Maoh 1 - Detailed Summary
Jul. 6th, 2008 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
setraSince Nikki asked for extra notes on lawyer and keijibabble if I understood it, I've taken extremely detailed plot notes over the course of the episode. This may be of interest to others watching it raw.
Summary
The show opens with a bit of biblical history...
Teacher: Today we'll tell the story of a sad angel.
Kids: That's not an angel! It's a demon! *mass agreement*
Teacher: Then what about this?
Kids: Wow, pretty!
The story: Once there was an angel named Lucifer. He was very beautiful and god loved him greatly. Then one day he angered god and was chased out of heaven.
With nowhere to go, he changed his name to Satan and wend into hell. And there... he became the Demon Lord (Maoh).
In the courtroom, a man is found innocent. He runs to his lawyer, thanking him profusely and even going so far as to call him a god.
Outside, Naruse (Ohno) is mobbed by press, saying that winning this case was almost a miracle. He humbly says that he merely portrayed the truth and that there's nothing special about that.
When asked for a photo he looks slightly shifty, saying that he has somewhere to go. One of his underlings(?) blocks the press and he leaves.
Serizawa(?)(Toma) hunts down and torments a suspect, who finally confesses to whatever-he-did under ... extreme duress. His coworker says that he went to far, but he says that there's no such thing as overdoing it in an investigation.
At home, Naruse steps into a secret room, looking over developing and developed photos of Serizawa, and pausing to look over a tarot card before showing his truecolors, attacking a picture of Serizawa with a switchblade knife.
At his precinct, Serizawa get's drawn into another case, this time questioning a former classmate who was brought in for (beating and extorting money from a girl?)... though Serizawa insisted on questioning his friend, the boy says he won't talk until his lawyer arrives. The departent chief makes a different investigator trade out with Seizawa and he returns to his desk to find a package from 'Amano Makoto'.
Though he can't recall anyone by that name, he opens it anyway. Inside in a red envelope is the Judgement card. Speculation on the meaning of this odd gift is interrupted by a phone call reporting a bank robbery and Serizawa is off like a shot to go investigate. In the hall he collides with Naruse, who it turns out is Souda's lawyer as well.
~~~8~@ Opening Sequence @~8~~~
Enter Sakita Shiori, humming 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow', who uses some psychic power to find her roommates earring and then draws a tarot card. She's pleased to see the Wheel of Fortune, thinking it portends a second meeting with someone from her past.
At work at the library, Shioni meets a lovely young lawyer who asks about (I think) books on architecture and construction. She feels like she's met him before, but he doesn't confirm that when she asks and she brushes it off.
At work, Serizawa gets told off.
At his office, Naruse is shown fanmail and thank you letters from previous clients. One of his employee-types makes a comment about him being an angel of mercy for the weak... the phrasing of 'an angel' seems to please Naruse.
Serizawa meets a friend(?) on the way home to a party of his (much better dressed) older brother's home... it looks like he has some pretty shifty connections.
He shows up in street clothes to a /rather/ fancy party, and it's clear that he doesn't care much for the proper behavior or speech style in that company. Despite berating him for being a slacker, his brother sends him off to go greet an honored guest.
Though the first man (Kumada, his father's lawyer) congratulates him on his success as an investigator, the other (His Father) proceeds to very firmly smack him down. Saying that he's just running around making trouble and should think more about his future. This is not friendly badgering and there is clearly no love lost between these two. Naruse calls from a public phone and informs Kumada of something startling, he leaves in a hurry.
We see Serizawa's brother's wife cheating on him with the younger assistant thing.
The next day, Kumada is dead with a red-handled switchblade (like Naruse's) in him. On his desk Serizawa finds a red envelope and a card just like the one he recieved.
Meanwhile, Naruse is at church. He meets Shiori by chance, and finds that she was an orphan. He still doesn't look... y'know... nice.
The investigation comences, leading them to some dead ends and then to Shiori, who made the card, but can't tell them anything about the person who bought it.
Unthwarted there, they ask her to look at the knife. Though she can see and tell them about the circumstances the knife was recieved under and see part of a fight, she can't see the man he was attacking/deffending himself from.
