That was certainly an odd piece of work.
To be honest I’m still not quite sure what to make of Fugou Keiji Balance: Unlimited. I don’t even know whether I liked it, but I would definitely say it sticks with you. Nothing about that premiere was conventional for anime, which alone is a feather in its cap. And I suppose its fitting since detective novels from the 70’s aren’t exactly the most common source material for anime adaptation. The was a lot of talent and distinctiveness on display here, though I don’t know yet what it all added up to.
Tsutsui Yasutaka isn’t a name new to anime by any means, it must be said. In addition to the 1978 novel this show is based on two of his other works have been adapted into classic films – Paprika and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Tsutsui-sensei, 85, also had a cameo in the premiere). Neither having read the novel or seen the gender-swapped live-action drama it inspired, I have no idea how much this version is faithful to the source material, but it’s clearly been updated – if nothing else the premiere didn’t come off as anachronistic or dated.
In addition to Tsutsui the other names attached to this project caught my interest – director Ito Tomohiko and writer Kishimoto Taku both have an excellent track record. And the casting for the titular billionaire detective Kanbe Daisuke was also interesting – Oonuki Yuusuke is apparently better known as a dancer than actor, and has never appeared in anime before to my knowledge. It’s funny how you can almost always tell immediately when that’s the case – it makes you realize the extent to which seiyuu are delivering standardized performances designed to meet a specific set of expectations.
For a while, Fugou Keiji was looking like a pretty traditional cop story. Katou (Miyano Mamoru) works in the Tokyo “Modern Crimes” division – apparently a dumping ground for the police department’s problem detectives. He used to work in the prestigious First Division but was seemingly blackballed, presumably for being too gung-ho and inflexible about justice as he sees it. His colleagues are a group of oddballs and misfits including Kamei Shinnosuke (Kumagai Kentarou), who gets paired off with Katou on security duty for a classic car show (I noticed the crowd was animated wearing masks – a late addition?) in Ginza.
The first case involves a Middle Eastern prince in town for the show, a plan to assassinate him with a bomb, and a young couple trying to hold up a jewelery store so he can pay back money he stole from the Yakuza. These two are beyond incompetent as armed robbers (he’s not into it at all, really), and end up robbing a chocolate shop by mistake before stealing and fleeing in the van with the ticking time bomb inside. That’s where said Kanbe Daisuke comes in – and when he comes in, he really comes in.
Kanbe is an extremely rich dude who like to play detective as best I can tell. Except he had some sort of “special training in England”, whatever that means. He buys his way into the department, specifically requesting the Modern Crimes unit for reasons not yet clear, and proceeds to literally bulldoze his way onto the bomber case. His deal? He takes what he needs and destroys everything in his way, paying double the incurred cost via some serious e-checking and his butler. The bill for the first episode is about ¥1,370,000,000 (roughly $13 million).
All in all this was sometimes funny, generally preposterous, and altogether weird. There’s some nice style to the piece to be sure, Oonuki-san’s performance is indisputably unconventional (I’m kind of undecided there too), and the whole thing is kind of memorable for lack of a better word. But Kanbe is a lot to take – he seems to be a pretty despicable person based on first impressions – and for me at least the balance (pun intended) tipped a little too heavily into the absurd. Still, Kanbe and Katou have the potential to be an interesting buddy cop tandem and we’re certainly in no risk of lapsing into something generic. I want to like Fugou Keiji more than I do at the moment, but I see the potential just the same.
ED: “Welcome My Friend” by OKAMOTO’S
leongsh
April 10, 2020 at 11:26 pmYou missed a zero. It’s approximately ¥1,370,000,000 ≈ US$137 million.
This show feels like a tongue-in-cheek ode to buddy cop shows. That said, Kanbe is truly a spoiled rich asshole. Just from this first episode, the show is communicating to us that, for Kanbe, everything has a price because he has always been able to buy his way through.
It is as you say a different show than the norm. I’m just curious what more shenanigans this new pairing would go through and how much Kanbe is spending each episode to buy his way through.
Guardian Enzo
April 10, 2020 at 11:38 pmActually I was right the first time on the USD – 13 million.
Indeed, it’ll be interesting to see if he just stays an asshole and that’s the joke, or if he actually grows as a character.
Litho
April 11, 2020 at 1:39 amCG cars always crack me up. It’s like they’re weightless. On the bright side, not a Tesla in sight (from the screencaps) so at least that world doesn’t have obnoxious car vegans.
Miyu Fan
April 11, 2020 at 10:08 amWell I totally love the series for that British detective/Bond flair that Kanbe have, I’m a sucker for that. I also love that noitamina is really putting a high budget on this series and everything looks and sounds amazing – from the refreshing CV for Kanbe and how that Fugou Keiji OST always came on when Kanbe onscreen. I don’t think that Kanbe will always be an asshole because even in the series it’s kinda shown how ridiculous Kanbe in his execution, so I have hope he will develop as a character.
Mi-chan
April 11, 2020 at 12:49 pmAs a person from the real Emirates, I found the dialect and accent used to be spot on street language it is soooooo funny to hear it in anime. Of course the first line Daisuke said I couldn’t make sense of it xD everyone around me os talking about this clip its hilarious!
Guardian Enzo
April 11, 2020 at 1:17 pmI’m kind of surprised to hear that, though I would have no way to know it was or not.
Yukie
April 11, 2020 at 3:34 pmI’m not really into the music of this show. It’s kind of too in-your-face and a little obnoxious like Kanbe himself. Still, this premiere was a lot more interesting than I expected. Also nice to see Miyano Mamoru playing outside his usual type. It’s got a zany and fluid energy that I haven’t seen in a while, so I’ll continue watching. I just hope it doesn’t become too absurd that it breaks any suspension of disbelief.
Guardian Enzo
April 11, 2020 at 3:41 pmThat bridge bit at the end was pushing it. Fall that far and you’re going to come away with more than a band-aid.
Ronbb
April 12, 2020 at 12:08 pmCoincidentally, I just finished rewatching the anime film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and coincidentally, Obayashi Nobuhiko, who directed the live-action film of the same title just passed away. RIP.
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2020 at 12:17 pmIndeed. He outlasted his prognosis considerably and even kept working on a final film, which was originally (pre-pandemic) scheduled to be released on the day he ended up passing away. RIP.
I haven’t seen Obayashi’s version, but there are many who believe Hosoda’s more liberal take considerably improved upon the source material in most respects.
Ronbb
April 12, 2020 at 5:35 pmPerhaps keeping to work on his film gave him a purpose to fight… RIP. I haven’t seen his version either, and I do enjoy Hosoda’s.
TH
April 14, 2020 at 4:03 pmI thought I’m going to enjoy the first ep, but I don’t. There’s too many prolonged awkward moment and the generic justice hero talk and introduction. Maybe it reads more dramatic in the novel, but they’re in the middle of terrorist attack and decided for a shop talk.. And this really bugs me, but the angle on the bridge should make it impossible for the cars to keep on going upright. I hope the production team will look closely into these issues, devil’s are in the detail.