Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo - Ginmaku no Satsujinki (Ep 84 - 87)

With regards to this case, I only remembered that I had watched it before after going through 2 episodes. As such, the resolution didn't surprise me at all since I had a faint impression of where the story was heading.

What I found rather amusing was the reference to KinKi Kids' Doumoto Tsuyoshi who was the first generation Kindaichi Hajime in the real-life drama and movie adaptation. The setting was that Hayami Reika, a top idol whose presence constantly causes tension between Kindaichi and Miyuki, happened to star in a movie with Tsuyoshi and there was a steamy kissing scene between them which made Kindaichi quite jealous. Usually, when real-life figures are mentioned in animes, the reference would be made indirectly with changes to the name or image of the character but to name Tsuyoshi so blatantly was quite a "daring" attempt at that time, given that he doesn't have a reputation for acting in such lovey-dovey scenes.

Anyway, this is what gets the story going as Miyuki's indignance for Kindaichi's attention on Reika, spurs her to accept a role impulsively in an amateur movie made by some senior high students. And of course, the usual drill would be Kindaichi, Miyuki plus Fumi this time round, gets embroiled in a series of murders within this movie-making group.

Watching this the second time round made me pick up clues to solving the mystery. I must say I'm not the very intelligent type when it comes to the cases in Kindaichi or Tantei Gakuen Q, both written by the same author but when you get a chance to go through the case again, you tend to identity the tell-tale signs. Much as I didn't remember the exact details of the case, I do remember bits and pieces of it to tell me where the suspicious points are. In this sense, should I say I'm simply not observant enough or I would have been able to solve cases like Kindaichi does? Most of the time, the ability to observe is a crucial factor in helping Kindaichi to resolve his cases and that's probably what I'm seriously lacking in.

The motive for the series of murders, as usual, is for the sake of revenge so don't expect a deviation from the usual plot. The good thing is, I like to see criminals redeeming themselves while they are alive instead of committing suicide which many of them do to free themselves of the guilt and escape from punishment. At least, the message at the end of this episode is still rather positive.