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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


<FINAL EPISODE> (#19, Part 2)

This is seriously the best final episode we've seen in a while! I'm enjoying it a lot more than the last few seasons. Part 2, being the middle of the story, can often drag on a bit, but this time, the hour just seemed to fly on by! They definitely have done a great job with this episode, and the season as a whole.

Quite a risky move on Ukyo's part to lie to the brother and send him Kaito's picture, to try and make him believe that his younger brother got plastic surgery to further protect his identity. I was surprised that the brother fell for it. However, it was really the best thing Ukyo could do at this point. Even if he had told the brother that Tomomi had died of liver cancer years before, I doubt he was in the right state of mind to believe it. So, this was the next best thing. It would have all been for naught had the lawyer brother (the middle sibling) gone and verified that Ukyo was telling a lie, but luckily, Itami and Serizawa nabbed him before he left the city.

Speaking of which, great job, Serizawa! I got a kick out of how he dramatically fell to the ground after the lawyer pushed him ever so slightly. "Obstruction of public safety" would be the perfect charge to temporarily keep the lawyer under police custody.

The older brother is definitely losing it, though. When he started yelling at Ukyo, ordering him to kill Tomomi for him and take their father to see the corpse, you could really see the demented look in his eyes. I think he's realized that it is only a matter of time before his big plan ends up being a failure, and he is willing to go to any lengths to seek revenge for his father—even if it is against his own brother.

For some reason, though, I feel like this whole story about the younger brother's death from liver cancer is fabricated. Onoda was a master manipulator, and I can see him taking extra lengths to further prevent Tomomi in case his identity is ever revealed. Maybe he developed two identities for Tomomi—having his 'replacement' die of cancer and then turning him into a totally different person, in order to further confuse future generations who might be searching for him. I don't know why, but I just feel like this whole thing is fake. We still have next week, so anything could happen!

All I know is that Setouchi is playing the perfect hostage. Something about him is really driving the older brother crazy. He doesn't seem at all afraid of the brother and of death, so I think the brother (who is used to people cowering in fear around him) was taken aback.

Interesting to see Kaito open up a little bit to Ukyo about his father. I always hope that there is hope for a reconciliation between father and son, but I don't know... it seems less and less likely with each season.

Great episode! The big conclusion (Part 3) airs next Thursday!
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Ostadan Profile
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Onoda is said to have been killed in the infamous 'siege of 2010' I think. This probably refers to events in 'Aibou: The Movie II' (2010). See http://mydramalist.com/6581-aibou-the-movie-ii for a summary.

Hey, UTB: while we're waiting for Aibou 13, maybe you could subtitle and air the feature films to keep us from total withdrawl?
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


Ahh, I see. I guess the flashbacks we saw in Part 1 (where Onoda was bleeding to death, with Ukyo by his side) was from the feature film. Onoda's death wasn't a plot hole, after all!

I always keep my fingers crossed that UTB will air the feature films as part of their holiday programming, but they never do. Maybe this year!

Thanks for the info, Ostadan.

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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


Yes, thank you for the additional info, Ostadan. I'm sure we miss a lot by not seeing those Aibou movies, so any tidbits shared are most welcomed.

Setouchi - Love that actor. He's sure a pro. It made me laugh when in one scene with the bad guy, Setouchi answers the bully with a head-wagging, mocking sarcasm that we never see in an adult Japanese character, inviting him to go right ahead and pull the trigger. Usually, it is some young punk who hasn't quite figured out which end is up in life who acts this way. Setouchi did it perfectly.

I also got a kick out of Setouchi's praying, the chanting driving the gunman crazy, making him demand that he "shut up." Setouchi calmly responds that he is a priest, after all, and that praying is supposed to make you calm. LOL How frustrating for a bully with a gun to have before him someone who cannot be bullied. Setouchi will do only what he himself decides to do. Lack of fear is a wonderful weapon.
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


Setouchi made me crack up, too! I think he is the perfect foil to the gunman's evil plan. The gunman's plan was to act tough and terrify his hostages into submission. However, Setouchi couldn't care less! He genuinely isn't scared of the gunman (or, if he is, he does a great job of not showing it!) and just pretends like it is business as usual. Setouchi probably realized that he is going back to jail anyway, so even if the gunman was to go crazy and shoot him, it couldn't be as bad as having to go back to a jail cell for the rest of his life! At least this way, Setouchi would have been doing it for a good cause—to save a mother and child from a mad gunman.

