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Perfect Formula, Unfortunate Product
It’s not uncommon to see media, whether they’re movies, TV shows, novels or games, that follow a tried-and-true formula, often changing it to fit their needs or to try to make it more interesting. What’s not so often seen is an end product whose good and bad parts are almost 50/50, with what good it has being great, and the not-so-good side failing disastrously at times. This is what The Perfect Insider is, a modified formula that has most of its original components fall flat on their face, and triumphs in the use of what was borrowed from somewhere else.
Episodes 1-2 Review
Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider is an adaptation of one of the stories (Everything Becomes F) in the S&M series of novels penned by Hiroshi Mori. The author, as of this writing, is a 58 year old former researcher and associate professor in the department of architecture at Mie University. Among others of his titles is The Sky Crawlers series, which was brought to the silver screen as a single movie by director Mamoru Oshii — well known by many due to the Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell: Innocence films.
This book series, as well as its numerous adaptations, falls into the genre of murder mystery and follows the teacher and student pair, Sohei Saikawa and Moe Nishinosono, as they stumble with different cases and solve them. This kind of set up is fairly common, with some of the most well known examples of such pairings being that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson or Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings. Those who have read a few of Arthur Conan Doyle’s and Agatha Christie’s stories, would know that these kind of main characters tend to come off more as caricatures of the insufferable genius that sees most people as dawdling dolts, and (according to them) with good reason because they’re capable of solving those puzzling cases through means that no other would’ve even thought about. The sidekick, on the other hand, usually represents the more approachable everyman that aids the investigation, either by doing menial work or by being told how and why things happened the way they did.
Saikawa and Nishinosono follow the insufferable genius/sidekick trope to some extent.
Professor Saikawa and Miss Nishinosono follow that trope to some extent. Saikawa is an associate professor in the department of architecture at the National N University. This “insufferable genius” has under his wing a group of students, and among them is Moe Nishinosono, a cute and smart 20 year old girl. She comes from a rich, well-connected family and has been infatuated with the professor since she was in fifth grade, after her parents died in some accident. Unlike Dr. Watson and Arthur Hastings, Nishinosono isn’t quite the “everyman,” since she is considered a genius — just not as great as Saikawa — and has traits that play with the fact that she comes from high society, like having a butler, expecting everyone to take care of her luggage, never having held a knife, driving a bright red Alfa Romeo, and wearing flashy clothing.
Sohei Saikawa also isn’t exactly Sherlock/Poirot, since he is not a professional detective or investigator of any sort. Instead, he’s a scholar with rather curious similarities with the author. There’s also the difference that his classic counterparts, although owning narcissistic tendencies, had eccentricities that gave them a charm that readers still like to this day. In Saikawa’s case, what we get as his eccentricity feels more annoying than charming.
Let me illustrate this with a scene from the first episode: Moe Nishinosono comes to his office, makes coffee, and asks him “Are you feeling better now?”, after he spent three hours in a meeting that could’ve taken only one (according to Saikawa). Skipping some short back and forth, this is what triggers a short monologue about how growing up and living in society has clouded his mind, “complicating [his] thoughts and restricting their freedom” and concludes that “humans are programmed to become dumber as they age.”
One might argue that this is an observation of our society’s current educational and socioeconomic system, but honestly, that is not the context here; and what is supposed to be a profound and smart observation seems more out of place than anything else. This is followed by Nishinosono asking if they could go on a date, to which he says “I’m bad with promises”, then proceeds to wonder out loud if he’s the same man he was yesterday or a different one who only booted up the Sohei Saikawa operative system and is playing a part. Gosh! He’s a keeper!
Now onto the plot of the anime itself. Some time before the story started, Nishinosono, thanks to her contacts, was able to get an interview via video conference with Dr. Shiki Magata, a brilliant programmer. Dr. Magata has secluded herself inside her laboratory on Himaka Island for the past 15 years, after murdering both her parents at the age of 14, yet was considered not guilty because she was “non compos mentis” (i.e., “not of sound mind”) due to suffering from dissociative identity disorder (previously known as “multiple personality disorder”).
It turns out that Saikawa is a huge fan of Lady Murder, going so far as calling her “the only person I know who can legitimately be called a genius”, much to the chagrin of his enamored follower. To make matters more interesting, there will be a seminar trip in the near future and they’re yet to pick a place to go to; Nishinosono believes this to be an opportunity to gain some ground on her quest for love and quickly makes the arrangements for the trip to be to Himaka Island, near the Magata Research Institute, where Magata is being kept.
During the trip, at some point they need to get onboard a boat to get to the secluded island where the labs are located. On it the pair have a conversation with Yamane, the vice-director of the facility, and are given a quick breakdown of the place: The boat they’re on only goes to the island if called upon, the lab has a private network, cell phones don’t get signal, the researchers live in their labs but can leave when they want, and that Magata (who never leaves her lab/room) can only be contacted through recorded and heavily monitored channels, since she’s the most important asset they have.
Skipping some scenes, and Saikawa’s musings about how the hikikomori life is the best way to live, Nishinosono (with the Prof. in tow) fibs and flirts her way into the institute to meet Dr. Magata, who has been out of contact for days now. Things get exciting when, after an apparent system malfunction, everyone has gathered in front of the doctor’s door to see it suddenly open, followed by a very pale looking Magata riding an automated tray cart that slowly rolls her out. The shocker: she’s dead.
