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“The Cursed Man, Part 1”A Two-Part Mystery, Including the Audience: For the first time, Sakurako-san is breaking the episodic routine and bringing the audience into the yet-to-be-solved mystery. I was expecting this season to cover twelve unrelated stories, but as it turns out we’re already getting a two-part mystery – though I don’t actually know if it will be two, three, or four parts, but my assumption right now is two. As a result, this episode was all set-up, but it was good set-up that has me excited for what’s to come. Because we’re given twice the time with this current case, we don’t need to rush through the details or have Sakurako come to an early conclusion without the audience being able to ponder on the clues. This time around, we, the audience, are given snippets of information – some key, some likely red herrings – to encourage us to get involved in this mystery and actually make us think. Episodic stories like the previous three are fine when done well, but when mysteries carry over into multiple episodes it often ends up feeling like there’s a lot more substance to what’s going on, and that’s just what happened in this week’s episode. What We Know: There’s a few details I’d like to cover about this curse mystery, but first off I’d like to point out how relieved I am that Sakurako’s recycled concentration mode was left out this week. There wasn’t a time for it to be inserted, but its absence was enough for me to enjoy this episode a hell of a lot more. It’s a little nitpick, in truth, but what seemed cool the first time around has become an annoyance. However, I do expect it to return next week when Sakurako does her thing. It’s good that this current case is involving newly introduced characters, places, and themes. This feels a lot different from the previous three that tended to focus mainly on Shoutarou, Sakurako, and a dead body. However, like the others, this one does tie to another existing cast member, the local police officer, Utsumi. He’s a bit of a goof, but likeable enough, and his contrast from Sakurako and Shoutarou makes for an entertaining dynamic. But it’s Fujioka Takeshi (Hirakawa Daisuke), his wife, and Hector, their allegedly cursed dog who are our main focus here. The premise is a simple yet morbid one: the men in Takeshi’s family are said to be cursed, all having died relatively young. Takeshi is now of the age where he expects to bite the bullet, and believes that his death is approaching. That’s when Sakurako and Shoutarou are brought in, and they – and we, the audience – start to familiarise with Takeshi’s lush home, his surroundings, his habits, and what he believes is going to happen. Of course, Sakurako is skeptical of curses, and for most of the episode she silently watches, most likely to apply logic to this bizarre situation. Part of me was worried that we’d be delving into the supernatural from this point on, but I’m confident that Sakurako will continue to solve these mysteries with logic and reason. I can’t say I know what exactly is going on, but there’s a few details worth pointing out, some key, some minor. First off, Takeshi is certainly up to something. I’m not sure he entirely believes in all these curses, or whether that stranger that stood outside his home and met him on the road is involved in this. His family before him seemed to have died from legitimate, albeit rare, circumstances, but I can’t help feel there’s something murderous going on here. Is it possible he’s physically ill, or is it just his smoking habit that’s causing the cough? But apparently the curses don’t end with the family line, as both Hector and a yet-to-be-seen landscape painting are said to be cursed. Sakurako bring up the painting at the end of the episode, which means it’s likely to play a role in what’s going on here, but as for the deaths caused by the pleasant, glowing dog… I just don’t know. It’s all so bizarre that it’s hard for me to apply reason to this situation. Thankfully, that’s what Sakurako is here for. This is the first time where I’m actually looking forward to hearing her deductions and seeing if she can get to the bottom of this. The clues are all there, so hopefully the resolution should appear more obvious in hindsight. That’s what makes a good mystery for me – when the hints are there, and the answer can be worked out if you piece them together, but you can’t quite envision the final picture until it’s finally revealed. Anything that’s too obvious isn’t fun to watch, as is the case when the details aren’t shown and the audience is never given the opportunity to figure it out for themselves. Overview – What’s Next?: I don’t know how this is all going to turn out, but I’m excited to see the answers to the questions brought up. Hopefully these curses are proven as circumstances, or that there is something intentional going on behind the scenes. It’s bound to involve the painting and the dog – whether they were scapegoats or not is yet to be seen, but I’m grateful that we’ve got an extra week to mull over this mystery before Sakurako works her magic. But now that I think about it, where do bones come into play here? Other than the butterflies in the living room painting (which are apparently drawn to corpses) there was no hint of dead bodies in this week’s episode. I expect all shall be revealed next time around. |
I’m thinking of the same thing as Sakurako-san. No such thing as curses unless your mind becomes unstable, and plays tricks on you.
