The Melody of Death

「悪魔ここに誕生す 」

『悪魔が来りて笛を吹く』

"Here the devil was born."

"The Devil Comes Playing The Flute"

It's really weird to see actors you only know from one, specific role playing someone completely different. The only drama I've seen with Yoshioka was the excellent Dr. Coto's Clinic TV drama series where he played the titular Dr. Coto. I watched those series like ten years ago, so it was weird to see him in a very different role now.

Yokomizo Seishi's Kindaichi Kousuke is arguably Japan's greatest fictional detective in literature, and there have been more than a few adaptations of his adventures ever since his debut in 1946's Honjin Satsujin Jiken. Two years ago, NHK (Japan's national public broadcasting station) produced an excellent TV special adaptation of Gokumontou, starring Hasegawa Hiroki as the famous detective dressed in a shabby hakama and a hat. Some months back, it was announced that NHK would produce the follow-up TV special, though interestingly, this second special featured a different lead as Kindaichi Kousuke: apparently the concept is that they will cast a new Kindaichi each time, to fit the atmosphere of the specific work and the script. On July 28th, 2018, Akuma ga Kitarite Fue wo Fuku ("("The Devil Comes Playing The Flute") was broadcast on NHK Premium, starring Yoshioka Hidetaka as private detective Kindaichi Kousuke. Kindaichi is asked by Tsubaki Mineko to investigate the circumstances of her father's death, Viscount Tsubaki. The viscount was the prime suspect in the so-called Tengin Poisoning Case several months ago (based on the real Teigin Case, also featured in Ellery Queen's International Case Book), but the viscount was able to prove his innocence. However, the viscount decided to commit suicide some months afterwards, leaving a message to his daughter that "the shame is too much for him to bear and warning her for the devil who comes playing the flute." But even after his death, family members claim to have seen him hanging around the house playing his flute music, so it is decided they will hold a seance to see if he's really dead. Kindaichi is invited to watch the seance, which ends abruptly when a mysterious mark dubbed the Mark of the Devil appears on the seance table and the Viscount's flute arrangement "The Devil Comes Playing The Flute" suddenly resounds throughout the mansion. This is just a prologue for the tragedy though, as the following day, former Count Tamamushi (Mineko's great uncle) is found murdered in the seance room, and it appears this was a locked room murder!

The novel of Akuma ga Kitarite Fue wo Fuku was originally released in 1973, and I have to admit I have a soft spot for it, as it was in fact the very first Kindaichi Kousuke novel I read in Japanese (I had read the English translation of Inugamike no Ichizoku before). The works ranks as one of Yokomizo's better known works and it has been adapted for both the silver and the small screen several times, though the most recent adaptation before this 2018 one dates from eleven years ago already.

I praised 2016's Gokumontou as a faithful adaptation of the source material. To be honest, I am not sure what to think of this adaptation of Akuma ga Kitarie Fue wo Fuku. On one hand, it has incorporated some of the very small details of the original novel, which is something I really appreciate. On the other hand, the ending has some extremely drastic changes that really transform the work into something different, and personally, I didn't like the direction of this final act of the special, so I am quite torn. As a mystery story however, both the special and the original novel focus on the why and who, rather than the how. Most of the murders featured in this novel could've been committed by anyone, and for example the trick behind the locked room murder is not particularly original nor surprising. The emphasis thus lies in the motive behind the murders, and this is tied directly to the insanely complex relations between the various characters in this story. The initial situation within the Tsubaki mansion isn't simple on its own, with Viscount Tsubaki and his family, the family of his wife's brother, as well as her uncle (and lover) all living together, but as Kindaichi starts to dig around to see what Viscount Tsubaki's last words might have meant, he starts to uncover that few of the people in the house are what they seem to be, and what he finds is almost grotesque. The story thus focuses on figuring out the deranged backstories of the various characters, which does lead to a rather slow TV special, as very little happens and it's mostly Kindaichi having a conversation with someone else.

This TV special really went all-out going into the dark aspects of this story though, even changing some story elements in the denouement just to make it even heavier on the heart. As a portrait of how unhinged people can become and how it can lead to murder, Akuma ga Kitarite Fue wo Fuku does more than a good job, but this focus on human psychology does mean the mystery-solving itself feels less important. While there's an interesting clue that points directly towards the identity of the killer, most of the very long denouement is spent on Kindaichi hesitating whether he should tell everyone his shocking findings, and the reactions of everybody on his revealings. For people into motives, Akuma ga Kitarite Fue wo Fuku will probably be a very satisfying special, as man, it's unique. This does explain why Yoshioka was cast as Kindaichi for this special. Yoshioka plays a somewhat older Kindaichi than previous ones, as judged from his graying hairs, but the human warmth and gentleness of his Kindaichi is what really saves this special from becoming far too heavy and I couldn't imagine Hasegawa's Kindaichi to have given the proper counterbalance to the atmosphere of this special. I do find it a shame that the original ending was changed quite drastically, as I felt the original novel at least showed some light at the end of the tunnel. I did like how the very final scene in the special manage to salvage one part of the original ending, when Kindaichi realizes that he could've guessed the identity of the murderer right from the start thanks to a clue that has been presented to the viewer right all throughout the special.

Akuma ga Kitarite Fue wo Fuku is a very atmospheric TV special, resulting in a work that really explores the dark aspects of the original novel. This dark feeling is luckily countered by a new Kindaichi Kousuke who brings something unique, but some of the plot changes were only made to make this a heavier story, despite it already being a dark story from the start, so this special ends on a really depressive note, something I think wasn't necessary per se. At the very least, it is obvious that NHK is willing to approach each of these Kindaichi Kousuke adaptations in completely different manners, so it'll be interesting to see how their next adaptation will turn out (which is heavily hinted to be Yatsu Haka Mura). At any rate, I'll be sure to watch that one too, as despite the story changes, I do think this was an adaptation worth watching.

Original Japanese title(s): 横溝正史（原）『悪魔が来たりて笛を吹く』