It's a shame it took "Furuhata Ninzaburô" such a long time to repeat its greatest, most original and most audacious gimmick. Seven years after the SMAP special, "A Fair Murderer" once again features a real celebrity playing themselves as the killer. The celebrity in question is baseball player Ichirô Suzuki. Interestingly enough, both times the idea for the gimmick came from the celebrities themselves. Furuhata even explains as much in his closing monologue saying that originally the killer character's name was Hachirô until Suzuki insisted on using his own name.
The big twist of the story, however, is that Furuhata's faithful friend and colleague Mukojima is the killer's accomplice and older brother. It is a bold move by writer Kôki Mitani to cast the loveable comic relief in such a dark part but it finally gives Mukojima's actor Takashi Kobayashi a chance to shine. Kobayashi has been a part of the series since the very beginning but most of his appearances have amounted to brief comedic cameos. Here, he is front and centre in what is actually a surprisingly emotional and atmospheric episode.
Most of it focuses on the story of the two brothers one of whom dreamed of becoming a baseball star and the other who became one. Lord knows that Ichirô Suzuki is not the most natural of actors but the scenes with his on-screen brother are absolutely touching. It is Kobayashi, of course, who does most of the heavy lifting and he is so good and so truthful in this episode that I think it's a shame he was so underutilized in the rest of the show.
Also on top form here is Tamura Masakazu. Look the way Furuhata's heartbreak shows in his eyes when he realizes Mukojima is involved. He and Suzuki share a scene together which is absolutely phenomenal. Set on a baseball field, it's a scene that seamlessly switches moods from melancholy to comedic and finally to dramatic as Furuhata issues a challenge to the killer. This seven-minute scene is as good as any ever featured on "Furuhata Ninzaburô".
So, as you might have gathered, "A Fair Murderer" is a superb drama. Where it falters sadly is in its thriller elements. The mystery is essentially non-existent especially since Suzuki, supposedly obsessed with fair play, almost confesses in his first interrogation scene. Furuhata has very little detecting to do here since the clues are extremely obvious and Suzuki seems to want to get caught. The climax of the story, the big gotcha moment, is one of the weakest of the series. After gathering so much good evidence against Suzuki, the one Furuhata uses to break him is laughably weak. I did, nevertheless, find it very funny that even though most "Furuhata Ninzaburô" murderers get caught because they don't clean up the crime scene well enough, Suzuki gets caught because he cleaned it up far too well.
Last but not least, I do have to commend the direction by Keita Kôno. Kôno, who is "Furuhata Ninzaburô's" most prolific director usually turns in very dull-looking, by-the-numbers episodes. Here, surprisingly, his direction is astoundingly stylish, atmospheric, and dynamic. Why hadn't he directed this well before? Why don't all his episodes look this good? Which stars aligned to make "A Fair Murderer" such a visually interesting episode? That's a better mystery for Furuhata Ninzaburô to solve!