[REVIEW] Yukan Club - 10
Dec. 22nd, 2007 12:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mecThe final episode was amazing! There are no words for how much I loved it, but I'll try to find some for the sake of this post. (Words other than "Marry me, Miroku!", anyway.) I guess I'm done reviewing dramas till Kame makes his debut as a binge-eating boxer in January.
Yukan Club 10
Plot: My, Yukan Club sure are popular. Look at all the Christmas presents they get! Including a gun, of all things. Miroku pretends to be a cop like his daddy, but much cooler - kind of tough in a silly reindeer hat - and pretends to shoot Bido in a fake hostage situation. Luckily, all those P.E. classes Miroku skipped means he doesn't hit anywhere vital when he grazes Bido's cheek with a real bullet. The police are on the scene in seconds, and both Miroku and his father are suspended!
Meanwhile, St. President Gakuen is in terrible financial trouble. The evil (we can tell by his smile) Takachiho offers them a solution, but with the Director hospitalised and Yukan Club under house arrest, there's no one around to tell the Principal that it's always a really, really big mistake to hand over the title deed to the school to anyone who says he has its best interests at heart. Takachiho's in cahoots with Dewazakura, the Minister of Education, who's hotly tipped to be the next Prime Minister. Why does Dewazakura want the land? Will Miroku manage to avoid being shot? And why does that guy from the Black Dragon Gang Samejima Unit keep beating up his own underlings? Find out in the last episode of Yukan Club!
(Actually, there is no answer to the last question, unless you want to speculate that maybe he's doing it for stress relief...)
In other news: I was spoilt for choice with my "Aww...poor Miroku!" moments this week. He kept getting beaten up, being held at gunpoint, threatened in general, had the brakes on his bike (the Miroku-mobile?) sabotaged and it blew up after a crash, got suspended from school, interrogated by the police (but it was only his dad), and he actually fainted. Seishiro had to bring him round. But anyway, there were many, many Miroku-tears this week. (Tears from everyone else too, mind you.) Yukan Club, beaten and bereft of hope, breaking into the club room in the middle of the night to lick their wounds and share some nostalgia. I got misty-eyed too.
Ye gods, where do I start with this one? For a high-school mystery-solving comedy, there wasn't much comedy in the episode. Might have had something to do with all the guns, threats and frequent occurrences of violence. A lot of it took place at night, as well, and often in darkened rooms, so the whole thing had a much more serious, adult tone to it.
That fact notwithstanding, the plot could have been lifted from a Scooby Doo episode. Dewazakura makes plans to ruin the school financially in order to obtain the deed, via Takachiho, and then sell it to a shady Italian so he can finance his political campaign. The land on which the school is built is rumoured to contain the treasure of the Tokugawas - I didn't quite follow whether he and the Italian intended to split the treasure, if it existed, or if he spread rumours about the treasure to inflate the price and he just wanted the money from the Italian. Anyway, it was all about the money, and by framing the Police Commissioner's son and getting both Tokimune and the Yukan Club out of the way, that guaranteed that there would be nobody poking their nose into the business. (Except Tokimune's underlings, of course. Katori and the other guy. But what can they do? Miroku's contacts are much more effective investigators - they were the ones who found out where Miroku's unwanted Christmas gift had come from!)
The darkness begins pretty early on, the moment Miroku realises that he's just fired a real gun at Bido, and you can see his face crumple. Everything slows down, and the Christmas wreath falls off the door. Not a good sign. Miroku's wearing a silly reindeer hat, Bido's wearing a bright pink scarf and pretending to hold Yuri hostage with...a straw? Plastic rose? I don't know. The decorations are going up, everything is bright and Christmassy, and next thing you know there's a line of blood across Bido's beautiful face and he and Yuri are sitting, shocked, on the floor.
It only gets worse from there. We see Takachiho with an evil smile, watching the club room on his hidden camera so he can inform the police that a gun has been fired. (The fiend!) The police turn up in seconds, and although Tokimune knows his son would never deliberately fire a gun at his friend, he can't be seen to show favouritism to Miroku. It's an unpleasant time down at the police station, and when Miroku gets home (to feed Otokoyama), he sets his network of informants to finding out who was responsible for sending him the gun. And just as you see his pal, Umenishiki, warning him by phone to stay away, we see the guys responsible slowly coming up behind him to beat him up...
