I can honestly say that my initial uncertainty about The Fable was misplaced. It’s turned into an absolutely riveting show. But that wasn’t immediately obvious – it took some time to find its stride. And without a flashy adaptation to bolster it, one tends to be less patient with the growing pains. Having stuck it out (and glad I did), I can appreciate the elements the anime brings to the table, most obviously that there are some really good actors here. And it’s not a total disaster like My Home Hero or Barou no Souretsu (or Biscuit Hammer, which is almost too painful to remember). But make no mistake, The Fable excels because the writing excels. It’s a living example of great manga’s power to thrive with middling adaptation (but it does have to at least be middling).

A series with a mass murderer as protagonist (I don’t think you can say “hero”) was always going to be a challenge. But one thing this series trades on is the fact that even on the dark side, there are shades of grey. I don’t think it whitewashes yazuka generally, but it does paint them as not all being the same degree of evil. Fable is just kind of a broken, largely amoral freak of nature. Some of them are dumb fucks doing this because of family or friend connections, and because they wouldn’t fit in anywhere else. And then you have a guy like Kojima, who’s legit one of the most despicable anime characters I’ve seen in years. He’s a total piece of shit and I really loathe him on every level (so, mission accomplished). But I can also accept that not all mobsters are exactly like him.

The shit is really hitting the fan now. And Fable is in deep – he’s totally involved , whether he wanted to be or not. Sanagawa hires his “pro” to take out two people, one of whom is Kojima. The pro and his aide-de-camp muse on why a small operation like Maguro hasn’t been wiped out, absorbed by a larger, or taken down by the fuzz. There are rumors that the legendary Fable group supports them for some reason – which Pro seems to think are true. And he expresses his desire to take out whoever represents Fable, if he ever meets them.

Kainuma, meanwhile, becomes a crucial figure in his own way. It says something about Kojima that Kainuma isn’t the worst person in this cast, but his hidden camera at Misaki’s place eliminates any distance Fable has from the situation. He was already involved with Kojima anyway because of Ebihara (he finds himself starting to get the allure of the Hakosuka). But now that he knows that Misaki is being victimized by Kojima, he’s eyes-deep. And the fact that the boss at Octopus is the next one to fall victim to Kojima’s blackmail campaign (he seems to be OK but I’m not so sure) Fable has that much more reason to take this personally.

The problem for Fable, of course, is that he’s caught between his personal commitments. He’s promised his boss that he wouldn’t kill for a year, and he’s promised Ebihara that he’d “help” Kojima. That promise was made before he knew Kojima was targeting Misaki, but it is still a promise between men in a world where such things hold sway. Not to mention it would cause serious complications if he were to break it and just take Kojima out (which I have no doubt he could do if it were as simple as wanting to do it).

But Fable is very good at his job, that much is clear. He takes steps – heads to the home center for raw materials to make a barrel for his Nighthawk (the material for the ammo comes from the hobby shop). He has Youko lure Takahashi into wearing a watch (a Casio G-SHOCK) with a GPS tracker in it, which is no real challenge for her. To what end is he making these preparations? That’s not clear, but as we’ve gotten to know Fable it’s become obvious that he’s not just a very efficient killer – he’s very creative in his own way, and possessed of a great many skills. I wouldn’t care to bet against him when the stakes are as high as they are here and he’s committed to the cause.