Un-Go - Episode 5

Having picked up a new addition to his "team" in the form of AI with awkward dress sense Kazamori, our "defeated detective" finds himself putting this newcomer to good use as we enter another one-shot story arc of Un-Go.

The story in question begins with a reminiscence of the past from pro-war leader of the Rising Sun group Hakurou Shimada, as he recounts the day three of his members saved countless people from an attempted terrorist bombing by driving the explosives away from the area of danger at the cost of their own lives.  While many are enraptured by this story as a statue is unveiled to commemorate the incident, former members of the Rising Sun group who have defected protest outside, while Shinjurou has nothing but disdain for what he sees a pure, simple waste of life no matter the circumstances.

It's this disdain which blinds Shinjurou from the truth as he discovers two dead bodies hidden within the statue - his conviction that Shimada must be the man responsible leads to him unwisely using Inga to make his grand pronouncement, only for the answer to her question leaving him shocked and disproving his theory.  Not accustomed to this feeling, Shinjurou looks all set to quit, before eventually seeing sense after Kazamori points out to our protagonist that his assumption that he'd never do anything to help anyone is actually almost wholly incorrect.  Thus, a second stab at solving the case sees Shinjurou come good, while also finding the opportunity to expose Shimada for what he is in the process.


While not quite as sharp or fascinating as its previous story arc, there was still a lot to like about this week's Un-Go - we got to learn another slither or two of information about Shinjurou, and perhaps more importantly we got a more concrete sense of the nature of his relationship with Inga.  This was backed up by a reasonably interesting story that had sufficient twists and turns to entertain and get you thinking, while also actually giving the viewer enough rope to hang their deductions by for once, even allowing our genius detective to prove his human fallibility in the process.  It might not jump out at you and scream from the rooftops of its quality, but there's still enjoyment and some nifty story-telling to be had from watching Un-Go without a doubt.