© Asuto Konishi/Kodansha/I Want Someone Else in My Next Life Production Committee
Every great mystery drama must have a living room scene; every heist story ends with an explanation of how they did it. Likewise, “I’d Rather You Hate Me Than You Don’t Care, Part 3” largely consists of Yoshino and Kirishima sitting Ozu down and describing all the ways they’ve thwarted him. He frowned and pouted as the two of them reclined on a comfortable-looking couch in the lounge of a fancy bar.
That’s why the two of them are an unstoppable pair: they work together without knowing the details of the other’s plans, and each does enough to cause the spoiled bastard’s downfall. Yoshino described how, through three hours of surveillance, she spotted a car with Tokyo license plates and tracked it to a hotel in Kobe, eventually leading her to Ozu’s base of operations. While the explanation is interesting, it’s the element that makes me skeptical. Maybe it’s my car-based American culture, but a 500km drive from Tokyo to Kobe doesn’t seem so outrageous that no one else in Kobe would be driving with a Tokyo license plate. Like, yes, the Shinkansen is faster and more convenient, but it’s also expensive. Justified or not, it worked, and Yoshino took it upon himself to keep Ozu busy.
Ozu tries to play innocent, claiming that he’s worried about Nao’s relationship with Kirishima. After all, she’s working her way up to media celebrity status! Hanging out with a gangster’s grandson might damage her reputation! He was merely expressing his concerns and was not involved in extortion. and he is not completely lie. When he confronts Nao, he just makes… hints. There is no actual threat. There is no real blackmail. So she agreed to go with him. Because it has an impact.
But you know who isn’t immune to blackmail? Kirishima. You know who else is working hard to advance their media careers? Ozu’s mother. Naturally, Kirishima arranged for someone he knew to initiate and document a tryst with her. It’s morally questionable at best, and she almost certainly didn’t consent to it being recorded, but at the very least, the sex was completely consensual and it looked like she was having a great time. Unlike her son.
Ozu struggles to regain health and threatens to destroy their lives in a hilariously pathetic display of power. But that doesn’t work for people like Yoshino and Kirishima. On the one hand, they vilified him just as much, considering he drank to a high school student. Another point is that they really don’t care about getting along in society, and Ozu can’t hurt them. Hitomi Ueda Yoshino’s performance here is superb, gradually settling into Japanese tough guy characteristics with rolling ros and deeper vocal range. Just like that, Ozu was defeated and slipped away.
But don’t think she’s cool. Yoshino is still a bit silly. First, her shock at Ozu saying she’s underage, but even better is when she and Shoma discuss her surveillance. She drives a very uncool pick-up truck with tinted windows that stand out much more than she does in her luxury car. She even said quietly to herself: “Secretly, secretly, secretly.” This strategy caught the attention of Shoma and Kirishima.
In a way, the second half of the episode is a mirror image of the first, with Kirishima and Yoshino describing their own plots against each other. That cute little keychain that Yoshino gave Kirishima? A tracking device designed to check if he cared about her enough to keep it. She caught Kirishima hanging out with Nao, and her choice to approach another woman in college was as calculated as her other moves.
Kirishima spends a lot of time pampering her, but this episode reminds us: he’s like a wild animal in many ways. Not a loyal pet, but one who was abandoned and subjected to emotional neglect and physical and sexual abuse when he needed help as a child. We don’t yet know what events occurred in sixth grade that led to his violent outbursts, but everything that followed only further traumatized him. So when he puts his hand on her throat and comments that he sometimes isn’t sure whether he wants to cherish her or destroy her, it’s a reminder that Yoshino is still in a very dangerous situation. Even if she responded in her typical nonchalant way.
The acclaimed Osaka arc ends here Like a dragon fiancé. With only a few episodes and volumes of the manga left unadapted, I’m not sure how they’re going to finish the animated series. Is there a convenient parking spot nearby? Will they leave things unresolved? This is certainly not the kind of work that has its own ending. Whatever it is, I’m here for it.
grade:
Yakuza’s Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
