| Heat Guy J #6: Urban Corruption |
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| Monday, 13 June 2005 | |
 After last volume seeming to be so promising about getting down to the real story, Heat Guy J
takes time out to allow Daisuke to do a little empire-building with the
Special Unit, while Echigo continues to flex his muscles without much
in the way of opposition. Interesting enough, but I'm really
hoping the final volume has time left to tie things up...21 - Tears Edmundo's partner, Romeo, has been carrying out some off-the-record investigations into the new Vampire and his 'associate', Marutai, and he's beginning to get close to information that could cause Vampire some problems if it should get out. The underworld being the underworld, it's not long before Romeo is 'accidentally' killed - but while the police don't investigate any further, Daisuke does a little digging that quickly convinces him something's not quite right. Meanwhile, Edmundo's own enquiries show that Romeo's killers have themselves been knocked off, while Romeo has managed to leave behind some useful clues for Daisuke to use to tie up the investigation he was working on - but having found out the identity of the new Vampire, it seems it's going to be very difficult for either Daisuke or Edmundo to day anything to stop him...   22 - Fortress A new machine has crawled out of the ocean and into Judoh, and it's been hunting down a group of sailors who had all visited a particular island. When Daisuke hears a rumour about Witch Island, he puts two and two together and decides to pay a visit to the island to track down the machine's owner - after all, anyone who goes to such lengths to protect their privacy must have something worth hiding. Meanwhile, the Special Unit's investigations into Echigo continue, but getting any sort or real information on the man is difficult - he hasn't been seen in public for over ten years, and the only details that exist are rumours - but it seems Echigo at least has some connection to the Witch Island killings...   23 - Play Monica's wagon has been burnt down, leaving her and her mother homeless - according to the police, it's arson, but as yet there are no leads on who was responsible. Daisuke, being the caring guy that he is, offers her a job with the Special Unit doing office work - meaning his little office is getting even more crowded, although it's not long before Monica starts to use her position for personal gain. Meanwhile, Daisuke has passed on the information he has on Senator Noriega's links with Echigo to his superiors, but they're unwilling to move against him just yet - if Echigo's pulling Noriega's strings, its Echigo they want. Antonia's analysing the information in the machine retrieved from Witch Island, but Daisuke has another source of information in mind - Claire Leonelli. Problem is, getting any sensible information out of Claire in his current demented state is easier said than done. Later, Daisuke finds that the bullet he's been carrying around his neck for years contains a message from his father - and all the information about Echigo he's likely to need...   While there are a few little hints thrown into these episodes about the 'big picture', they really do feel more like standalone episodes, which is a little strange this late in a series. It gives the whole thing a slightly laid-back feel, and I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not. That said, these episodes are enjoyable enough in themselves, and I certainly didn't feel I'd wasted my time watching them - but it's definitely a pacing issue. Hopefully the final three episodes of Heat Guy J will have enough time to properly tie things up - I'd hate for a messed-up ending to ruin the series. We'll see soon enough... |
