Un-Go - 03 - Paper Bag Family Part I

I was pleased with a two-part episode for Un-Go in hopes of a more interesting mystery with more detective work, instead of the quick deduction and relatively fast case-solving methods. This episode's case looks promising and was delivered very well, but I cant help but think it could turn out to be a let-down. It was a good episode nonetheless with a solid pace and enough screen time for everyone.

The first 5 minutes of the episode introduces us to the mystery, of what seems to be a curse on a mute member of the Sasa family, following a few strange occurrences in the house. I was very pleased with the way the mystery was introduced. They did a good job using devices such as eerie music, random blackouts, instant creeper messages from Kazamori, crazy paper bag masks to cover the identity of two characters, and a somewhat secretive intro to Kazamori and the doctor.

Flashback time! After being thrown into some sort of post-war setting, we get a little insight to the events that lead to the destruction in Japan. It appears the cases in the show all seem to have some relevance to the effects of the war. It makes sense and is a wonderful root for all the problems and cases to appear, all these cases are realistic with the war having serious effects upon the people and the industries of Japan. While the case itself was interesting, the highlight of Yuuki's deductions was non other than the humorous surprise twist at the end. I know I didn't see it coming, however it clearly made sense with all the hints portrayed throughout the episode.

Its so funny, yet so disrespectful.

One thing I mostly enjoyed was the amount of childish humor from Inga, I can't count how many times I laughed from his crazy outgoing personality. Inga is so easily entertained, the panda outfit, super happy smile, bells, and somewhat dark side when he transforms, makes such an awesome character.

Where exactly were you?

Once again mention of Yuuki not being in the country during important matters, that's the second time he's mentioned this, I wonder if it will develop into something important, where was he anyway, and what was he doing? On a different note, I was pleased that Rie had plenty of screen time, since she was almost non-existent in last week's episode, I wonder if she will turn out to be of relationship interest with Yuuki.

I would almost prefer two-part episodes since it allows the producers to fully present each case's characters. One example of this is the amount of expressions from Mitsuko Sasa as she shows acknowledgement of Inga's humor in part with her feelings about the apparent curse. These subtle personalities were very much absent from Darker than Black with each new character appearing without much background or much personality. I really cant wait to see how they wrap up the mystery this time, after learning about Koizumi, and with all the secretive themes surrounding the Sasa family, I really can't wait to find how Yuuki will work this out.

~Djr7