And then~ Flashback of Naruse Angst.
He listens to a music box and holds a crushed harmonica? as he remembers...
From what I can follow, one boy attacked another. The victim, Hideo, was Naruse's younger brother and died as a result of his wounds. The boy who attacked him, Serizawa!, was proven innocent by Kumada, who argued that he only attacked in self-defense because Hideo picked up a knife first. Serizawa was found innocent and Naruse watched in the rain as Serizawa's father thanked and congratulated Kumada.
Back at police HQ, they have found one lead - an older man who contacted Kumada frequently over the past few months. Hayashi Kunio - 55 years old. Hayashi was a habitual criminal... and had reason to dislike Kumada, who had prosecuted him more than once in the past.
Even as Serizawa heads out to try to capture the man... Naruse arrives with the man in tow saying that Hayashi 'decided to turn himself in'. Uh huh.
Serizawa tries to question the man, but he appears to know nothing of the card. he also claims that he had no intention of killing the lawyer. When asked to explain the events that led to Kumada's death, Naruse produces a mini tape recorder that Hayashi was carrying, saying: 'The truth is recorded here.'
The recording 'shows' an argument between the two, with Hayashi angry, blaming Kumada for ruining his life, etc. You /can't/ hear in the tape, but can see on screen that Hayashi had a hand in his pocket and there was an implied weapon there. Kumada went for the knife to drive Hayashi away. The two grappled and fell, and Kumada inadvertently killed himself. Naruse quotes his flashback: 'The first to draw a knife was Kumada.'
The interview is interrupted by news from the female inspector. A bag of red enveloped was found in Hayashi's apartment. All are stamped and bear the sender's name 'Amano Makoto.' He says that the letters come to him each month, but he doesn't know who it is and he's never even met the person. The letter explains (to Hayashi) that he was a sacrifice on Kumada's road from a detective to a lawyer (something that he accused Kumada of in their argument) and in various ways try to press him toward revenge.
When questioned, Hayashi says that that's not why he went to the office though, he simply wanted to apologize and received a call that said Kumada was waiting there.
Serizawa makes the jump that 'Amano' must have arranged the meeting, manipulating them both. Hayashi says that even if he was manipulated, he's thankful to Amano. Even if he'd never read the letters, he hated Kumada enough to kill him and would have been miserable until the end of his days if Kumada had lived.
Serizawa flips out at Hayashi and then at Naruse, but the lawyer remains cool reminding him that it's not only Hayashi that is a person who would be missed. That anyone rich or poor, innocent or guilty, has people who will miss them and that that is not the point.
Serizawa takes one of the envelopes to Shiori, begging her to help him identify the puppet master behind these things. She 'looks' at the letter... but only sees that it was a man's hands typing on a computer and that he wore gloves while puting it into the envelope. She also notes that while doing these things... it felt like the person had no soul.
More flashback. The harmonica was a gift. "Somewhere over the Rainbow" was their mother's favorite song. Hideo's goal was to be a lawyer to earn lots of money and do well for the family. (They look kinda poor). And then we're back to the begining. At the site of his brother's death he asks the spirit of Hideo to watch him, silently swearing revenge.
Enter... a guy. Kumada's son. Who wants to meet this 'Angel Lawyer' who's defending his father's murderer. And asks is Naruse is serious in claiming that his father intended to kill someone. Naruse tries calmly to apologize to the guy for losing his father but says that 'There can only be one truth.'
Back at Kumada's office, they reenact the attack. Serizawa is playing Kumada's role, and it's obvious that flashes back to the day he injured Hideo are hitting him pretty hard. It also looks from those flashbacks like it wasn't Hideo who pulled a knife at all. The demonstration has the desired effect and allows Naruse to calmly quote the words that Kumada once spoke in defence of Serizawa.
Also, 「真実はねじ間切られない」 - "The truth cannot be bent or distorted."
Serizawa doesn't handle any of this well and goes out to get spectacularly drunk. A bit more of a look at Naruse's dark room shows us that he's got a bead on pretty much all of Serizawa's contacts so far... and apparently intends to target them all, one at a time.
--------------------------------------------------------------
My commentary - In order, with no particular points of reference.