So my guess on why all the men in Fujioka’s household died from their 30s to 50s.
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https://randomc.net/image/Sakurako-san%20no%20Ashimoto%20ni%20wa%20Shitai%20ga%20Umatteiru/Sakurako-san%20no%20Ashimoto%20ni%20wa%20Shitai%20ga%20Umatteiru%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
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oh fuck me. lead paint
Or arsenic. Remember there’s a ton of green in the cursed painting.
If we’re looking at arsenic then some things could be coming together. There are a bunch of research papers out there suggesting certain arsenic compounds can be useful in alleviating asthma symptoms. It could be that the men of the family have been using the painting as a good luck charm, which others see as cursed, to reduce hereditary asthma symptoms without knowing that their alleviated breathing problems were being replaced by poisoning themselves.
There’s a big chance you’re right, but at the same time there must something else behind all this. Surely?
I agree, and I have my explanation as well for it:
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Dropped this after I noticed that the ingredients-list of my bag of chips was more interesting than what was on my monitor.
Your loss.
I realized I want to see this show have a cross-over with Tasogare Otome x Amnesia. Sakurako loves bones, especially human ones, and Yuuko is very embarrassed to have anyone observe them closely. It would be fun.
Sakurako is pretty much Sherlock Holmes. I was drawn in by this mystery.
Also, Hector is cute. His lovable appearance plus affectionateness are probably the culprit, not a curse.
I appreciate them trying to change the formular and splitting it up but this time I’m not the biggest fan of the story so far. The ones before, while episodic, felt fresh. Or at least to some degree.
This time around I couldn’t shake the strong feeling I’ve seen this exact episode before. I don’t remember exactly where but the setup including the dog really reminded me of older Detective Conan mysteries.
The cake is a lie!
Something to do with disease that can last for generations?
A little voice in my head is chanting “Anthrax, anthrax, anthrax,….” but there’s no basis for that in this episode so far..
https://randomc.net/image/Sakurako-san%20no%20Ashimoto%20ni%20wa%20Shitai%20ga%20Umatteiru/Sakurako-san%20no%20Ashimoto%20ni%20wa%20Shitai%20ga%20Umatteiru%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
The fact that Hector is considered to be a cursed dog does not add up to his literally glowing being. I want to think he is going to prevent Fujioka’s death.
Is Hector a Samoyed? He sure looks like one. They are incredibly fluffy and arctic white (and also friendly). A Samoyed definitely stands out optically in a pool of sunlight in an otherwise gloomy house. They don’t do that well in really warm climates, but Hokkaido is cooler than Tokyo so one should do OK there.
Anyway, regarding Hector: if he’s attracted to the “smell of death” — i.e. VOCs emitted by decomposition — then perhaps he’s attracted to the faint chemical traces of VOCs from the dead animals that Sakurako has handled and are likely still lingering on her clothes and body? There are also dogs that have been trained to detect VOCs released by illnesses within the human body (including cancer) (reference: http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2012/06/how_dogs_detect_cancer_other_d.html) so perhaps Hector is picking up on some sickness of Takeshi’s.
He looks like a Samoyed to me too. That would be my first guess.
I had an American Eskimo before and they grow up to be pretty big too…
My problem is that there is probably some esoteric reason why they have early deaths. Because of that, there is no way, given the information the viewer has, to figure out the answer. IMO really good mysteries give you enough information to figure it out before the reveal.
My guess on the stranger is that he has something to do with Takeshi trying to provide for his family which may or may not be legal.
I just have a feeling that Hector is going to wind up as Sakurako’s dog.
I’m starting to think Hector is the same dog that appears in the OP sequence with Grandma, so most likely Sakurako will end up owning him. I kinda hope it does happen 🙂
is it me or the epiode(s) are a homage to the Doyle’s “The Hound of Baskervilles”?