Miroku goes to check it out and ends up being held at gunpoint again. This would be a very serious scene, what with the shooting of the photographs and all, but one thing detracts from it. The boss has a bad habit of beating up his own underlings for no apparent reason. Is it supposed to make him look tough? Miroku was curled up on the ground at the time, he wouldn't have noticed! (Very cute photo of Yuri in boxing gloves, btw.) Close-up on the trigger, the thug fires and...clicks empty. Miroku survives. But it's clear he doesn't expect to. It's not the first time he's been in danger of being killed, but Yukan Club as a whole, no matter how much they talk about things being risky, don't really believe in the consequences of their actions. They don't think they're going to die, and why should they? They're teenagers. Incredibly privileged teenagers whose main problem in life is excessive boredom. Miroku spends the rest of the episode in a state of trembling, twitchy nervousness. He knows his life's on the line now - and worse, from his perspective, those of his friends.
He takes the damaged photos and goes to the club room, ignoring the crime scene tape and not bothering to turn on the lights, though the Christmas decorations, unfinished and abandoned, twinkle in the dark anyway. So how exactly he spots the tiny little camera, I have no idea. Obviously, Miroku's eyesight is on a level with Jim Ellison's. (From 'The Sentinel', for those who don't know. The TV series, not the movie of the same name.) Miroku's next move is easy to predict - throws the camera on the ground to smash it. But it doesn't matter. The damage is done. (And on a completely unrelated note, his lips look absolutely enormous in the dark, when he's been all beaten up. If Miroku ever gets sick of fighting crime, he could take up modelling.)
Back in the daylight, the kindly Director collapses before the board. Out with the good, in with the bad. It doesn't take a genius to predict what will happen next. Yukan Club get put under house arrest, and to everyone's surprise, Miroku agrees to go quietly and urges the others to do the same. He doesn't want everyone to risk themselves, and says that they should leave the investigation to the police. (Quite rightly, Yuri queries whether or not Miroku's father can actually solve this!)
At home, Miroku vows to Otokoyama that he won't drag his friends into it. His father's been suspended too, and there's just this very beautiful moment of Miroku with his beloved dog before he goes out to investigate. He knows he might not come back. Otokoyama is adorable and sadly underused. (He's the Nakamaru of Yukan Club!) We know from Enid Blyton books that kids solving mysteries need a canine companion! (Or a parrot, if you happen to be reading one series in particular...)
Breaking into the Black Dragon Gang etc.'s files is a piece of cake (nearly typed 'peace' there, thank you, Jin) for Miroku, who has more gadgetry than a branch of Comet, and all of it branded '369'. Now we know why he never goes to class - he's too busy messing around with electronics. It amuses me that the password is 'Shark'. Miroku downloads the names of the gun buyers...and the gang catch him as he's just about to believe. Miroku gets held at gunpoint again.
People really love grabbing Miroku round the neck, don't they? He's always got to fight - maybe this time, he figures he has nothing to lose. And perhaps that's why the leader beats up his own men - to make them attack Miroku all the more. Miroku ends up sliding down the wall, the silencer of the gun pressed against his forehead, and we see he's shaking as much as the gun. Then he passes out, and fangirls all round the world cheer as Seishiro comes to his rescue, fighting ferociously although he's dressed for taking his public school examinations or something.
Love Bido, Karen and Noriko cowering in the doorway. Yuri, of course, is helping out with the fight. Even Noriko unwittingly helps out, slapping away one man when he dares to touch her. But Bido...oh, his cowardice is glorious to behold, as is his bravado when he thinks he's out of danger. Never lose your twinkle and sound effects, darling, or those cute, tentative little punches. I wish they hadn't done Yuri's flying kick, though, because it ruined the atmosphere. Or maybe that was the point.
Having knocked out everyone in the room at least once, Seishiro rushes to Miroku's side to wake him up. Now, I've resisted slashing anyone in the series because I do love the friendship dynamics, but this episode...the Seishiro/Miroku vibes were out in full force. Seishiro looked very thoughtful when Miroku declared his compliance earlier, and it's pretty obvious he was the one who got suspicious and decided to put a bug (literally) on Miroku's bike. Then there was Seishiro's challenge to the thugs, and the speech about wanting to protect Miroku. (But I have to say, when Karen made a crack about horrible acting, I was about to leap in and defend Jin until I realised she was referring to Miroku...) Everyone shares a lovely warm, snuggly moment before they have to escape, helping Miroku between them. Alas, the poor boy is not yet done being beaten, battered and bruised...
