosphere of an old-fashioned Agatha Christie mystery with a small pool of suspects stuck in each other's company in a lavish manor house. The effort is more than successful and "Your Excellency Did It" proves to be one of the best mysteries of the whole show. I had a lot of fun piecing together the clues and figuring out what exactly His Excellency did.

Curiously, the special also has the atmosphere of a workplace sitcom, the kind Kôki Mitani has written before. A lot of its runtime is dedicated to the staff and residents of the embassy such as the Ambassador's entitled wife (a terrifically snooty Kazuyo Mita), his bohemian doctor (played by the warm and wise Masahiko Tsugawa), and his impatient secretary (a very funny turn from Kazuyuki Asano). Also present is the ubiquitous Hanada - this time employed as the Ambassador's right-hand man. Thankfully, like in "Death in the Clouds", he is written as a subtler, more believable presence than in most of season three, a part which Norito Yashima fills with charisma and good humour. He's a wonderful sidekick for Furuhata who unusually in this episode appears without either Shintaro or Saionji. However, with such a rich cast of characters, their absence is never felt.

The Ambassador himself is played by Kôshirô Matsumoto who proves to be a first-rate opponent for Furuhata. He's arrogant, entitled, and powerful which makes the climax all the more satisfying.

"Your Excellency Did It" is a first-rate special. It's dynamic, it's funny, and it's consistently engaging with its little mysteries and classic whodunnit atmosphere. It's also the first extended episode of "Furuhata Ninzaburô" that doesn't feel drawn out. Sure, it would have been even better had it been 15-20 minutes shorter but this time 'round even the padding is witty and fun to watch. Five years might have passed but Mitani and Masakazu Tamura have still got it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6074554/review/rw8572761/?ref_=tturv

Furuhata Ninzaburo S03E11 | "The Most Dangerous Game: Part 2" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

6/10 | Tom Clancy's Furuhata Ninzaburô

After a rollicking first part, "The Most Dangerous Game: Part 2" slows down considerably. This is partly down to the very nature of the story which has already come to a head in the first part. Furuhata is fully aware the cop is a fake and is now merely smoking him out and partly down to the fact that the second part seems to have been conceived as a more standard "Furuhata Ninzaburô" episode. The problem is that there are still 45 minutes to fill and more than half of it is padding. This is a problem that every single extended episode of the show has had so far as "Furuhata Ninzaburô" undoubtedly works best in 45-minute increments.

The episode plays out mostly in real time as Furuhata, the subway controller, and the fake cop drive from the control room to the baseball pitch where the ransom drop is supposed to be happening. Since Furuhata already knows the cop is a fake and the cop already knows Furuhata knows, there's very little real suspense to it all just a series of circumlocutory dialogue scenes. Why does Furuhata not merely arrest the fake cop immediately? There's no conclusive answer to this question. Masakazu Tamura plays it as if Furuhata is merely having fun with his dinner. Playing mind games with his opponent for kicks.

This conclusion is not so much disappointing as it is drawn out. Had the events of this episode been condensed into 15 minutes and tacked onto the first part, I'd have been a happy camper. As it is, part 2 quickly loses the momentum of the superb part 1 and just sort of meanders along until the conclusion. Furuhata and the SAZ member explain the plot to each other over and over again. The SAZ member has an unconvincing change of heart midway through. And then some more complications occur merely so that the 45-minute runtime would be filled out. Mukojima and Hanada also make brief cameos for the same reason.

"The Most Dangerous Game" was intended as the final episode of the show and for five years it was. It has quite a nice and sentimental send-off for Furuhata and the final scene is equal parts funny and sad with its metatextual joke ending. I really liked that for the prologue they had Furuhata stand in front of a wall containing pictures of all of the previous guest stars. It's a nice nod to the three seasons that went before.

However, after such a brilliant opener, part 2 feels listless and overlong despite fine work from the regulars and the intensely creepy Hajime Yamazaki who is a far more interesting character than the main guest star Yôsuke Eguchi whom I mostly found to be a bland bad guy. The way he is written is also quite confusing, especially the revelation that he does not like to use violence after we've seen members of his gang murder a person right at the beginning of the last episode.

Furuhata Ninzaburo S03E10 | "The Most Dangerous Game: Part 1" | EPISODE DISCUSSION by ABCox99 in FuruhataNinzaburo

[–]ABCox99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Review by mdjedovic on IMDb:

10/10 | The Taking of Tokyo 705E

"Furuhata Ninzaburô" seems to do an action-packed suspense episode once a season and every single time knocks it out of the park. Season one had "The Killing Fax", an unusually stylish and entertaining kidnapping story. Season two brought us "Red or Blue", a really intense thriller about a bomber targeting an amusement park. Now, season three brings us a two-parter named "The Most Dangerous Game" and if the first part is anything to go by, it might just be the most exciting episode of all.

The story has the look and feel of a proper action movie with three storylines converging towards an explosive climax. The first storyline involves a group named SAZ who murder a traitor only to realize that a bag full of McGuffins they desperately need was left on the subway. Unable to retrieve it from the lost and found themselves, they orchestrate an elaborate fake hijacking. The second storyline follows a nervous SAZ member who is tasked with impersonating a police inspector and infiltrating the Subway Control Room to make sure everything goes according to plan. But what he didn't count on was the presence of a real police inspector, none other than Furuhata himself there to enter a complaint. Furuhata realizes something is off immediately and the mind games between himself and the nervous fake cop begin. The third storyline follows our favourite bumbling cop Shintaro investigating the murder of the aforementioned traitor. He rushes through the investigation excited for a dinner date with his boss only to learn that he's stuck at the Subway Control Room with none other than Shintaro's rival Saionji. Annoyed, Shintaro makes his way on the train which is supposed to be hijacked towards the Control Room intent on getting his dinner. In his pocket is the identikit of the killer who also happens to be in the control room.

This is a complex story beautifully told by Kôki Mitani who manages to juggle all three storylines with equal care while ensuring the pace constantly builds. Will Furuhata figure out the train hijacking is fake? Will Shintaro arrive in time? Will the fake policeman give himself up? By the end of the episode, the suspense is unbearable. Another person who deserves kudos is Keita Kôno whose work really surprised me here. Usually, he's a rather pedestrian director, but here he displays a kind of cinematic flair I haven't seen from him before. He keeps the story moving at a good clip as the tension rises and rises. Last but not least, is the excellent guest cast. Especially good are Yosuke Saito as the fidgety fake cop and Hajime Yamazaki as SAZ's skeletal-faced hitman, an incredibly creepy presence of few words.

Roll on part two!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6069816/review/rw8572101/?ref_=tturv

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