Having just heard that Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited was going to be delayed after the third episode, I was in a position that was a first for me here (but then, this is unlike any moment in our lifetimes).  I was actually hoping on some level that I wouldn’t like this second episode all that much, because if I did its postponement (and possible cancellation if we’re honest) would be just another reason to be depressed.  But I did, damn it.  A lot.  Much better than I did the first ep, and enough to grind my gears that it’s going away.

In truth, we have to view the current situation with a jaundiced eye.  No institution is going to come out of this unscathed, anime or otherwise, and before the season is much older almost everything will likely face the same fate as Fugou Keiji (from what I hear Yesterday o Utatte and BNA may hold out the longest).  Even setting aside the financial fallout – which will surely see some studios go under – this year in anime will be a mess.  Some of these suspended series will likely never be finished, and summer seems almost certain to be a lost season altogether.  There are plenty of bigger reasons to be depressed at the moment, but if you love anime like I do and take solace in it when times are rough, it’s an especially sad time.

But if everything is going to stop anyway, I suppose we may as well have good shows until then rather than dogs.  Kishimoto Taku – as I noted in my Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro intro – is a sure hand with this sort of material.  He’s very good at adapting non-traditional anime sources like mystery novels, and at writing stories about adults.  The premiere was kind of rough for me – interesting but uneven, with the humor missing more often than hitting and the tone tipping over into absurdity.  But Fugou Keiji found its footing this week, and everything clicked into place very nicely.

The core dynamic here is quite a good one.  We have the ultimate romantic in Katou and the ultimate consequentialist in Daisuke, set down as fox amongst the chickens in the police department.  Katou came off better in the premiere and Daisuke was a flat-out A-hole, but this ep showed more of the flaws of Katou’s inflexible approach and the effectiveness of Daisuke’s practical one.  Of course Daisuke’s model only works because he’s Bezos-level rich (it’s in the damn title), and has access to tech that’s probably impossible in 2020 even to someone who is.  But he focuses on results and achieves them – at least so far.

This week’s caper involves the drug trade in Tokyo, and it starts with an encounter with a couple of manzai buskers who are mescaline users – a fact which only Daisuke picks up on.  After he runs them in we get a very interesting interrogation scene where Daisuke tries to bribe one into betraying the other while veteran cop Cho-san (Kamiya Akira) relies on more traditional “good cop” methods.  Both work – which I guess is maybe the point – though Katou can only express disgust at Daisuke’s approach.  That’s a theme we see over and over – Katou’s contempt for Daisuke (which is not entirely unwarranted) has nothing to do with whether or not he achieves results.

Eventually this info leads to the duo’s dealer, a sleazy model, but Daisuke holds out to get to the real source.  That turns out to be the Gundawara Yakuza syndicate.  The help of Katou’s reporter friend Mita (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu) is enlisted – though he eventually ends up being co-opted by Daisuke for his scheme.  Katou obsesses over the case and grows more and more rank, and eventually his chase leads him to Daisuke’s suitably insane mansion.  There we meet the lovely Kanbe Suzue (the ever-superb Sakamoto Maaya), who appears to be Daisuke’s Q.  She’s obviously also related to him but I don’t get a wife vibe, so I’m thinking probably (younger) sister.

The denouement is suitably ludicrous again (the bill this time is about $830 million, since Daisuke has to buy an entire luxury high-rise), and I hope every caper doesn’t end with him using his wealth to make something silly happen and Katou being biffed in the process.  But on the whole, everything just works much better this week – even the 70’s-style “Fugou Keiji!” track whenever Daisuke unleashes his money to dramatic effect.  This was really fun, it looked great, and I’m enjoying the cast as well.  In short all systems are go – which just makes the system shutdown that much more aggravating.  That’s anime in 2020 – may you live in interesting times.