It's back to Yuri's house for a strategy meeting, and there is a brilliant bit where Bido says, "Nice, Miroku!" and does his sparkly, twirly bit, and everyone just gives him a "What the hell?" look. Bido, sweetie, now is the time to be serious, not sparkly. Miroku's bandaged up, though I don't remember him injuring his hand. An unexpected visit from the Principal and Head Teacher clears up Takachiho's involvement with setting up Miroku, and Yuri's father offers to provide the money Seishiro wants (note how once again, a high school boy is running the entire operation!) to make an attempt to buy the St. President Gakuen land from Takachiho, who is in real estate. This leads to Miroku and Yuri impersonating Yuri's parents.
Bugging Takachiho's office confirms Dewazakura's involvement - and Miroku's still wearing the daft moustache, back in the van! It clashes with his hair. Dewazakura, once off the phone, makes it pretty clear that he has it in for Yukan Club. Oh dear. When a corrupt and ambitious politician wants you out of the way, you'd better hope for a miracle. (Or a Miroku, which is probably prettier.) Seishiro can now count everyone in the Kenbishi household as part of his personal investigation squad, including the maids.
Now, I'm not quite sure what it is that the club try to infiltrate here - one of Dewazakura's speeches - but everything goes horribly wrong, a marked contrast to the normal run of things. Bido's ladykiller charm fails him, Karen gets caught planting a bug, Yuri gets picked up by four guys and Noriko gets surrounded. Seishiro races to the rescue, and we don't see what happens to him after he leaves the You Can Cleaning van. Miroku follows Dewazakura on his motorbike, but disaster strikes!
Disaster...or sabotage, rather. Dewazakura's henchmen (or women, maybe) fixed Miroku's brakes, leaving him no alternative but to swerve out of the path of a lorry. Miroku ends up with an injured leg and the bike explodes. There is a lovely shot of a windblown Miroku, sans helmet, lying on the ground and watching his bike burn. What I'd like to know is, how did his dad get there so fast? Having your own father tell you you're going to die...I actually really like that moment. It's like, Tokimune always makes fun of his son's involvement in his cases, though he does appreciate his work, but this sounds like he's respecting him as an adult for the first time. Yet he's also being a father, looking out for his son the best he can. It's a good development for their relationship. They look at each other, then Miroku limps off, doggedly determined. Tokimune doesn't offer to help him.
Miroku goes back to the darkened club room to find everyone else sitting there, bruised and bloody. (Except Karen, who's just holding her injured wrist.) What kind of cad hit Noriko? This scene was in the adverts a lot - Yukan Club discussing the severity of the situation, and what will happen if they lose their school. Miroku gets very upset and angry about it, because for him, school is all about spending time with his friends and he would be heartbroken to lose that. They spend some time in tearful, quiet contemplation before deciding to go forward, acknowledging that this is serious and yes, they could lose their lives.
What follows is a set-up, orchestrated by Yukan Club. Dewazakura intends to sell the land to an Italian buyer, with Takachiho present at the meeting. The club separates them, using chauffeur!Seishiro to get the minister drunk and take him to a pre-prepared room with hidden cameras. There he meets with Bido, cunningly disguised as the Italian, complete with badly-accented Japanese and a moustache that has a life of its own, and the girls who are disguised as restaurant employees. Meanwhile, the real buyer and Takachiho meet at the real restaurant - a meeting doomed to failure when the Italian gets mad, his guys draw guns, and the police show up to take Takachiho away. Dewazakura, tricked into a full confession on camera, ends up half-dressed and half-soused, his tie round his head, and at the mercy of Yukan Club. Tokimune shows up in time to make the arrest, looking extremely cool and competent. In fact, both he and Yuri's parents were on form the entire episode.
