(L) Police in a Pod

[Kanon]

This is turning out to be a very different show from what I imagined. Not to say it's a bad thing.

I found it pretty weird that the paramedics weren't involved at all in the handling of the death at home. Don't they need someone to pronounce the man dead over there? Having five people (including three inspectors) examine one body seemed a bit much too.

[Yu Ominae]

Seems like the police were first called because they wanted to make sure it wasn't suspicious. Although having paramedics on immediate standby would work better IMO.

[Chosen_Hero]

Well... this episode hit really close to home for me due to recent circumstances in my family... it was a pretty good episode.

[BBOvenGuy]

Hmm... this was the weakest episode for me so far, possibly because both segments showed up in the live-action and were dealt with in a much less moralizing way. Plus this version of Fuji is too much of a policewaifu after watching the live-action version.

We're at the one-quarter mark, and there's absolutely no sign of the live-action's ongoing storyline. I must therefore conclude that it won't show up, but I'd like to see if any manga readers can tell me whether it shows up in the manga.

Spoiler for Live-action spoilers:

In the live-action, Fuji's demotion is just a cover story. Her classmate was injured in a hit-and-run during an accident investigation, and the leading suspect is this guy who had previously been seen hanging around the police box - well, stalking actually. Fuji is using Kawai as bait, because Kawai resembles the injured classmate.

There's also a secondary running plotline where Kawai explores becoming a police sketch artist. Her sketching skills are terrible, yet somehow they also capture the features of the suspects that really stand out, making the suspects easier to catch.

[Yu Ominae]

Spoiler for Comparison:

So far, the first part is not seen in the manga. If I'm able to read more, this could change.

The second part does happen.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

Hmm... this was the weakest episode for me so far, possibly because both segments showed up in the live-action and were dealt with in a much less moralizing way. Plus this version of Fuji is too much of a policewaifu after watching the live-action version.

In my experience, live-action adaptations very often add in an original series-spanning maximum-personal-drama conspiracy/revenge plotline (often specifically, "I have to take down your/my father!" or "My previous girlfriend/boyfriend was murdered!") that very obviously sticks out of the narrative in a synthetic way.

As if there cannot possibly be a jdrama or kdrama without a conspiracy/revenge plotline for one of the leads. It's as much of a mandated staple for the medium as beach episodes are for ecchi anime.

That's not to say I don't enjoy them...they just stick out as plotlines that were definitely not in the original work due to their very different tone and character treatment.

But I also agree, this episode, or at least the first half, was incredibly boring compared to the previous two.

[jdennis007]

For some reason I am getting ex vibes from Minamoto, he treats her differently than the other detectives do. The other detectives treat her with respect, almost admiration, even though she criticizes them.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by jdennis007

For some reason I am getting ex vibes from Minamoto, he treats her differently than the other detectives do. The other detectives treat her with respect, almost admiration, even though she criticizes them.

I think it's because they were classmates in the police academy together and seemed to have been competitive.

[Ghostfriendly]

I wanted to write a positive review, but should have remembered that gravity pulls downwards. A bad first ep virtually always means a bad series, a passable first ep can fall off a cliff at any time.

This isn't a character drama, it's a standard cop show, with all the usual problems. Though virgin shaming Kawaii, virgin fetishising Fuji and poorly using rape as a cheapened device for drama, all in ten minutes or so, was rather bad. A little wit isn't going to make up for cheap animation and robotic, ideology spouting characters.

[Frontier]

I guess there's no rest for the police, especially Kawai and Fuji, when there's an old man missing in the mountains. Not that it stops them from complaining about it and still doing their job .

You have to worship police dogs because they're very sensitive and powerful...even if they also lead you on wild goose chases instead of actually doing what you brought them to do, as Kawai and Minamoto learn after a chase that ends with nothing. But hey, it let them realize where they needed to go to get out of the mountain, so praise Dog-sama .

I wasn't expecting Fuji or Yamada to actively ignore possible crimes because they just don't want to give themselves more work while they're looking for the old man, but I guess they have enough on their plate .

Poor Kawai finally loses it and complains about all the work she has to put in while holding in her bladder...and Minamoto is there to comfort her and let her know she's allowed to relieve herself, although not before Fuji and Yamada are in ear shot and arrest him .

It was fun seeing Fuji and Minamoto with a friend from their academy days who is about to leave the force, although it seemed like they were more desperate not to get stuck drinking together without him since they have no other friends, but it's clear they're happy for him. Also kind of neat seeing flashbacks of them back at the academy and when Fuji had short hair .

I guess it makes sense the only time Kawai would go out of her way for something she's asked to do for the police is to get out of other work she doesn't want to do, like directing traffic, only for it to then turn into a serious police chase and her complaining about it the whole time while other people gawk and comment on her running. She calls for backup and she's too out of breath for them to even hear her. Kawai...really made the bad call this time around .

And all that running, and going after him when the kids push her into it, and she just has a big fall and doesn't even catch the guy. He wasn't even that serious a criminal, just a hoodlum running around without a license that they'll probably pick up the next day. Yeah, this wasn't Kawai's day .

Well, at least Todo-chan got to live his dream as a motorcycle officer and Kawai has Fuji as a drinking buddy .

[grecefar]

This chapter was full of comedy, poor kawai she was running all the chapter for nothing lol.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by grecefar

This chapter was full of comedy, poor kawai she was running all the chapter for nothing lol.

I think what did it for me is when she had no idea why she was chasing him and when she got frustrated that a citizen pointed her in the direction of where the guy went when she was ready to give up .

[SeijiSensei]

I liked the similar scene with the little children. There was no way she was going to embarrass herself in front of elementary schoolers.

[Kanon]

Felt pretty bad for Kawai this entire episode. Didn't stop me from laughing though. She tried from her responsibilities but she's still pretty bad at it. Should have gone all the way and pretend not to have seen the dude. Working the traffic lights would have probably been far easier. In a way, she was still lucky though, since as she pointed out herself, she had no weapon on her.

Fuji and the other dude just assuming the old man was dead and looking at trees he could hang from or cliffs he could have fallen off was a little bit dark

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Felt pretty bad for Kawai this entire episode. Didn't stop me from laughing though. She tried from her responsibilities but she's still pretty bad at it. Should have gone all the way and pretend not to have seen the dude. Working the traffic lights would have probably been far easier. In a way, she was still lucky though, since as she pointed out herself, she had no weapon on her.

When you're considering using a color stick as a stun baton .

[grecefar]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Fuji and the other dude just assuming the old man was dead and looking at trees he could hang from or cliffs he could have fallen off was a little bit dark

so that's why there were those pointing arrows, man I didn't catch that lol.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Fuji and the other dude just assuming the old man was dead and looking at trees he could hang from or cliffs he could have fallen off was a little bit dark

Nope, they were looking for predatory birds flying on circles,that would mean there is a carcass, an 81 old might not have as much meat as a cow, but nevertheless it would be a feast for crows and the like.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

Nope, they were looking for predatory birds flying on circles,that would mean there is a carcass, an 81 old might not have as much meat as a cow, but nevertheless it would be a feast for crows and the like.

That makes sense. In any case, it's sad how desensitized they are to the whole thing.

[Yu Ominae]

That's sadly how things go in the police/military. You get used to horrific things that if you don't try to tell someone (like a psychiatrist), you could go off your rocker and get PTSD or suicide.

[Kanon]

It seemed more like they were blasé about the whole thing here. Having to look for an 80 year old man when they hadn't even slept the night before. They didn't care about him and just wanted to wrap this up quickly so they could rest. They even ignored blatant stuff like evidence of a crime and an illegal dumping ground because it would have added extra work.