I hope Setouchi will continue his psychological warfare. It seems to be working because he is getting on the gunman's last nerve! Especially with that chanting. LOL!
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


<FINAL EPISODE> (#19, Part 3)

OMG, I just knew that was going to happen! I had a sneaking suspicion that Tomomi wasn't really dead, and that this whole arrangement was really a "Plan B" orchestrated by Onoda. After all, Onoda is too smart for that—knowing what we have learned about him in the past few years, he is definitely the type of guy to have made plans in advance and made arrangements for a worst case scenario—which ended up taking place.

Shinichi, the oldest son, clearly needs some psychiatric help. I think his anxiety attack at the end, which climaxed in his shooting of Kanbe (who thankfully had a bulletproof vest on) was pent up anger after years of wishing he was the favorite son—a position that was held by Tomomi. Now it makes sense why Shinichi was so adamant about killing his younger brother. He had slaved for decades hoping to be his father's favorite—but his father always loved his youngest son the most, the same son who ended up betraying the entire family. So, Shinichi's murder of Tomomi would have two effects—he would eliminate his rival, and also come into favor with his father.

I guess that's why Shinichi lost it when he heard his father basically side with the enemy and tell him to stop what he was doing. In Shinichi's eyes, his father was still (after all these years) taking Tomomi's side and refusing to acknowledge Shinichi as his "favorite"—despite the fact that Dad was telling Shinto everything he wanted to hear.

Shinichi has a good instinct—I guess he was totally right on about the fact that Tomomi is still alive. That grudge within him will never die, it seems. At least Tomomi seems happy, with his wife and baby boy. I just hope that Shinichi will be behind bars for a long, long time

Loved Ukyo telling Shinichi at the end to stop his baby tantrum, and that he was acting like a spoiled child. That was so right. He was right on in his opinion of how Shinichi was acting.

I think we haven't seen Ukyo as emotional as he was at the end, when he was reminiscing about Onoda and how he wished he could talk to him one more time, to ask if it was justifiable to break the law in order to save a life. Despite their many disagreements, I think Ukyo really looked to Onoda as a friend—not just an ally and fellow detective.

Well, I think Kaito and K-Dad have gotten as close as they are going to get - for the time being, as well. I hope Season 13 will bring a newly born relationship between the two of them.

Well, that marks the end of Season 12 - which is the most recent Partners season to date! Season 13 is still filming and will probably air in Japan next year. So, it'll be a while before we see it! This has really been one of the best seasons of Partners so far - I hope next season will be even better!

Doctor X, Season 1, starts next Thursday.
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


Overall, I thought the final episode was pretty good. It held my interest and had some good plot twists. Also, I enjoy how they ventured back into past episodes through previously appearing characters and events.

The one criticism I had is that the writer stretched the truth a little too far a couple times, then through flashbacks shows us what really happened, what was linked to what, etc. There were occasional twists that seemed just a little too contrived, but not enough to be a major factor in whether or not I enjoyed the presentation overall.

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Re: J-Drama: 相棒12 (Partners 12)


The part I'm still confused about is how the writers were able to cover up the shocking circumstances behind Onoda's death (or murder, rather) for so many seasons. I can't for the life of me remember what the original reason for his death was. If I remember correctly, it was just sort of mentioned that "Onoda was dead" and nothing was made of it—on the show, that is. Since the Partners feature films were never aired on UTB, it was kind of confusing for us viewers.

At least we know the whole truth now. That being said, what other plot twists are the writers hiding from us in future seasons?

I miss Partners already! But, Doctor X is a great replacement to keep us satisfied until Season 13 airs here.
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