Ranpo Kitan – Game of Laplace Episode 5: Well…that was boring

I’m really upset about this week’s episode. Not only was the entire episode spent on Kagami’s past, his story ended up being really generic for vigilante killer. Basically, he was a bright-eyed detective who had his sense of justice corrupted seeing the legal system fail to protect the one he loved most…thus, he took the law into his own hands. I’ve sometimes wondered whether I would do the same thing in his position (I’ve been fortunate enough to dodge that scenario). Still, does the legal system really allow the insanity plea that much?

What am I supposed to make of the final scene in the episode? Based on the story from Kagami, it’s obvious that he wasn’t the original Twenty Faces…the real one will likely be the main focus of the series based on the opening song stuff I mentioned last week. My hypothesis from what we’ve seen so far is that Twenty Faces somehow pulls the strings of vengeance for those who have lost loved ones to criminals who have walked free, basically encouraging the copycats to exist by preying on their weak moment. However, there is a crucial weakness in this hypothesis because there was no indication that Kagami ever met Twenty Faces. He willingly took the name himself. Maybe that part of the story is missing? Or maybe there’s just something else entirely going on…