Odoru daisósasen The Final aratanari kibó

The ending of something that has been living in the subconscious of its audience for over a decade should be grandiose. But the film wasn't, no fanfare, no fireworks, just a run into the setting sun... But as a decent ending to something that left that haunting song in my head and made me watch the end credits every time, it held up. Nothing has changed over the years (unless you count career advancement), everyone is still the same and that's the beauty of it. It starred a lot of well known actors and it was lovely to see them together, whatever roles they were in. You're sniffing out some devilry from the start and she's in it. You find yourself finally knowing more than Aoshima and co, theoretically for the first time all along. You watch it with anticipation to see how it turns out. You shake your head for the umpteenth time at the nonsensical bureaucracy of the police force. You laugh at the dumb cops. And as always, it's as mundane and "worn out" as Aoshima's coat. So take care, I had a good time with you and maybe I'll see you again sometime because, although I hardly realized it at first, I know it now, you all have grown on me. Honor to work, morons! EDIT. 18 Sep 2021 – So I took another look. And now I know why I didn't like it as much as the previous films. It's just not crazy enough, instead it's pretty serious. Sure, there are still shenanigans going on, but it's not quite right... The first half of the film is kind of tone deaf, a kind of horribly long introduction to the faster second half, which ultimately has too long of a finish. Not to mention the bus crashing into that place, that felt like too much; but on the other hand, it had an important final act. Yes, I adore the Wangan crew and I will return to them fondly, but not this film. Twice and that's enough. I'll watch the previous films more, and the series more still. (01.08.2013)