Ranpo Kitan Episode 8: Strange Tale of Panorama Island Part 2 - Bobble Reviews

We are off to a riveting start.

NURRRRRRRRRDS.

In Part the First, everyone went to this tacky adult theme park in progress. That's all. In Part This the Second, the murder gets solved! The intro was just part of an almost-totally-unconnected flashback to when Akechi, currently an Astounding Youth Ace Detective, went on his digital demon-creating stint. Put that aside, because for now it's back to today's murder by mannequin-crushing!

Handled with our usual care, grace...and laffs!!!!!!!

It was a murder. It wasn't an accident.

Sssshhhhhhhhiiiiiiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.

YOU saw it.

It would be both amusing and astounding if there was no complex reason behind this murder, if the mannequins were, indeed...just...too........creepy.

No, it's because she and her co-worker were taken advantage of by the old boss dudes.

UWAAAAAAAAAUGH!!

There's more to it than that, but it's nothing that would make me say, "Gee, I sure am glad this show brought me to the shady dealings and rich atmosphere of Panorama Island." Because — let's be clear — it did not. It's related to the big vengeful-killing circle that is the Twenty Faces persona, and that ties it into the series, but did it enliven the narrative? Eh.

I mean, Kobayashi didn't even get to swim at the crime scene! Haw haw hawww, you darling!

The whole second half is a continuation of the flashback with Akechi as a kid who was really really smart. He talks about how he met just one other kid who was really really smart, and how he was the only person he ever had a falling-out with. It lasted all of twenty seconds. It was a war of words.

He was such a smart kid.

NURRRRRRRRRRRRRDS.

I still don't understand exactly what they did, and I think the episode doesn't want me to. So let me explain from square one. Kaworu here in the whitish hair wanted to make a demon based on the concept of (names!) Laplace's Demon (names!!!!!), except this demon would be named Dark Star, but do the same thing, i.e. have perfect knowledge of everything everywhere, basically. Now, Kaworu wanted to accomplish this by writing down algebraic formulas, as well as occasionally resorting to 3D computer graphing technology. Got it? Good.

In the end, Akechi Shinji and Good Friend did it! They created Dark Star! Wait, no they didn't. But they created the perfect formula! But Akechi says it's not perfect. But Kaworu says it is! And they argued! And the perfect formula created Twenty Faces!

Which means that Twenty Faces is the ultimate answer to the perfect equation.
Keep in mind that Twenty Faces is literally just a persona for vigilante justice.

Yeah no shit TWENTY FACES KILLS PEOPLE

So then Kaworu, having succeeded (but not?), assumed the role of Twenty Faces for the first time. Shinji didn't like that. Then Kaworu set himself on fire. Then eventually more Twenty Faces came up. Blah blah blah the end. I repeat: Ranpo Kitan does not want me to make sense out of this. Probably not you either. But it feels like it wants me so desperately to be awed.

That's nice, kid, now run along.