(L) UN-GO (noitaminA, BONES)

[Guido]

The second episode's case was very tempestuous one, following around the leads that guided Hisako Osada's daughter as the murderer.

An's childhood dreams to follow a lead-singing career did not come to pass, because her singing was used to create the illusion of a "fourth" ghost singer for the group Yonagahime, made for the purpose to raise the spirits and moral amongst public during the chaotic times of an undisclosed war that ravaged Japan in that story, though Shinjuurou mentions that in that war Japan suffered terrorists attacks.

It was frustrating, and while I cannot empathize with An murdering her mother, I do understand her choices in life were tampered and denied.

Couldn't her mother launched An as a true member for the singing group, while it was taking off during the days of the war? Or maybe this roundabout way came as a preventive measure to have all groups and the government involved to save face and reputation.

BTW, from here on its' very and clearly demonstrated that Inga morphs into her adult persona, when the ecstasy overwhelms her concerning a creepy truth that Shinjuurou uncovers about the current case.

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Another Mystery that was really easy to tell but it was unexpected that it'd be a two-parter. I wonder what they have in store for us next episode. That doll thing is amusing. And I think there is a subtle but definite attempt to picture the world and make a comment on human society.

[molitar]

This does not feel like the typical Bones anime unfortunately.. It feels totally plot-less and even after episode 2 I have not been drawn in at all.

[LKK]

Does anyone else think that the original head of the family, the one who died 7 years ago, isn't really dead after all? And that he is the homeless man whose computer Shinjurou accidentally unplugged in the abandoned building? I feel as if those scenes in the abandoned building have to have significance. I suppose that they could have been there simply to show more of this post-apocalyptic world. But that was a lot of precious airtime to devote to what could have been easily served by some establishing shots.

[Kanon]

^I hadn't thought about that. That's definitely possible since we have never seen his face. He's wearing his mask in the family picture and even on the picture placed at the altar

I'm wondering if his family members even knew what he looks like... He might actually be closer than we think: he could be the doctor who attends Kazamori. He's clearly no regular doctor since, you know, his patient is a robot. It'd be very far-fetched though.

[Last Sinner]

The two-parter strategy may deliver a decent mystery for once. But that isn't the core focus, after all.

There were some improvements this episode. As I suspected, Rie doesn't approve of her father's methods and prefers Shinjuou's ways. Rie gets some much needed character development and now has potential to be a good character. Whoever picked her outfits deserves credit - Rie's got style. The specific role Professor Kaishou plays within the system is now spelt out in more detail - this guy's power and how casually he weaves his lies is chilling. A conflict between those two will happen sometime soon. What was best about this episode was it tried to break free from the formula of the first two episodes. Once the Professor wove his fabrication, evidence to counter it came to light and Shinjurou deduced the truth. That computer's final line was priceless. In terms of world setting, the opening minutes with the slum, ruined nature of the 'Restricted Zone' were rather effective and a good device to promote Rie's defiance.

Still...while the roles Shinjurou and Inga played in this episode were better...we still know next to nothing about them! And they're the main characters! Honestly, I think this is what's really hindering this show. If we knew at least something about what caused Shinjurou and Inga to pair up, the source of Inga's powers or how Shinjurou cheated death, I think we as viewers would care a LOT more about them! I seriously hope that's not something they only explain in the Episode 0 movie. That doesn't get released until November 19 and to release that info that way could really backfire. Indeed, while the world setting and second tier of characters intrigues me, the primary characters don't because we're not allowed to know anything about them! This needs to change...The mystery quality isn't an issue anymore, really. The lack of development of Shinjurou and Inga as characters has hurt this show. Even a 5 minute flash back explaining why it is Shinjurou and Inga pursue the truth like they do - SOMETHING to make us care about their plight - would really lift this series! A moment like that make so much difference.

I will continue as this show reminds me of my younger days reading 1984, Fahrenhei 451 and Brave New World. But still...those titles brought their characters to the forefront within the first few pages! UN-GO hasn't even tried to develop the core pair yet, which is just bewildering.

By the way, does anyone know if this show is 11 or 22 episodes? Because if this is 11, they've really delayed bringing the characters into more detail for too long. Even if it was 22, this is too risky. Bones might have already shot themselves in the foot with a mistake like that. It's no secret that the modern era thrives on character-oriented material. Not developing your primary characters in this time and age - rather fatalistic.

[LKK]

@Kanon: I would hope that his wife knew what he looked like. However, the brother-in-law (wife's brother) may not know depending on how long husband wore the mask. If the husband is the doctor -- which is a very good theory, by the way -- the wife is likely in on the secret of who the doctor is. Not as sure if the brother-in-law would be though.

Still I can't ignore how much air time (a.k.a. animation expense) was spent in that abandoned building with the prostitute and the guy with the computer. If they don't play a part in this mystery, perhaps they're set up for some future mystery?

[Last Sinner]

That is a pertinent point. Shinjurou wants the Professor to unlock that device at all costs, it seems. Shinjurou may get the bait to do that if he gets the upper hand in this mystery. Or will a bigger mystery be required for Shinjurou to force the Professor to fold?

