UN-GO follows Shinjuurou, a detective, and his partner Inga, as they solve crimes in an alternate-history dystopian Japan.
UN-GO was my second favorite series of the season, after Penguindrum. I’ve already ranted at length about why I love this show so much in my weekly posts, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Continue reading UN-GO Review — A-
You’ll notice that all the pictures for this post are HIGHLY RELEVANT to the topic at hand.
It was a great ending, as expected. UN-GO really knows how to do a mystery right. It tells you just enough so that you can figure out some things on your own, but not so much that you’ll to solve the entire thing.
In this final arc, for example, I was able to guess that the Diet girl was in on things and that it wasn’t Kaishou who appeared after the gunshots. But other things escaped me completely, especially how each person was involved with the crime. It’s not like they pulled anything out of thin air though: thinking back, the explanations all made perfect sense.
A good mystery should give enough clues so that the viewer can deduce parts of the solution, and tell enough so that the final solution makes sense. But it shouldn’t give away so much that all the mysteries become obvious *cough* Gosick *cough*. UN-GO excels at information control.
UN-GO has this great flair when it reveals its mysteries too. The removal of Kaishou’s costume, especially, was beautifully executed. I knew that the person who walked in wasn’t Kaishou, but I had no idea that Kaishou was actually the cameraman!
The finale could have probably used another episode though. Hell, I’d like to see another season for this show (ok, fine, what I really want is for Diet girl to get her own spinoff political drama). But a few things felt kind of off.
First, Kaishou’s whole spiel about thermal energy and eliminating borders just came out of nowhere. That topic could have used a some more buildup.
The fight with Inga was kind of random as well. Not to imply that it wasn’t enjoyable to watch. Just… Bettenou and Inga’s relationship wasn’t done justice by the brief explanation given. Something about kamikazes and not being a true god… but I can’t say I really understood what that was all about.
Finally, having Shinjuurou chat with Rie was a weird and inconclusive way to end the show. They even drifted away from the conversation when it was just getting started! Hopefully the creators are setting themselves up for a sequel. I doubt it though.
All in all, though, a great end for a great show.
Do I have a favorite character? I don’t know what you’re talking about.
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“What is truth?” — John 18:38
Hey Rie, way to hijack both the conversation and your father’s funeral to hit on Shinjuurou! Continue reading UN-GO 10 — Lies, Damned Lies, and Bettenou
I always thought Diet was such an awesome name. My favorite Diet is the Diet of Worms. Continue reading UN-GO 09 — A Call to (the) Diet
Last week, jreding pointed out that the characters from UN-GO can actually be pretty cute. Now that I was looking out for it this week, I can say that they really are adorable. Check out this scene where Rie volunteers to be Izumi’s assistant:
Rie’s adorable! In the first screenshot, you can see a slight flush to her cheek. She’s determined to go, but subconsciously embarrassed at what she’s wearing. When it’s pointed out that the maid costume is completely unnecessary, she gives a full blush, but simultaneously knits her brow in anger. Continue reading UN-GO 08 — Jailhouse Moe