Yukan Club celebrate! All is well, as evidenced by the Director's return. Even the Principal is happy. Back in the club room, everyone has caught Miroku's lollipop habit. He must own shares in a sweet shop or something. The final scene: Yukan Club dig for Tokugawa treasure in the club room, aided by a metal detector. Noriko, in gloves and a hard hat, sits cutely on the table while everyone else digs, but she leaps in too when the detector picks up something. Karen is now officially a gold-digger. Poor Bido ends up flat on his back. Seishiro and Miroku sit off to the side, watching the diggers, and Miroku checks Seishiro's head for metal. None there, of course, and the final seconds are Miroku stealing Seishiro's line about what Yukan Club is all about, all six of them down in the hole they've dug. There's probably no treasure there, but turning impossibilities into possibilities is what Yukan Club is all about!
Music was much more serious than usual this week - slow, haunting strings and wailing guitars. Very atmospheric.
Costume prize goes to Seishiro dressed as a chauffeur, though Miroku takes second place for his part as a restaurant employee. Blue and white looks good with that hair colour.
Obligatory Jin commentary: Jin's oft-present bags under his eyes actually worked in his favour, here, as Miroku's supposed to look progressively more wrecked. And this episode, I feel, should do a lot to quiet people who don't think he can act at all. Okay, he's never going to win an Oscar, and he'll probably never catch up to Nino or even Kame, but personally, I think he was fantastic this week. Now, how much this had to do with the fact that he had to spend most of his time looking scared or upset, I don't know, but he pulled that off nicely. Real tears and tremors. He pulled all manner of weird expressions when he was trying to communicate to Bido that his moustache was coming off, and he even managed to look genuinely happy when they were celebrating. (Plus the fake hostage situation at the beginning was hilarious - Jin is just a big kid. ^_^) Maybe I'm easily satisfied, but Jin convinced me.
Best scene: Hmm...might be the hostage scene (until it all went horribly wrong) or Miroku checking Seishiro out with the metal detector, or Miroku with Otokoyama, but I think it might have to be Karen getting caught at the party, because she never expected it would happen, that a man would actually object to her slipping her hand into his pocket! She was so surprised!
Conclusion: The series needed more episodes like this (and also, more Otokoyama). Everyone was on form, the adults weren't annoying, Seishiro was impossibly cool, the fights were good, the danger was real, Otokoyama was there (can you tell how much I love this dog?) and Miroku was in dire need of a hug. It's not the best mystery series in the world, and it's not the best high-school comedy either - it's been a weird mix of things and not all of them have worked. But on the whole, I loved Yukan Club, and I'll miss having a new episode to brighten up my Saturday afternoons.
Yukan Club 10
Plot: My, Yukan Club sure are popular. Look at all the Christmas presents they get! Including a gun, of all things. Miroku pretends to be a cop like his daddy, but much cooler - kind of tough in a silly reindeer hat - and pretends to shoot Bido in a fake hostage situation. Luckily, all those P.E. classes Miroku skipped means he doesn't hit anywhere vital when he grazes Bido's cheek with a real bullet. The police are on the scene in seconds, and both Miroku and his father are suspended!
Meanwhile, St. President Gakuen is in terrible financial trouble. The evil (we can tell by his smile) Takachiho offers them a solution, but with the Director hospitalised and Yukan Club under house arrest, there's no one around to tell the Principal that it's always a really, really big mistake to hand over the title deed to the school to anyone who says he has its best interests at heart. Takachiho's in cahoots with Dewazakura, the Minister of Education, who's hotly tipped to be the next Prime Minister. Why does Dewazakura want the land? Will Miroku manage to avoid being shot? And why does that guy from the Black Dragon Gang Samejima Unit keep beating up his own underlings? Find out in the last episode of Yukan Club!
(Actually, there is no answer to the last question, unless you want to speculate that maybe he's doing it for stress relief...)
In other news: I was spoilt for choice with my "Aww...poor Miroku!" moments this week. He kept getting beaten up, being held at gunpoint, threatened in general, had the brakes on his bike (the Miroku-mobile?) sabotaged and it blew up after a crash, got suspended from school, interrogated by the police (but it was only his dad), and he actually fainted. Seishiro had to bring him round. But anyway, there were many, many Miroku-tears this week. (Tears from everyone else too, mind you.) Yukan Club, beaten and bereft of hope, breaking into the club room in the middle of the night to lick their wounds and share some nostalgia. I got misty-eyed too.
Ye gods, where do I start with this one? For a high-school mystery-solving comedy, there wasn't much comedy in the episode. Might have had something to do with all the guns, threats and frequent occurrences of violence. A lot of it took place at night, as well, and often in darkened rooms, so the whole thing had a much more serious, adult tone to it.