[LKK]

Oops. I caught myself in a mistake. I thought that the brother was the wife's brother. According to the official site's English version, he's the inventor's younger brother. So he should know if the doctor looks like the dead inventor or not as well as the wife. (Assuming, of course, that there hasn't been any facial plastic surgery involved.)

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by LKK

Does anyone else think that the original head of the family, the one who died 7 years ago, isn't really dead after all? And that he is the homeless man whose computer Shinjurou accidentally unplugged in the abandoned building? I feel as if those scenes in the abandoned building have to have significance. I suppose that they could have been there simply to show more of this post-apocalyptic world. But that was a lot of precious airtime to devote to what could have been easily served by some establishing shots.

I don't think he's the homeless man, but I did speculate that he faked his own death in that explosion. It would fit the mystery pretty well and explain quite a lot.

[creb]

He probably downloaded into his own "son". He's also probably senile, seeing his emoticon response at the end of the episode.

[Quarkboy]

Originally Posted by creb

He probably downloaded into his own "son". He's also probably senile, seeing his emoticon response at the end of the episode.

Maybe the RIA program doesn't really exist: From the very start it was only ever him posing as if he were a computer AI to fool the Turing Test (or like, networked to low paid sweatshop workers that acted as their voices)

Instead of having this exposed and his business ruined he got the government to help "ban the technology" and fakes his own death.

[ookamigirl]

Now this was something worth watching.
Kazamori case was pretty intriguing..
Inga is so cute （*´▽｀*）, but so totally not human.

[LKK]

Originally Posted by creb

He probably downloaded into his own "son". He's also probably senile, seeing his emoticon response at the end of the episode.

You reminded me of a question I meant to ask. What is the emoticon at the end supposed to represent? I didn't recognize it.

[creb]

Originally Posted by LKK

You reminded me of a question I meant to ask. What is the emoticon at the end supposed to represent? I didn't recognize it.

I generally do not recognize Japanese emoticons. I do know they read up to down, rather than sideways like us Westerners do. It looks like a face with tears, but that's just a wild guess that is almost certainly wrong, and the ';;' would normally replace an eye if they were really tears, but since they're where the other side of the face is...yea, I have no idea.

If my life depended on guessing, I'd guess it was something akin to "uh oh!"

Here is a fairly extensive list of Japanese emoticons, on which this one did not show up:

http://club.pep.ne.jp/~hiroette/en/facemarks/

[LKK]

^^Thank for the very interesting link, creb.

[Quarkboy]

Originally Posted by creb

I generally do not recognize Japanese emoticons. I do know they read up to down, rather than sideways like us Westerners do. It looks like a face with tears, but that's just a wild guess that is almost certainly wrong, and the ';;' would normally replace an eye if they were really tears, but since they're where the other side of the face is...yea, I have no idea.

If my life depended on guessing, I'd guess it was something akin to "uh oh!"

Here is a fairly extensive list of Japanese emoticons, on which this one did not show up:

http://club.pep.ne.jp/~hiroette/en/facemarks/

（＾＾;;

Yeah, it's not a normal one. Maybe something the creators made up?

What it looks like to me is that the ";;" are supposed to be puckered lips facing to the right (the character's left)... So it's like the characters is not looking at you sheepishly and has that puckered lips thing that's cliche in manga when people are sort of embarrassed.

Edit: Actually, it IS a normal one. It's built into my iPhone.... There's just no way to actually google for such things... Hmm, have to ask a young Japanese person.

[amasposu]

I just watched episode 3.

I love detective series and I'm enjoying this series too. The only thing that bothers me is that unlike Detective Conan, for example, it is obvious to me who the murderers are in each of the cases. Also, because the cases are one episode long, there isn't enough time to set up and build up the cases. Nevertheless, I will continue watching this series. =)

Inga's powers reminds me of the series, Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro.

[firetiger027]

;; can also be sweat marks which is what they probably are...

For two seconds at the end I thought this wasn't going to be a two parter and it was going to end with there not being a murder since the person never existed. What kind of ending would that have been? haha

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Quarkboy

What it looks like to me is that the ";;" are supposed to be puckered lips facing to the right (the character's left)... So it's like the characters is not looking at you sheepishly and has that puckered lips thing that's cliche in manga when people are sort of embarrassed.

Actually, the ;; is sweatdrops. Sometimes it's used with non-Japanese emoticons as well, such as XD;; or ;;

I'm very surprised that people didn't recognize this emoticon, I thought it was pretty common in anime fandom. I often use either ^^;; or (^^;; and nobody ever misunderstood... (at least they didn't tell me)

In any case, I really liked this episode. The thing with Un-Go, while it has a mystery format, it's not really a mystery. The point is not finding out who the murderer is but to disclose their motivations and how they fit into the world around them (and why the cases have to be covered at the government's orders). The mystery is not really the point.

I don't find Inga him/herself very interesting on her (let's go with this) own, but I'm curious about how she fits into the picture. I guess there's a contract of some sort between her and Shinjuurou (my theory is that Shinjuurou died once and Inga made him come back to life), but the form she takes when she possesses(?) people brings up questions... it's a dried up corpse(?) with a hole in its chest. Another dead body?