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NOTE: I'm not fluent/proficient in Japanese, and I was watching this show without English subtitles. a lot of my personal remarks and observations about the show may or may not be accurate to the actual plot.
TW: mentions of kidnapping and forms of violence.
REVIEW #5: Episode 4 (& overall thoughts about the series)
Content Type: TV Series
Media/Franchise: Tabikurage Tantei Nikki (Handyman Fellow Jellyfish)
- WAAAHHH LAST EPISODE 😭💞
- ooh okay so the faceless sharpshooter in the beginning of episode 3 is the shady "fisherman." (will be referring to his character as the "sharpshooter" for the rest of this entry.) unfortunately with the language barrier that prevents me from fully understanding the plot, i can only resort to half-baked analyses like: the bird that he shoots in the forest is a parallel to him killing Kenji (Mackey's brother), because he eliminates anything that roams "free"
- NOOO KENTA MY BELOVED he looked so scared while he was tied up 💔
- but the way Kenta's eyes momentarily lit up when the sharpshooter told him that Mackey was going to come save him... ouuuu 😔
- the growth of the two office workers was so satisfying!! I'm so glad that they helped Mackey out in saving Kenta (and, in retrospect, them keeping tabs on Kenta's location did prove to be useful lol)
- when one of the office guys gathered his courage and said that he wasn't going to run away anymore like in Kenji's situation, I was starting to think yes king!! he's going to help Mackey fight the sharpshooter!! and bro fucking trips on a bottle like PLS 😭 ik that was such an intense moment but it was too funny how he just SLIPS and rolls around the floor in pain and Mackey and the kidnapper looked at him for a long second before they resumed their scuffle 💀
- Mackey is so cool guys. that's it that's the post
- was on the edge of my seat the whole time Mackey was fighting against the sharpshooter. like he was just using his bare fists!! while a switchblade was pointed at him!! I was so scared for him omg
- it was so heartbreaking when Kenta turned on the lights again and found that Mackey was holding the knife to the nearly-unconscious sharpshooter. like in that moment you could literally see Kenta's eyes dim as he realize what Mackey was about to do, but to Mackey, this was his chance to avenge the death of his brother 🥹
- but Kenta holding Mackey back and telling him that he shouldn't kill the guy!! 😭 ok as someone who absolutely loves animanga with the buddy-cop/detective duo dynamic, I've seen this trope happen again and again but I'll never grow tired of it - I love how one of them in the duo exists to be the moral compass of the other, to remind them that they are so much than their sense of justice and need for revenge. they remind the other that they're still human: that no matter how messed up their occupation/field is, they also have to stick to their morals in the end
- it was so silly when the other office guy started sifting thru his ramen keychains to exchange for Mackey's offered keychain (the one Kenji used to have) 😭
- ohh okay so from what I understand is that Kenji was working on a case that would expose a major scandal against some high-profile guy, so the sharpshooter was sent to eliminate Kenji. turns out that the files (in memory card form) were in Mackey's position (hidden in the keychain) hence why the sharpshooter wanted to eliminate him too (so he decided to kidnap Kenta as bait and planned to take out Mackey the moment he walked into the hideout). now Mackey handed the memory card to the two office workers so that they can expose the scandal themselves 🥹
- STOP I CRIED WAY TOO MUCH WHEN Mackey was about to go back to his trailer and he tells Kenta that they have to part ways because they've given each other too much trouble, and Kenta just stands there with so much sadness in his eyes 😭 AND THE FLASHBACK OF ALL OF THEIR MEMORIES TOGETHER NOOOO like PLEASE you too have to stay together!! you make each other smile and y'all are literally family 💔
- but of course they can never stray too far from each other. I love how Mackey was just having a normal drive along the countryside then he hears someone HOLLERING and his face is simply stunned when he sees Kenta enthusiastically waving a sign asking for a hitchhike 😭💖
- Kenta was so adorable btw!! he really was stretching his arms as high as he can and shaking the sign around like ohh of course anyone would pick you up, you're such a cutieee 🤏
- I absolutely love how Kenta does not wait for Mackey's permission and he just plops himself on the seat next to him and buckles his seatbelt like oh he really is just Mackey's reincarnated golden retriever younger brother 🥹💗 and the amused smile on Mackey's face like he's not fighting against the thought of having Kenta as company... ohh they're THE found family ever 😭
- overall, this show was amazing!! it was incredibly digestible too (as it only has four episodes total), which I personally found helpful since I haven't been watching TV series lately and I don't think I could sit thru a longer number of episodes atm :0
- I also love how the storyline juggled the mystery plot and the heartwarming scenes pretty well - although if I were to recommend this to someone, I wouldn't tell them expect too much for the mystery plot or focus on it entirely. I believe that "Tabikurage Tantei Nikki" is more about the relationship between the two characters Mackey and Kenta, exploring what family means to the both of them and the clients they help out, and learning to be vulnerable and trusting in friendships/any kind of relationship
- I've always adored Yoshihiko Aramaki-san and Mizue Kenta-kun, and I loved seeing their musical duo as Mackey and Kenta - but it was even cooler seeing them play their namesake characters and have a dynamic just as heartwarming and awesome 🥺💖 thank you so much both for your hard work!!
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