That fact notwithstanding, the plot could have been lifted from a Scooby Doo episode. Dewazakura makes plans to ruin the school financially in order to obtain the deed, via Takachiho, and then sell it to a shady Italian so he can finance his political campaign. The land on which the school is built is rumoured to contain the treasure of the Tokugawas - I didn't quite follow whether he and the Italian intended to split the treasure, if it existed, or if he spread rumours about the treasure to inflate the price and he just wanted the money from the Italian. Anyway, it was all about the money, and by framing the Police Commissioner's son and getting both Tokimune and the Yukan Club out of the way, that guaranteed that there would be nobody poking their nose into the business. (Except Tokimune's underlings, of course. Katori and the other guy. But what can they do? Miroku's contacts are much more effective investigators - they were the ones who found out where Miroku's unwanted Christmas gift had come from!)
The darkness begins pretty early on, the moment Miroku realises that he's just fired a real gun at Bido, and you can see his face crumple. Everything slows down, and the Christmas wreath falls off the door. Not a good sign. Miroku's wearing a silly reindeer hat, Bido's wearing a bright pink scarf and pretending to hold Yuri hostage with...a straw? Plastic rose? I don't know. The decorations are going up, everything is bright and Christmassy, and next thing you know there's a line of blood across Bido's beautiful face and he and Yuri are sitting, shocked, on the floor.
It only gets worse from there. We see Takachiho with an evil smile, watching the club room on his hidden camera so he can inform the police that a gun has been fired. (The fiend!) The police turn up in seconds, and although Tokimune knows his son would never deliberately fire a gun at his friend, he can't be seen to show favouritism to Miroku. It's an unpleasant time down at the police station, and when Miroku gets home (to feed Otokoyama), he sets his network of informants to finding out who was responsible for sending him the gun. And just as you see his pal, Umenishiki, warning him by phone to stay away, we see the guys responsible slowly coming up behind him to beat him up...
Miroku goes to check it out and ends up being held at gunpoint again. This would be a very serious scene, what with the shooting of the photographs and all, but one thing detracts from it. The boss has a bad habit of beating up his own underlings for no apparent reason. Is it supposed to make him look tough? Miroku was curled up on the ground at the time, he wouldn't have noticed! (Very cute photo of Yuri in boxing gloves, btw.) Close-up on the trigger, the thug fires and...clicks empty. Miroku survives. But it's clear he doesn't expect to. It's not the first time he's been in danger of being killed, but Yukan Club as a whole, no matter how much they talk about things being risky, don't really believe in the consequences of their actions. They don't think they're going to die, and why should they? They're teenagers. Incredibly privileged teenagers whose main problem in life is excessive boredom. Miroku spends the rest of the episode in a state of trembling, twitchy nervousness. He knows his life's on the line now - and worse, from his perspective, those of his friends.
He takes the damaged photos and goes to the club room, ignoring the crime scene tape and not bothering to turn on the lights, though the Christmas decorations, unfinished and abandoned, twinkle in the dark anyway. So how exactly he spots the tiny little camera, I have no idea. Obviously, Miroku's eyesight is on a level with Jim Ellison's. (From 'The Sentinel', for those who don't know. The TV series, not the movie of the same name.) Miroku's next move is easy to predict - throws the camera on the ground to smash it. But it doesn't matter. The damage is done. (And on a completely unrelated note, his lips look absolutely enormous in the dark, when he's been all beaten up. If Miroku ever gets sick of fighting crime, he could take up modelling.)
Back in the daylight, the kindly Director collapses before the board. Out with the good, in with the bad. It doesn't take a genius to predict what will happen next. Yukan Club get put under house arrest, and to everyone's surprise, Miroku agrees to go quietly and urges the others to do the same. He doesn't want everyone to risk themselves, and says that they should leave the investigation to the police. (Quite rightly, Yuri queries whether or not Miroku's father can actually solve this!)
At home, Miroku vows to Otokoyama that he won't drag his friends into it. His father's been suspended too, and there's just this very beautiful moment of Miroku with his beloved dog before he goes out to investigate. He knows he might not come back. Otokoyama is adorable and sadly underused. (He's the Nakamaru of Yukan Club!) We know from Enid Blyton books that kids solving mysteries need a canine companion! (Or a parrot, if you happen to be reading one series in particular...)