God, Leader's hands! So delicate. So lovely.
Even when petting concrete. *pets*
Naruse Ryou-sensei (Leader)
Jesus Christ shower scene! I was just complaining the other day that I didn't know how built he was because Arashi doesn't strip nearly enough.......
The answer is YES. :D
The card:
XX - Judgement (also appropriate given that he's a lawyer)
positives: rebirth, rejoicing, absolution, new potential, rewards for past efforts
negatives: guilt, loss, self-reproach, delays, fear, obstinacy
another negative aspect of the Judgement card warns of self doubt and guilt over past mistakes - this will only blur the way forward
Symbolism? Hmmm...
Later, Shiori's meaning: 過去の罪の償い (Atonement for sins of the past)
The name kanji are 雨野真実 - the girl comments on this specifically. And that it's an odd name. I would note after the flashback that this name means 'Truth of/in the Rain'... which seems rather clear in it's implication.
Hot Smexy opening sequence. La la. I want 'truth' and I want it /bad/. Awesome freaking song.
Someday I'll look up the meanings of all the cards in the opening... today is not that day.
Serizawa Naoto (Toma)
Am I the only one disturbed by the thought of Toma driving?
Naruse's music box plays 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'
The actor they got for young-Naruse is really good at looking like angry!leader. Toma's younger actor is... not as well matched.
That almost-tear in Naruse's eye... heartbreaking on a couple of levels.
I should note that I can't respect Serizawa at all. His obvious lack of respect for authority, his constantly wearing the same unprofessional clothes... just no.
Naruse's carefully neutral face as Serizawa flips out over the envelopes... I almost wish this were Anime so that we could hear what's going on in his head.
*ahem* /I/ can tell that they're Leader's hands. What?
Also, poor Naruse... soul's are important and stuffs.
Why hallo there Nino. What character did they make up for you again?
And next episode: Bye-bye papa. Oh dear.
This show reminds me a lot of Death Note. Only with more Lawyers. And less trying to make the world a better place. I also think that you're probably not /supposed/ to like Naruse.
Also... Iroh is not missing. Only because it is entirely impossible for me to have lost him already. Therefore he is apparently on vacation. I hope he comes back soon.
Summary
The show opens with a bit of biblical history...
Teacher: Today we'll tell the story of a sad angel.
Kids: That's not an angel! It's a demon! *mass agreement*
Teacher: Then what about this?
Kids: Wow, pretty!
The story: Once there was an angel named Lucifer. He was very beautiful and god loved him greatly. Then one day he angered god and was chased out of heaven.
With nowhere to go, he changed his name to Satan and wend into hell. And there... he became the Demon Lord (Maoh).
In the courtroom, a man is found innocent. He runs to his lawyer, thanking him profusely and even going so far as to call him a god.
Outside, Naruse (Ohno) is mobbed by press, saying that winning this case was almost a miracle. He humbly says that he merely portrayed the truth and that there's nothing special about that.
When asked for a photo he looks slightly shifty, saying that he has somewhere to go. One of his underlings(?) blocks the press and he leaves.
Serizawa(?)(Toma) hunts down and torments a suspect, who finally confesses to whatever-he-did under ... extreme duress. His coworker says that he went to far, but he says that there's no such thing as overdoing it in an investigation.
At home, Naruse steps into a secret room, looking over developing and developed photos of Serizawa, and pausing to look over a tarot card before showing his truecolors, attacking a picture of Serizawa with a switchblade knife.
At his precinct, Serizawa get's drawn into another case, this time questioning a former classmate who was brought in for (beating and extorting money from a girl?)... though Serizawa insisted on questioning his friend, the boy says he won't talk until his lawyer arrives. The departent chief makes a different investigator trade out with Seizawa and he returns to his desk to find a package from 'Amano Makoto'.
Though he can't recall anyone by that name, he opens it anyway. Inside in a red envelope is the Judgement card. Speculation on the meaning of this odd gift is interrupted by a phone call reporting a bank robbery and Serizawa is off like a shot to go investigate. In the hall he collides with Naruse, who it turns out is Souda's lawyer as well.
