The previous episode of Human Vapor hit us with more than it’s fair share of revelations, such as identity of its titular killer, the twist that it’s been Kyoko who’s been pulling the Vapor’s strings all along, and various other plot swerves that beat us mercilessly about the head and neck with surprise after surprise. However, nailing an audience with multiple shock moments are one thing, but to properly pull them off requires something of a follow-through that gives your twists sufficient weight in order to stick with you long after that first, initial gasp. Revealing Kyoko controls the Vapor is one thing, revealing how she controls him is something else entirely and many a twist has been undone by a show not managing to follow it up to satisfying effect.
While we’re yet to discover that particular detail, it’s time for Human Vapor to now funnel it’s reveals into something that’ll infuse the final three episodes with enough energy to carry it aggressively to the end. Judging by the effect of “Mufu”, we’re off to a great start.
Just as we got a flashback to Kyoko’s hellish time in the White Centre camp dealing with her subsequent escape and first meeting with a pre-Vapor Ren Tsutsumida, it’s time to discover just what occurred in 1999 to cause him to go all misty in the first place. As work on trying to dispose of the crashed meteorite has proved to be both costly in money and the lives of the hired homeless, Ren is part of a last-ditch effort by the unscrupulous ones in charge as he’s part of a quartet chosen to carry a bomb underground to where the glowing space rock resides (note the callous handing out of face masks to protect them from space radiation). But while he actually succeeds after everyone else perishes, the glowing pink/purple rays start to cause his DNA to turn to vapor and the subsequent explosion scatters his atoms.
Meanwhile, in the present, brother/sister duo Fujita and Kaho are paying the price for the former co-opting the suggestible Vapor to boost their online channel when the Yakuza pay them a visit. But while they’re beaten and tortured in order for them to spill the secrets of the Vapor, Kyoko’s about to put the final pieces of the puzzle together once and for all. After talking to the widow of Superintendent Sakamoto, not only does she finally discover what “Mufu” is (it was the band he was in as a youth), but who the mysterious Kai is too (Mufu’s frontman). However, the reveal of the final member of the White Centre conspiracy is made all the more complex when we realise that “Kai” grew up to be politician Takeshi Miura, a man who is currently running for governor of Tokyo. With all the pieces now linked (late Yakuza boss Otomo was also part of the band and White Centre), Kyoko sends the final kill order to her inhuman assasin – however, thanks to Fujita breaking under duress, the vengeful reporter may not be in control of the Human Vapor anymore.
With Miura making his presence felt and ordering the Vapor to kill Fujita and Kaho as a test, will the siblings survive where so many have died? And has Detective Kenji finally figured out the connection between Kyoko and the Vapor?
There’s something about an episode that finally brings everything together that just gets the blood pumping. During my review of the previous episode, I wondered if the show could ultimately manage to carry many of those twist over into actual plot threads that would lead to more interesting paths for the story – but “Mufu” manages to put all my fears to rest. While there’s still some questions left to answer, the majority of the cards are now laid on the table as the ultimate villain shows his face, the mindless allegiance of the Vapor shifts and poor, old, clueless Detective Kenji finally catches up with everybody else. But beyond finally lifting the veil of mystery and giving us a robust, Human Vapor origin story right put of a comic book, it’s also time for a shock death that raises those all-important stakes.
But first, let’s focus on that flashback that finally shows us how poor Ren Tsutsumida became that mass-switching assasin, and director Shinzo Katayama reveals a bunch of winning inspirations as he fills in this very important gap. Essentially one of the hapless group coerced by White Centre to clear up a glowing meteorite, he gets the Spider-Man villain treatment when the pulsing glow of the space rock (amusingly the same, violet light usually used in Lovecraftian cosmic horror such as From Beyond and The Color Out Of Space) starts fucking about with his genetic makeup. But beyond his painful transformation and the scattering of his atoms when the bomb he’s planted blows, the makers of the show are obviously using it as a great big analogy to the shady practices of businesses who rate human lives and the environment way less than the bottom line. This carries over into the fact that alongside complicit professors, corrupt senior police and a Yakuza mob boss, the whole, inhumane deal was being run by an immoral politician who now has plans to be governor.
Essentially, we’ve hit every base you’d expect from a science fiction conspiracy show to show corruption on almost every level – even one of our heroes is technically pulling antagonist shit in the form of Kyoko’s quest for vengence – but you can’t keep piling up the injustice without something finally giving and after Miura takes control of the Vapor, it’s the Fujikawa siblings who are used as a dry run to see just how obedient this misty attack dog really is. As the pair flee while the Vapor gives chase, Fujita ultimately sacrifices himself for his sister by hurling her into a nearby river and cashing out in impressive style. Dousing himself in gasoline he waits until the Vapor envelops him completely and while the killer pours himself into his victim’s lungs to pop him, Fujita turns the tables by igniting himself and temporarily blowing the Vapor apart. As sacrifices go, it’s a fucking awesome way to go out (if undeniably painful), but it’s also a necessary way to both raise the stakes, bring the arch villain out of the shadows, and “punish” Fujita for his sins of posting a video of the Vapor that ultimately screwed everything up.
Finally, we find both Kenji and Kyoko playing catch-up, with the latter finding out about Miura and the former finding out the truth about her. Kenji’s been sliding into the background over the last few episodes, so it’s good that he’s gradually getting his detective mojo back. But with him belatedly getting on the same page as the rest of the major cast, it looks like we’re almost free and clear to have a spirited sprint to the finale now that some many of the lingering secrets have finally been revealed. Simply put, all the various elements of Human Vapor have drifted together to make a cohesive whole – which is pretty damn fitting when you really think about it…
With it’s sixth episode, Human Vapor unleashes the majority of its remaining secrets while simultaneously ensuring that the plot still holds together with style. Corruption, sacrifices, villain turns – it’s all here and it’s all insanely satisfying as it starts raining some serious payoff after a season-full of build-up. Can it keep this going for the last two episodes? I can’t wait to find out.
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