Tokyo Dogs Episode 3 & 4
Quicky, quicky recaps :D
Episode 3 - Sad Arrest of a Friend
Summary: Maruo's friend Shige is implicated in killing a deviant, but he claims innocence. Meanwhile, Horikawa and So find a woman claiming to be Yuki's sister, and she tries to help Yuki with her memory loss. So still believes that Yuki is the main key in finding Jinno, the man who killed his father.
Throughout the whole episode, I was hoping they weren't going to make Yuki's sister a fake. I'm glad they didn't go down that route, but opened the possibility in future episodes, or in the end for a sibling reunion. And Yuki as a supposed rebel? I can totally see that, and hopefully she'll show more of her real personality.
The Maruo and Shige story was...slow. Maybe it's just me, but it was obvious in the beginning Shige wasn't the killer. The episode introduced more than one new character, and for myself, that makes it obvious that they were just used as a filler basically. Yuki's sister actually added to the story, because it moved Yuki's motivation to regain her memories forward. She needed them, in order to fix her relationship with her sister.
With Maruo and Shige, the sacrificed character wasn't needed. They could have used Shige in a different way to show their close bond. But the way the episode turned out, it was almost shallow and almost turned into an afterthought because it was obvious in the beginning, who did what.
Episode 4 - An Old Enemy's Written Challenge
Summary: Someone with links to Maijima, is threatening to poison Mochizuki Bread's retail supply forcing her to centrally involve herself in the same investigation that caused her to leave the altar a few years back. Horikawa feels underused and Yuki gets close to her (gangster) coworker.
Compared to the previous episode where a sacrificial character was introduced for a Maruo/Shige plot, the character (Pan-Pan poisoner) this time actually helps expose more of Maijima's character. It sort of explains why she's still looking for a husband (she sort of chose to chase the criminal instead of get married - talk about dedication). It also showed a more serious side to her, and just in time too. She was beginning to irritate me in Episode 3 with her echoing the boss a lot.
But it turns out, the original Pan-Pan poisoner isn't the one threatening the bread company. The meeting between Maijima and the original Pan-Pan was nicely done. It didn't seem too cheesy that he changed his ways and that she believed he wasn't the one threatening the Mochizuki bread company. It showed a level of understanding between them, without the melodrama. I wish they didn't play music during the meeting, it was nice hearing the birds chirping in the background and the trees swaying. It was a great backdrop.
The twist doesn't take away from the sub-plot though, because Maijima gives the same treatment to the copycat, as she did to the original. Basically she tells them to, "Repent for your crimes, while you are still alive." Then she goes back to her, "I don't really do any running for my job yeah...." But she still has a somber face on, so even with her lame attempt at comedy, we already know how seriously she takes her job.
Horikawa is able to do something useful again. Even though he does leave Yuki to catch the copycat. But as he's heading back, So gets a call that Yuki has disappeared, as she's seen with the (gangster) coworker in the last scene.
Episode 3 - Sad Arrest of a Friend
Summary: Maruo's friend Shige is implicated in killing a deviant, but he claims innocence. Meanwhile, Horikawa and So find a woman claiming to be Yuki's sister, and she tries to help Yuki with her memory loss. So still believes that Yuki is the main key in finding Jinno, the man who killed his father.
Throughout the whole episode, I was hoping they weren't going to make Yuki's sister a fake. I'm glad they didn't go down that route, but opened the possibility in future episodes, or in the end for a sibling reunion. And Yuki as a supposed rebel? I can totally see that, and hopefully she'll show more of her real personality.
The Maruo and Shige story was...slow. Maybe it's just me, but it was obvious in the beginning Shige wasn't the killer. The episode introduced more than one new character, and for myself, that makes it obvious that they were just used as a filler basically. Yuki's sister actually added to the story, because it moved Yuki's motivation to regain her memories forward. She needed them, in order to fix her relationship with her sister.
With Maruo and Shige, the sacrificed character wasn't needed. They could have used Shige in a different way to show their close bond. But the way the episode turned out, it was almost shallow and almost turned into an afterthought because it was obvious in the beginning, who did what.
Episode 4 - An Old Enemy's Written Challenge
Summary: Someone with links to Maijima, is threatening to poison Mochizuki Bread's retail supply forcing her to centrally involve herself in the same investigation that caused her to leave the altar a few years back. Horikawa feels underused and Yuki gets close to her (gangster) coworker.
Compared to the previous episode where a sacrificial character was introduced for a Maruo/Shige plot, the character (Pan-Pan poisoner) this time actually helps expose more of Maijima's character. It sort of explains why she's still looking for a husband (she sort of chose to chase the criminal instead of get married - talk about dedication). It also showed a more serious side to her, and just in time too. She was beginning to irritate me in Episode 3 with her echoing the boss a lot.
But it turns out, the original Pan-Pan poisoner isn't the one threatening the bread company. The meeting between Maijima and the original Pan-Pan was nicely done. It didn't seem too cheesy that he changed his ways and that she believed he wasn't the one threatening the Mochizuki bread company. It showed a level of understanding between them, without the melodrama. I wish they didn't play music during the meeting, it was nice hearing the birds chirping in the background and the trees swaying. It was a great backdrop.
The twist doesn't take away from the sub-plot though, because Maijima gives the same treatment to the copycat, as she did to the original. Basically she tells them to, "Repent for your crimes, while you are still alive." Then she goes back to her, "I don't really do any running for my job yeah...." But she still has a somber face on, so even with her lame attempt at comedy, we already know how seriously she takes her job.
Horikawa is able to do something useful again. Even though he does leave Yuki to catch the copycat. But as he's heading back, So gets a call that Yuki has disappeared, as she's seen with the (gangster) coworker in the last scene.