~~~8~@ Opening Sequence @~8~~~
Enter Sakita Shiori, humming 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow', who uses some psychic power to find her roommates earring and then draws a tarot card. She's pleased to see the Wheel of Fortune, thinking it portends a second meeting with someone from her past.
At work at the library, Shioni meets a lovely young lawyer who asks about (I think) books on architecture and construction. She feels like she's met him before, but he doesn't confirm that when she asks and she brushes it off.
At work, Serizawa gets told off.
At his office, Naruse is shown fanmail and thank you letters from previous clients. One of his employee-types makes a comment about him being an angel of mercy for the weak... the phrasing of 'an angel' seems to please Naruse.
Serizawa meets a friend(?) on the way home to a party of his (much better dressed) older brother's home... it looks like he has some pretty shifty connections.
He shows up in street clothes to a /rather/ fancy party, and it's clear that he doesn't care much for the proper behavior or speech style in that company. Despite berating him for being a slacker, his brother sends him off to go greet an honored guest.
Though the first man (Kumada, his father's lawyer) congratulates him on his success as an investigator, the other (His Father) proceeds to very firmly smack him down. Saying that he's just running around making trouble and should think more about his future. This is not friendly badgering and there is clearly no love lost between these two. Naruse calls from a public phone and informs Kumada of something startling, he leaves in a hurry.
We see Serizawa's brother's wife cheating on him with the younger assistant thing.
The next day, Kumada is dead with a red-handled switchblade (like Naruse's) in him. On his desk Serizawa finds a red envelope and a card just like the one he recieved.
Meanwhile, Naruse is at church. He meets Shiori by chance, and finds that she was an orphan. He still doesn't look... y'know... nice.
The investigation comences, leading them to some dead ends and then to Shiori, who made the card, but can't tell them anything about the person who bought it.
Unthwarted there, they ask her to look at the knife. Though she can see and tell them about the circumstances the knife was recieved under and see part of a fight, she can't see the man he was attacking/deffending himself from.
And then~ Flashback of Naruse Angst.
He listens to a music box and holds a crushed harmonica? as he remembers...
From what I can follow, one boy attacked another. The victim, Hideo, was Naruse's younger brother and died as a result of his wounds. The boy who attacked him, Serizawa!, was proven innocent by Kumada, who argued that he only attacked in self-defense because Hideo picked up a knife first. Serizawa was found innocent and Naruse watched in the rain as Serizawa's father thanked and congratulated Kumada.
Back at police HQ, they have found one lead - an older man who contacted Kumada frequently over the past few months. Hayashi Kunio - 55 years old. Hayashi was a habitual criminal... and had reason to dislike Kumada, who had prosecuted him more than once in the past.
Even as Serizawa heads out to try to capture the man... Naruse arrives with the man in tow saying that Hayashi 'decided to turn himself in'. Uh huh.
Serizawa tries to question the man, but he appears to know nothing of the card. he also claims that he had no intention of killing the lawyer. When asked to explain the events that led to Kumada's death, Naruse produces a mini tape recorder that Hayashi was carrying, saying: 'The truth is recorded here.'
The recording 'shows' an argument between the two, with Hayashi angry, blaming Kumada for ruining his life, etc. You /can't/ hear in the tape, but can see on screen that Hayashi had a hand in his pocket and there was an implied weapon there. Kumada went for the knife to drive Hayashi away. The two grappled and fell, and Kumada inadvertently killed himself. Naruse quotes his flashback: 'The first to draw a knife was Kumada.'
The interview is interrupted by news from the female inspector. A bag of red enveloped was found in Hayashi's apartment. All are stamped and bear the sender's name 'Amano Makoto.' He says that the letters come to him each month, but he doesn't know who it is and he's never even met the person. The letter explains (to Hayashi) that he was a sacrifice on Kumada's road from a detective to a lawyer (something that he accused Kumada of in their argument) and in various ways try to press him toward revenge.
When questioned, Hayashi says that that's not why he went to the office though, he simply wanted to apologize and received a call that said Kumada was waiting there.
Serizawa makes the jump that 'Amano' must have arranged the meeting, manipulating them both. Hayashi says that even if he was manipulated, he's thankful to Amano. Even if he'd never read the letters, he hated Kumada enough to kill him and would have been miserable until the end of his days if Kumada had lived.
