Tokuyama Daigorô wo dare ga koroshitaka?

I'm ¾ of the way through this and all I can say is that, unless you're familiar with Japanese cinema, you will never have seen anything like this. (I am, so I'm grateful I found it) Essentially, this is a teenage show. The target audience is teen/YA (nb: I'm 48 and I'm having a ball with it) . The main characters are a bunch of - on the surface - silly 16 yo girls and a number of pervy older men, such as I remember well from my teenage years sadly. The tone is part comedy / part macabre, the humour is very black. Some acting reminds of Anime types.

The script is at the same time simplistic (young girls keep taking the wrong decisions, adults appear to act stereotypically - if you ever were a teenager, you will remember though that is how you thought the world worked at the time, plot twists might appear unbelievable to the scrupulously litteral), but on the other hand is very convoluted (lots and lots of things happen, most of which you weren't expecting at all and you will never be bored a minute) It's pretty dead-on with its analysis of human behaviour, especially the questionable; and is entirely Japanese in its view of death, humour, sex (no sex shown per se), and violence. It is a wonderful example of the Japanese fusion of silly and lighthearted with dark and intellectual. And since the mood changes every 3 minutes you're left on tenterhooks all the time. Without ever being once out of the classroom.

In short, and in the words of the original surrealists, you could call it an exquisite corpse. Enjoy the ride, but better have a dark sense of humour and a modicum of intelligence.

I don't really know anything about Japanese Noh Plays but it seemed to me that this film was based on some of the rules of that style of very formal story telling.

I thought that it was very well done! The girls played out the detective story in a very curious fashion. For instance, they would all stand in silence as one of them declaimed their lines. Or, they all spoke at once as a chorus from a chatroom. The "detective" girl with the oddly impassive, beautiful, painted face seemed to also act as a narrator?

I liked the non-banal music and thought that the slowmo was very appropriate though it did tend to stretch out an already, perhaps, overlong series. I could have done without the 2 minute long intro on each episode. AND the preview of the next episode! Though, the summary of the previous episode was brief and useful.

Some bits were plain odd and I need someone to explain them to me. E.g. The sweat and the views of schoolgirls' legs. Echoes of "Walkabout"? Comic book style?

It reminded me , a little of "If"

If there is one flaw to this than it has to be the story and some decisions by the students. However if you are willing to not question those decisions, and just sit back you are in for what has to be one of the most refreshing takes on a murder mystery since the original twin peaks.

The writing is not on that level but there is a lot to cherish here. Basicly this is a murder mystery that is starred with the entire cast of an idol group. Every episode has some slow motion close ups of these idols. The close ups are not intrusive but they don't add anything to the story. However they can be looked upon as a reminder of youth amd innocence. This is relevant because the students choose not to trust the adults. These shots are carefree. Some students have certain mannerisms. One student is documenting what has happened by taking selfies. One might wonder doesn't she realise what has happened. But that is set straight in a couple of seconds when she takes a selfie of her with an empty locker in the background. People deal with stuff in different ways. The relationships between these students is also interesting. Why Neru is protected becomes clear to us halfway through the series. But not everyone has to know. This has a your secret is safe with me feel. And this is told in a matter of seconds without words.. Other than that there are some weird flashes/shots in between. The noise of the airconditioner, amd what i consider shots of how the world could be if what has happened was positive. For instance the goodbye party for Mr Tokuyama. There are some scenes that remind me of the grandmother of David lynch, Blood simple of the coen brothers, but drenched in japanese culture. The direction is rock solid. The noise or absence of is spot on. I know that I am probably giving too much praise. But I honestly cannot recall the last time I had so much fun watching a series. Finally this show is different. Most murder mysteries give blatant clues and than come up with a hidden one. This show tells more stories about friendship than all episodes of friends. It also tells about growing up. And believing in one self and another.

Try out your month free on amazon prime just for this.