If the first episode of Shinzo Katayama and Yeon Sang-ho’s modern retelling of Ishirō Honda’s The Human Vapor set the scene with the titular character showing off his smokey skills with impressive results, and the second dug deeper into the vast and complex conspiracy surrounding him, it feels that episode three sees the series fully embracing it’s potential. With such aspects as the Yakuza being added to the plot to muddy the waters for diligent cop, Kenji Okamoto, and relentless reporter Kyoko Kono, “The Journal” manages to take the mystery aspect of the show and merge it more completely with the the horror/sci-fi elements of an antagonist who seems genuinely impossible to stop. The result is Human Vapor’s best episode yet as the show blends action and humour while adding yet more twists to its already intricate plot.
With the murder of Hiroki Obata, it seems that a major piece in the Human Vapor puzzle has been lost. The last link between the mysterious, inhuman killer and the even more mysterious White Centre that allegedly created him, Obata was stabbed to death on his way to reveal all to Kyoto by an assassin working for the Fujishiro Yakuza Syndicate – which, to be honest, only raises even more questions. However, while Obata may be deader than disco, vital information lives on in the form of his journal which the hitman now has on his possession to give his bosses to use as a bargaining tool.
As Kenji and his fellow officers arrive at the scene and spread out looking for the killer, the assassin is forced to steal a phone in order to send pictures of each page to his superiors. But as he burns the journal as he goes, he’s found by, Yoshida, one of Kenji’s close police colleagues who suddenly reveals he’s not only working for the Yakuza, but also a double informant for another involved party known only as “Mufu”. After shooting the assassin dead, Yoshida realises that the Fujishiro boss wishes to blackmail his mystery partners, which seems somewhat reckless considering that he’s apparently on the Human Vapor’s kill list.
Meanwhile, Kyoko discovers that her phone has been bugged thanks to some installed malware and deduces that the only person who’s had contact with it other than her is Yoshida after her first encounter with the Vapor. As well as figuring out that one of Kenji’s colleagues is dirtier than a redneck’s mudflap, the reporter decides to use her contacts to spy on the Yakuza at their local gambling den while Kenji leads another strike team to bust up the Syndicate. However, after taking an episode off, the Human Vapor arrives to scratch another hated name off of his shit list in the form of the conniving Yakuza boss. The chase is on as the murderous cloud-man pursues his next victim as he speeds away through busy Tokyo traffic.
Thanks to the rather tangled web that co-writer Yeon Sang-ho and director Shinzo Katayama have taken their time to spin a complex vortex of conspiracy that surrounds its titular antagonist. With the addition of the Yakuza involving themselves in the affairs of whispy murderers, we find that we’ve turned another complicated corner that now throws in hitmen on the run, crooked cops and a blistering car chase which succeeds in bringing the house down. But first, let’s cast an eye over the doings of one of our protagonists, and the fact that Kyoko is making steady progress during each and every episode means that the show is keeping up a nice, brisk, pace. With every new question that arises, she – with the help of her trusty news team – manage to solve conundrums and decipher clues which vitally keeps the forward momentum trundling along. It’s proving to be especially important because sometimes shows like this get caught up so much on building the mystery, they frequently forget that they also have to get it solved too and keep things moving as they do so to prevent things growing stale. With the plot thread of Obata literally dispensed with thanks to his messy stabbing, attention quickly moves onto his journal which contains the secrets he died for. However, the show seems to be just as twitchy about using maguffins as it is about having loose ends and the book itself is soon destroyed, with all of its juicy contents uploaded to a phone. It’s actually an amusing touch that the various things our characters are racing to get their hands on changes forms just as quickly as the Human Vapor himself.
With the news that Yoshida is not only working for the Yakuza, but is also feeding information to yet another source tentatively known as “Mufu”, there’s a sense that his fellow cop, Kenji, is starting to sink beneath the rolling waves of this fast-expanding conspiracy while Kyoko floats with ease. But while there’s a slight imbalance with the effectiveness of our leads in this episode, matters are greatly enhanced by the memorable return of the cloudy star of the show.
If you thought that the Human Vapor vs a police strike team was fun, wait until you watch the Vapor blow through a building of unprepared Yakuza (although I don’t think I’d be prepared for anything either if I’d blown my wages on an elaborate game of “turtle roulette”). Beyond the awesome sight of the inhuman assassin being unfazed by katanas passing through his misty form, the visual effects team also give us some memorable insight into just how freaky his abilities can really get. When the Human Vapor is scoping out the gambling den, he does so by sending a tendril of vapor under doors and into room with his eyeball fully formed on the end of it and it’s little body horror details like this that really sell the innovation of the character.
Better yet, once he finishes up with the Yakuza’s den, the Vapor engages in a high-speed chase as he rockets his hazy form after the escaping Yakuza boss. Katayama endures that the sequence is full of little character beats to give the action a larger than life feel such as having the boss exclaim that he’s going to retire and open up a restaurant while the Vapor hammers on the bullet proof glass of his speeding getaway car. This attention to detail almost makes the Vapor feel like the more amorphous members of the rogue’s gallery of Spider-Man, such as Sandman or Hydro-Man and the effects are of such a high quality and the stunt work is so polished, it rivals the kind of stuff you’d see in a big budget, American comic book movie. Of course, once the action is done with, it’s back to the mystery once more as Kyoko gets hols of the Yakuza phone with all the info on it, a police badge left with the Vapor’s discarded clothes hints at another big clue and the two young podcasts seen in the first episode seem to stumble upon the villain’s hideout. Much like the Vapor returning to his human form, the plot thickens.
A return of the Human Vapor provide the boost the show needs to hit a new high as all of its composite parts nicely drift together. Whenever the slow untangling of the conspiracy plot threatens to override the arching threat of the Vapor, the show drops in a banging action sequence that balances everything out. If the show can keep this up, the Human Vapor may prove to be one of Netflix’s most hidden gems.
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