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<\/a>A few things are clear to me after two episodes of Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de<\/em>. First, this show seems to get better the more absurd it gets. And not unrelated, it needs Kyouichirou on-screen to really work. Reiko is fine but doesn\u2019t really stand out much on her own. Not only is Kyouichirou the funniest character in the cast (and Miyano\u2019s the funniest performance), Reiko is funniest when she\u2019s reacting to his idiocy. They\u2019re both idiots in fact, but different sorts of idiots. And they go well together.<\/p>\n<\/a>The resolution to last week\u2019s case was pretty rote, on the whole. Hinako did the deed, which the butler Kageyama helpfully explains to everyone. Her necklace is Alexandrite and only looks green in certain light. She was described by Mizuho as a familiar stranger because they hadn\u2019t seen each other since college, and Mizuha had changed her look. In fact Hinako had no idea it even was<\/em> Mizuho until it was pointed out in the greenhouse. And the motive? She\u2019s in love with Mai, and took revenge on the \u201cstranger\u201d who stole her man from her.<\/p>\n<\/a>All that was kind of whatever, to be honest. The motive seemed a bit thin to me and I wasn\u2019t that thrilled with the sentiment that Hinako ought to walk away scot-free. The real problem, though, was that the whole resolution was played basically straight. It was only when we got into the next case that things picked up, because they got zany again. This time around a real estate tycoon has been murdered in her mansion<\/a>, and Kyouichirou wakes Reiko to tell to come on over. Kageyama drives her, dropping her off a hundred meters from the crime scene like a kid embarrassed by her dad\u2019s car.<\/p>\n<\/a>Kyouichirou is back in narrative charge here, and this segment is much better. We\u2019re back in full \u201cClue\u201d mode with a mystery about on that level of seriousness. And yes, it is a real murder this time. The old lady apparently tried to scrawl out a message in blood. The murder weapon appears to be a little league baseball trophy, tossed through a broken window on the second floor. And the lady\u2019s kids get busy trying to implicate each other for the crime, or possibly the houseman. But as the unlikeliest suspect the grand-niece<\/a> is the one who stands out to me\u2026<\/p>\n<\/a>I liked this bit. The family members sniping<\/a> again took me back to an old-school Hollywood detective comedy, much like the premiere. I\u2019m assuming the two rich lunkheads are going to bumble their way around without accomplishing much until Kagayama comes in and solves everything again, which is a pattern that potentially could get tiresome fairly quickly. OTOH it\u2019s Kyouichirou and Reiko\u2019s ineptitude that drives the comic premise, so I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s any way for\u00a0 Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de<\/em> to really go in a different direction. This series seems very much like an early candidate for the bubble (and\/or the patron poll).<\/p>\n