The Perfect Insider‘s first two episodes do a thorough job of presenting the main players, telling you who they are, what they think about, what they do, and even what they like and dislike. They were also pieced together in a way that makes it interesting and entertaining to watch; even the flashbacks to the interview and of the life of the younger Magata were put at moments in the episode where it felt natural for them to be there. On the other hand, at this point I felt more aversion than fondness for the cast, but it was (temporarily) pushed aside because how everything was structured felt just right. This proves to be one of the best selling points of this show, and it’s maintained throughout.
Episodes 3-6 Review
Once it’s revealed that Magata was not only dead but murdered, a series of events occur that land us with the dead doctor’s estranged sister in the facility, and Director Seiji Shindo (and uncle of the deceased) stabbed to death inside the helicopter he arrived in, with its radio smashed. Our heroes decide to finally venture inside the room the corpse wheeled out of, to find a small robot whose only function is locking and unlocking a door. But more intriguing are the series of short messages left in the computer by — apparently — the multiple personalities living within the doctor.
The deepening mystery and new revelations came at a price though. I found myself sitting through scenes where Moe Nishinosono stays true to her first name and gushes all over her favorite unsociable teacher. Then there’s also the part where Saikawa goes on his tirade of “wanting to be free of social chains,” thus rationalizing his own infatuation with the murdered Lady Murderer. Yes, the discussion of being “fed up” with society is a valid one, but the context in which these occur bears little resemblance to anything other than a grown man acting like a teenage boy trying to look “cool.”
The case proves to be a lot more enjoyable than the characters around it.
As much as this show is about solving a freak murder case, it also is about those trying to solve it. The problem stems from the fact that not only does the case itself prove to be a lot more enjoyable than the characters around it, but also that these characters fail to be interesting and are irritating to boot. That’s not to say that every character interaction is a groan-fest; these tend to be well executed, but it’s when they’re trying to say something “deep” that they can get infuriatingly dumb.
Episodes 7-9 Review
The Perfect Insider reaches a climax when it’s exposed that Shiki Magata is still alive and the corpse turns out to be her daughter’s. Things get even more complicated when it’s found that she was in the facility all along, yet managed to escape with nobody noticing until too late. The case has now evolved from a “how did it happen?” into a “why did it happen?,” giving rise to other questions that come with it: Why did she kill her parents? Why did she kill her uncle, who was also her lover and accomplice? Why did she murder her only daughter after this long? And on top of those, why F? It’s these questions that drive the last part of the investigation.
The details of how it happened, although some are not very easy to follow (with more than one being rather obtuse), are some of the most interesting and fun things the show has to offer. The revealing, more than what is revealed, is where this show thrives, and for that I won’t talk much further about it.
As before, whenever Saikawa and his student find themselves alone, the scene can be very hit or miss, with most misses being when they talk about themselves. But in this batch of episodes, Nishinosono has some good scenes when she’s talking about the death of her parents, despite the Prof. being there.
Episodes 10-11 Review
To some, the importance of the ending is not as great as the journey that leads to it. To others, myself included, the ending is the most important part of a story, and when it suffers it can potentially bring everything down.
The answers pushed me away instead of reeling me in.
Once Saikawa and Nishinosono make contact with Shiki Magata through some magic VR machine terminals, the last step of the investigation takes place in a very similar manner to a Poirot novel. That is, the investigator gathers all the suspects in a room and reveals who among them is the criminal. It’s in this event where the “whys” and “hows” are answered, and the answers pushed me away instead of reeling me in. Most of the questions are answered, from the murder of Magata’s parents to the murder of her daughter; but the reasoning behind the perpetrator’s actions, who is supposed to be a super genius — greater than even Saikawa — seems half-baked and poorly conceived. It’s this that the audience is supposed to swallow with the meager justification of, and I’m not kidding, “This person is a genius!”
Although disappointing, the ending of The Perfect Insider has a few shining moments. The first time through this anime, the reveal of the guilty party in the last episodes felt unexpected to me; but going through it again, the audience does get enough material to guess who’s “the bad guy,” making the reveal make more sense instead of just raising eyebrows in confusion. This is an aspect that many readers of murder mystery novels enjoy partaking in, and it can be a letdown when, in retrospect, the audience can’t play a part of that game. The other highlight is in the epilogue, when Saikawa and Nishinosono have a heart-to-heart conversation about Moe’s father, Saikawa’s old professor. This scene serves to paint the main character as something other than a brooding 13 year old with delusions of grandeur, and instead portray him (even if just barely) as a man capable of caring for his closest student.
In conclusion, The Perfect Insider is not a bad show, but to call it “good” would feel like giving it a recommendation when that’s not exactly the case. The obvious third option is to label it “mediocre,” yet it has many aspects that I like, such as how the story unfolds, which managed to keep me interested for a good chunk of the run despite its other misgivings. There’s also the art style, animation, and music that I find commendable but can easily pass unnoticed.
What this leaves me with are two “grades” for it. This is a “good” show if the viewer’s intention is more “academic” in nature; that is to say, he or she is interested in trying to see how the machinery underneath works, while experiencing an “okay” story. If the intention is being entertained by a smart and satisfying story, then it’s simply a “not bad” pick — bearing in mind there are better ones out there, with some examples being Monster or even Death Note.
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