MOZU S01: Cries Of The Night - 2014 - 7/10
AKA - Mozu no Sakebu Yoru // 百舌の叫ぶ夜
Furious J-dorama, steeped in Noir. Endless cigarettes, rain soaked nights, mysteries, terrific villains.
You prefer comedy, romance, superheroes, or teens, this ain’t it.
MOZU translates as shrike, as in the bird that impales its victims on spikes or barbs.
In this case, the hitman and his trusty icepick.
While police investigate a terrorist bombing, they trespass into another agency’s pursuit of a corporate assassin.
Conspiracies surface, business and political treachery vie with flawed enforcement.
Twists abound, and several characters step deeper into doomed territory.
Scant light in MOZU. Good choice if you are the black-hearted type.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν
MOZU S02 - Wings Of Phantasia - 2014 - 7/10
AKA - Maboroshi no Tsubasa // 幻の翼
After the sheer carnage that was MOZU S01, one might assume few characters survived for a second season.
This launched weeks after the first ended, so S02 was always in the cards.
The three leads returned and picked up unresolved stories and loose ends.
More talky than S01, a pace below the pedal-to-the-metal action of that season.
Nevertheless, investigators probe deeper into conspiracy and family skeletons.
Absent family members are followed, as well as the truth of the dungeon of Omelas.
As with the first season, the sound design is outstanding. From dark ambient to musique concrète.
Also, lest Shrike fans lost heart, the icepick abides.
A note about subs
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The best available subtitles are by Miharu-Rush, and those are .ass subs which some units cannot decipher.
I converted Miharu-Rush’s .ass subs to .srt, removed overlapping titles which would not display, overhauled the syntax and grammar, Westernized the dialogue, and streamlined the length.
From “I intend to definitely be helping you,” to “I will help you.”
My .srt is on addic7ed = http://www.addic7ed.com/show/4727 and
subscene = https://subscene.com/subtitles/mozu-mozu-no-sakebu-yoru/english/1161647
Credit Miharu-Rush for original subtitles, and permission to convert.
^