Un-Go

By: Robert Murphy

It’s always a bit of a daunting task to create a good mystery style show especially in anime as often times the main character is usually a world renowned detective who is the smartest person in the room. Un-Go has this about half right as Shinjurrou Yuuki works on many cases throughout a war torn Japan but sadly his nickname as the “Defeated Detective” has him seen in low regards. This does not deter him in the slightest however as it is not fame he is looking for but rather the truth behind every situation he comes across. This in turn ends up revealing some of the secrets that have no come from this nation under attack and even though the fighting is over there is still unrest throughout the land.

The first couple of episodes for Un-Go had me completely flabbergasted if I’m being honest, the core idea for the serious was obviously a mystery anime but it featured an odd supernatural element. The first few mysteries that Yuuki had to solve were nothing extraordinary but they were intriguing enough to a point that made me want to find more out about the series. This is because by the end of the first episode it is obvious that this “Defeated Detective” is obviously much more capable than people think he is but because of the way the world works, he is snubbed. What I mean by this is the post war society we find ourselves in has gone a little backwards and is now acting more in a restrict and confined way. Things such as social media, lewd behavior and other acts are looked on with strict scrutiny and there are even centers for dangerous thinkers and people who have behaved poorly in some way. And so much of what Yuuki ends up doing reveals this sort of nature of the world so rather than being right, which he often is, you get sucked up into the actual world around you.

The style in which the episodes are presented always revolves around some new mystery that Yuuki is either invited to join in on the case or people come to him for help because they know he is actually far more skilled than most people think. I do wish that this weren’t the case though as every episode didn’t need a brand new case to be solved every single time. The second half of the series sort of drops this mechanic to the story but that’s only because the cases need two or more episodes to be solved in the first place. That being said, this is where the show really starts to shine as the cases have more time to breathe and do not feel entirely rushed through to make the 22 minute run time. Although these last episodes delve further into the supernatural elements to the story they are nonetheless very interesting pieces to the overall world. Yuuki is able to solve the mysteries but he does stumble and make mistakes, which is what makes his character easier to watch than most genius type characters you come across.

Sometimes this factor is not even the show lengths part but rather the fault lies with Yuuki’s young/older sidekick, Inga. Inga has the appearance of a young boy most of the time but can transform into an older woman with the power and yearning to ask one question of the suspect that Yuuki chooses and they have no choice to answer it truthfully. So basically a detectives dream but the urge for her to devour the souls of the person Yuuki chooses often comes at inconvenient times and it makes certain episodes feel rather rushed. While other time her powers to create some intrigue I felt that Inga was just a bit of a detraction for a series that was already doing moderately well with out this supernatural lie detector.

I’m a bit torn once again, Un-Go presented an intrigue war torn style Japan, buildings were knocked over, government sanctions were enacted and a few other curious aspects to the overall world that had me wrapped up in it all as Yuuki unveiled more and more of it. On the other hand there is the supernatural aspects to the story that are never fully explained, the ending to the series is where Yuuki tells all about where he and Inga met and why they travel together but it still leaves too much unsaid. Perhaps if the series had a longer run time and things had more time to be explained then everything would have gone better but as it stands Un-Go is a show that lacks a certain something to be considered good.

Good:

- Yuuki and his role of “Defeated Detective”

- The cases were all intriguing even the supernatural ones

- The post war Japan environment

Bad:

- Inga and other supernatural beings aren’t explained well

- The supernatural angle itself detracts from the story

- Almost every episode had a new case which was sometimes rushed through

Scully Rating: 5.8 out of 10