Breaking into the Black Dragon Gang etc.'s files is a piece of cake (nearly typed 'peace' there, thank you, Jin) for Miroku, who has more gadgetry than a branch of Comet, and all of it branded '369'. Now we know why he never goes to class - he's too busy messing around with electronics. It amuses me that the password is 'Shark'. Miroku downloads the names of the gun buyers...and the gang catch him as he's just about to believe. Miroku gets held at gunpoint again.
People really love grabbing Miroku round the neck, don't they? He's always got to fight - maybe this time, he figures he has nothing to lose. And perhaps that's why the leader beats up his own men - to make them attack Miroku all the more. Miroku ends up sliding down the wall, the silencer of the gun pressed against his forehead, and we see he's shaking as much as the gun. Then he passes out, and fangirls all round the world cheer as Seishiro comes to his rescue, fighting ferociously although he's dressed for taking his public school examinations or something.
Love Bido, Karen and Noriko cowering in the doorway. Yuri, of course, is helping out with the fight. Even Noriko unwittingly helps out, slapping away one man when he dares to touch her. But Bido...oh, his cowardice is glorious to behold, as is his bravado when he thinks he's out of danger. Never lose your twinkle and sound effects, darling, or those cute, tentative little punches. I wish they hadn't done Yuri's flying kick, though, because it ruined the atmosphere. Or maybe that was the point.
Having knocked out everyone in the room at least once, Seishiro rushes to Miroku's side to wake him up. Now, I've resisted slashing anyone in the series because I do love the friendship dynamics, but this episode...the Seishiro/Miroku vibes were out in full force. Seishiro looked very thoughtful when Miroku declared his compliance earlier, and it's pretty obvious he was the one who got suspicious and decided to put a bug (literally) on Miroku's bike. Then there was Seishiro's challenge to the thugs, and the speech about wanting to protect Miroku. (But I have to say, when Karen made a crack about horrible acting, I was about to leap in and defend Jin until I realised she was referring to Miroku...) Everyone shares a lovely warm, snuggly moment before they have to escape, helping Miroku between them. Alas, the poor boy is not yet done being beaten, battered and bruised...
It's back to Yuri's house for a strategy meeting, and there is a brilliant bit where Bido says, "Nice, Miroku!" and does his sparkly, twirly bit, and everyone just gives him a "What the hell?" look. Bido, sweetie, now is the time to be serious, not sparkly. Miroku's bandaged up, though I don't remember him injuring his hand. An unexpected visit from the Principal and Head Teacher clears up Takachiho's involvement with setting up Miroku, and Yuri's father offers to provide the money Seishiro wants (note how once again, a high school boy is running the entire operation!) to make an attempt to buy the St. President Gakuen land from Takachiho, who is in real estate. This leads to Miroku and Yuri impersonating Yuri's parents.
Bugging Takachiho's office confirms Dewazakura's involvement - and Miroku's still wearing the daft moustache, back in the van! It clashes with his hair. Dewazakura, once off the phone, makes it pretty clear that he has it in for Yukan Club. Oh dear. When a corrupt and ambitious politician wants you out of the way, you'd better hope for a miracle. (Or a Miroku, which is probably prettier.) Seishiro can now count everyone in the Kenbishi household as part of his personal investigation squad, including the maids.
Now, I'm not quite sure what it is that the club try to infiltrate here - one of Dewazakura's speeches - but everything goes horribly wrong, a marked contrast to the normal run of things. Bido's ladykiller charm fails him, Karen gets caught planting a bug, Yuri gets picked up by four guys and Noriko gets surrounded. Seishiro races to the rescue, and we don't see what happens to him after he leaves the You Can Cleaning van. Miroku follows Dewazakura on his motorbike, but disaster strikes!
Disaster...or sabotage, rather. Dewazakura's henchmen (or women, maybe) fixed Miroku's brakes, leaving him no alternative but to swerve out of the path of a lorry. Miroku ends up with an injured leg and the bike explodes. There is a lovely shot of a windblown Miroku, sans helmet, lying on the ground and watching his bike burn. What I'd like to know is, how did his dad get there so fast? Having your own father tell you you're going to die...I actually really like that moment. It's like, Tokimune always makes fun of his son's involvement in his cases, though he does appreciate his work, but this sounds like he's respecting him as an adult for the first time. Yet he's also being a father, looking out for his son the best he can. It's a good development for their relationship. They look at each other, then Miroku limps off, doggedly determined. Tokimune doesn't offer to help him.
