The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED

Episode 5

If The Millionaire Detective has one major problem as a detective show, it's that the solution to nearly all of its cases is blatantly obvious almost from the start. It's not like a formula in a crime show, like how the villain is always the second person they interview or how wherever the sleuth goes there will be a murder even if (or perhaps especially if) it's an idyllic location whose slogan is “We've Never Ever Had a Murder Here, Ever!” Instead it's a moment where the camera lingers just a little too long on a seemingly random object or there's something distinctly off about a person or a thing. Last week it was the too-casual mention of the breeder the dog originally came from (implying the boy would need a new dog), the week before the total lack of blood around a supposed corpse, and this week it's the huge, clunky star the custodian is wearing around his neck. Even if Annoying Pink Haired Lady's baffling comment about it being “stylish” wasn't enough to draw our attention to it, the fact that such a big deal was made of the old man sweeping up near the Modern Crimes Unit's people would have been a major indicator of him having to do with the ultimate solution to the case.

But even without a plot device that makes it feel like someone who works on the show has been hitting the hidden object games too hard, this isn't a particularly excellent example of what the series can do. In large part this is because the episode has Daisuke and Haru working separately. Their dynamic is one aspect of the series that does work because it throws both of them at least slightly off-balance, even if Daisuke doesn't always show it. The resolution does require that they be in two separate places, and it does do a good job of reminding us of the very different skills sets they bring to the table, but their almost complete lack of interaction robs the episode of some of its entertainment value.

On the other hand, we get some additional insight into Daisuke and why he wants to distance himself from the Kambe family. The leader of fictional South American nation Polidor (or Polydoll as it's spelled on the embassy) is very clearly a bad guy, even if he technically isn't the bad guy of the episode, and he's apparently had dealings with the Kambes for years; in fact, it's this cozy relationship that's enabled, or at least emboldened, him to put forth the plan he's in Japan to promote: building a dam and submerging indigenous ruins. (Apparently Polidor doesn't have an established tourism industry surrounding its cultural heritage.) He was supposed to meet with Daisuke's grandmother to discuss business, but an illness meant that Daisuke had to fill in instead. He's clearly not happy, with his usual coldness taking on a few additional degrees of chill every time he has to talk to the man; in fact, I have to wonder if he'd even bother saving him were he not attached to the police. Whether Granny is faking sick to force Daisuke into taking her place because she hopes to convince him to change his mind about inheriting the family business or because she knows he'll shut the dictator down (or if she's actually sick) isn't clear, but Daisuke would plainly rather be out with Haru than stuck inside. That he's also starting to see the consequences of his choices in the fact that he doesn't have the clearance to see the bomb plans is another good detail of this episode, and one that will bear keeping an eye on going forward.

But what's most interesting this week is the idea of what the crime is. Ricardo, the man who tried to kill the leader of Polidor, only wanted to take out the leader; he had to settle for killing Daisuke and the other bodyguard (and the chef who saw him open the bomb) because it was unavoidable once his plan was in motion. But he was doing it to prevent another crime: the destruction of his people's cultural heritage. There are plenty of real-world parallels that we could make here, but the point is that Ricardo saw the “murder of one or two guys” as a lesser offense than “erasure of indigenous history,” and it's not all that hard to see why when viewed from a certain angle. He saw it as an acceptable sacrifice (of himself as well) to prevent a greater loss. It's a debate that the show declines to elaborate on, but it's also one worth thinking about, because had the episode taken things just a little farther, it would have been able to rise above some of its pulpier elements just by making the audience think.

Oh well. At least the cat was okay.

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The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED is currently streaming on Funimation.