Serizawa flips out at Hayashi and then at Naruse, but the lawyer remains cool reminding him that it's not only Hayashi that is a person who would be missed. That anyone rich or poor, innocent or guilty, has people who will miss them and that that is not the point.
Serizawa takes one of the envelopes to Shiori, begging her to help him identify the puppet master behind these things. She 'looks' at the letter... but only sees that it was a man's hands typing on a computer and that he wore gloves while puting it into the envelope. She also notes that while doing these things... it felt like the person had no soul.
More flashback. The harmonica was a gift. "Somewhere over the Rainbow" was their mother's favorite song. Hideo's goal was to be a lawyer to earn lots of money and do well for the family. (They look kinda poor). And then we're back to the begining. At the site of his brother's death he asks the spirit of Hideo to watch him, silently swearing revenge.
Enter... a guy. Kumada's son. Who wants to meet this 'Angel Lawyer' who's defending his father's murderer. And asks is Naruse is serious in claiming that his father intended to kill someone. Naruse tries calmly to apologize to the guy for losing his father but says that 'There can only be one truth.'
Back at Kumada's office, they reenact the attack. Serizawa is playing Kumada's role, and it's obvious that flashes back to the day he injured Hideo are hitting him pretty hard. It also looks from those flashbacks like it wasn't Hideo who pulled a knife at all. The demonstration has the desired effect and allows Naruse to calmly quote the words that Kumada once spoke in defence of Serizawa.
Also, 「真実はねじ間切られない」 - "The truth cannot be bent or distorted."
Serizawa doesn't handle any of this well and goes out to get spectacularly drunk. A bit more of a look at Naruse's dark room shows us that he's got a bead on pretty much all of Serizawa's contacts so far... and apparently intends to target them all, one at a time.
--------------------------------------------------------------
My commentary - In order, with no particular points of reference.
God, Leader's hands! So delicate. So lovely.
Even when petting concrete. *pets*
Naruse Ryou-sensei (Leader)
Jesus Christ shower scene! I was just complaining the other day that I didn't know how built he was because Arashi doesn't strip nearly enough.......
The answer is YES. :D
The card:
XX - Judgement (also appropriate given that he's a lawyer)
positives: rebirth, rejoicing, absolution, new potential, rewards for past efforts
negatives: guilt, loss, self-reproach, delays, fear, obstinacy
another negative aspect of the Judgement card warns of self doubt and guilt over past mistakes - this will only blur the way forward
Symbolism? Hmmm...
Later, Shiori's meaning: 過去の罪の償い (Atonement for sins of the past)
The name kanji are 雨野真実 - the girl comments on this specifically. And that it's an odd name. I would note after the flashback that this name means 'Truth of/in the Rain'... which seems rather clear in it's implication.
Hot Smexy opening sequence. La la. I want 'truth' and I want it /bad/. Awesome freaking song.
Someday I'll look up the meanings of all the cards in the opening... today is not that day.
Serizawa Naoto (Toma)
Am I the only one disturbed by the thought of Toma driving?
Naruse's music box plays 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'
The actor they got for young-Naruse is really good at looking like angry!leader. Toma's younger actor is... not as well matched.
That almost-tear in Naruse's eye... heartbreaking on a couple of levels.
I should note that I can't respect Serizawa at all. His obvious lack of respect for authority, his constantly wearing the same unprofessional clothes... just no.
Naruse's carefully neutral face as Serizawa flips out over the envelopes... I almost wish this were Anime so that we could hear what's going on in his head.
*ahem* /I/ can tell that they're Leader's hands. What?
Also, poor Naruse... soul's are important and stuffs.
Why hallo there Nino. What character did they make up for you again?
And next episode: Bye-bye papa. Oh dear.
This show reminds me a lot of Death Note. Only with more Lawyers. And less trying to make the world a better place. I also think that you're probably not /supposed/ to like Naruse.
Also... Iroh is not missing. Only because it is entirely impossible for me to have lost him already. Therefore he is apparently on vacation. I hope he comes back soon.
