The Giri/Haji finale
I watched this on catch-up on Wednesday night, but am only posting abot it now.
Giri/Haji 1.8
I was left a little stunned by parts of that, though I thought overall it was mixed. Granted, three weeks was too long since watching the previous episode. because I wasn’t really in the right headspace for remembering and feeling where all the characters were at. The big thing for me was that the robbery that got Yuto into all this had happened 18 MONTHS AGO and no more. Okay!? I say that, but I thought it was years plural.
The excellent bits were Roy’s arrival (I thought Supergran had killed the yakuza for an instant) but they backed up that reveal of him with events from his Abbott-owned, Japanese-understanding perspective, backed by the perfect music. All hail the three ladies for mistrusting him and getting the drop on him. (REI!)
The other staggering bit of brilliance, amid all the stand-offing, threats of violence, actual violence, dismemberment (again) and Taki being a bit of a drama queen with her attention seeking was the black and white fight that became a dance on the rooftop. Amazingness. It conveyed all the pushes and pulls we’ve seen build up or be revealed in the fake and actual family. And this step into non-realism was one of many, particularly Yuto’s visions of Eiko in this episode. (In fact, I wasn’t sure if the Yuko/Eiko final scene was real).
Really interesting, given that it was from a Japanese girl to a Japanese father in front of a Jewish Scotswoman who didn’t understand that we had a Christian echo of atonement in the last line. (Apart from finding the right time, I was hesitant about catching up on this show, because I didn’t know what would be a satisfying ending, given all that had gone down.)
I could believe that Kenzo hadn’t killed Sarah’s boss, just delaying the countdown clock over his head, but the yakuza failing to kill fat cop? How convenient.
Abbott behaved like he’d come out of a Guy Ritchie movie, so he did lighten the mood. But it was right that we followed Rodney brooding over what he’d done and not knowing about Taki, Annie etc. His mother’s selfishness and inability to help him (though he was helped a bit by her presence) explained a lot. All the while the yakuza were building up to their summit in Japan, we knew about Fukuhara and Endo’s untrustworthiness.
This show definitely pushed the envelope in terms of style and storytelling choices. I don’t think the central fraternal relationship had me in its grip enough, although it felt right that Kenzo shouldered the blame for what he’d done, part of which was furthering Yuko down the wrong path by trying to protect him.
This entry was originally posted at https://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/410715.html.
Giri/Haji 1.8
I was left a little stunned by parts of that, though I thought overall it was mixed. Granted, three weeks was too long since watching the previous episode. because I wasn’t really in the right headspace for remembering and feeling where all the characters were at. The big thing for me was that the robbery that got Yuto into all this had happened 18 MONTHS AGO and no more. Okay!? I say that, but I thought it was years plural.
The excellent bits were Roy’s arrival (I thought Supergran had killed the yakuza for an instant) but they backed up that reveal of him with events from his Abbott-owned, Japanese-understanding perspective, backed by the perfect music. All hail the three ladies for mistrusting him and getting the drop on him. (REI!)
The other staggering bit of brilliance, amid all the stand-offing, threats of violence, actual violence, dismemberment (again) and Taki being a bit of a drama queen with her attention seeking was the black and white fight that became a dance on the rooftop. Amazingness. It conveyed all the pushes and pulls we’ve seen build up or be revealed in the fake and actual family. And this step into non-realism was one of many, particularly Yuto’s visions of Eiko in this episode. (In fact, I wasn’t sure if the Yuko/Eiko final scene was real).
Really interesting, given that it was from a Japanese girl to a Japanese father in front of a Jewish Scotswoman who didn’t understand that we had a Christian echo of atonement in the last line. (Apart from finding the right time, I was hesitant about catching up on this show, because I didn’t know what would be a satisfying ending, given all that had gone down.)
I could believe that Kenzo hadn’t killed Sarah’s boss, just delaying the countdown clock over his head, but the yakuza failing to kill fat cop? How convenient.
Abbott behaved like he’d come out of a Guy Ritchie movie, so he did lighten the mood. But it was right that we followed Rodney brooding over what he’d done and not knowing about Taki, Annie etc. His mother’s selfishness and inability to help him (though he was helped a bit by her presence) explained a lot. All the while the yakuza were building up to their summit in Japan, we knew about Fukuhara and Endo’s untrustworthiness.
This show definitely pushed the envelope in terms of style and storytelling choices. I don’t think the central fraternal relationship had me in its grip enough, although it felt right that Kenzo shouldered the blame for what he’d done, part of which was furthering Yuko down the wrong path by trying to protect him.
This entry was originally posted at https://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/410715.html.