Miroku goes back to the darkened club room to find everyone else sitting there, bruised and bloody. (Except Karen, who's just holding her injured wrist.) What kind of cad hit Noriko? This scene was in the adverts a lot - Yukan Club discussing the severity of the situation, and what will happen if they lose their school. Miroku gets very upset and angry about it, because for him, school is all about spending time with his friends and he would be heartbroken to lose that. They spend some time in tearful, quiet contemplation before deciding to go forward, acknowledging that this is serious and yes, they could lose their lives.
What follows is a set-up, orchestrated by Yukan Club. Dewazakura intends to sell the land to an Italian buyer, with Takachiho present at the meeting. The club separates them, using chauffeur!Seishiro to get the minister drunk and take him to a pre-prepared room with hidden cameras. There he meets with Bido, cunningly disguised as the Italian, complete with badly-accented Japanese and a moustache that has a life of its own, and the girls who are disguised as restaurant employees. Meanwhile, the real buyer and Takachiho meet at the real restaurant - a meeting doomed to failure when the Italian gets mad, his guys draw guns, and the police show up to take Takachiho away. Dewazakura, tricked into a full confession on camera, ends up half-dressed and half-soused, his tie round his head, and at the mercy of Yukan Club. Tokimune shows up in time to make the arrest, looking extremely cool and competent. In fact, both he and Yuri's parents were on form the entire episode.
Yukan Club celebrate! All is well, as evidenced by the Director's return. Even the Principal is happy. Back in the club room, everyone has caught Miroku's lollipop habit. He must own shares in a sweet shop or something. The final scene: Yukan Club dig for Tokugawa treasure in the club room, aided by a metal detector. Noriko, in gloves and a hard hat, sits cutely on the table while everyone else digs, but she leaps in too when the detector picks up something. Karen is now officially a gold-digger. Poor Bido ends up flat on his back. Seishiro and Miroku sit off to the side, watching the diggers, and Miroku checks Seishiro's head for metal. None there, of course, and the final seconds are Miroku stealing Seishiro's line about what Yukan Club is all about, all six of them down in the hole they've dug. There's probably no treasure there, but turning impossibilities into possibilities is what Yukan Club is all about!
Music was much more serious than usual this week - slow, haunting strings and wailing guitars. Very atmospheric.
Costume prize goes to Seishiro dressed as a chauffeur, though Miroku takes second place for his part as a restaurant employee. Blue and white looks good with that hair colour.
Obligatory Jin commentary: Jin's oft-present bags under his eyes actually worked in his favour, here, as Miroku's supposed to look progressively more wrecked. And this episode, I feel, should do a lot to quiet people who don't think he can act at all. Okay, he's never going to win an Oscar, and he'll probably never catch up to Nino or even Kame, but personally, I think he was fantastic this week. Now, how much this had to do with the fact that he had to spend most of his time looking scared or upset, I don't know, but he pulled that off nicely. Real tears and tremors. He pulled all manner of weird expressions when he was trying to communicate to Bido that his moustache was coming off, and he even managed to look genuinely happy when they were celebrating. (Plus the fake hostage situation at the beginning was hilarious - Jin is just a big kid. ^_^) Maybe I'm easily satisfied, but Jin convinced me.
Best scene: Hmm...might be the hostage scene (until it all went horribly wrong) or Miroku checking Seishiro out with the metal detector, or Miroku with Otokoyama, but I think it might have to be Karen getting caught at the party, because she never expected it would happen, that a man would actually object to her slipping her hand into his pocket! She was so surprised!
Conclusion: The series needed more episodes like this (and also, more Otokoyama). Everyone was on form, the adults weren't annoying, Seishiro was impossibly cool, the fights were good, the danger was real, Otokoyama was there (can you tell how much I love this dog?) and Miroku was in dire need of a hug. It's not the best mystery series in the world, and it's not the best high-school comedy either - it's been a weird mix of things and not all of them have worked. But on the whole, I loved Yukan Club, and I'll miss having a new episode to brighten up my Saturday afternoons.