Furuhata Ninzaburo series two ★★★☆☆

Great episodes in this but I think I consistently enjoyed the first series more.

Columbo is a bloodhound, he catches a whiff of something wrong and doggedly pursues the murderer teasing out every detail, taking his time, until he finally corners them. Furuhata is a sly fox and more concerned with being clever. This show is much more interested in the big reveal of how Furuhata catches people, it even devotes a soliloquy every episode into teasing it, which means that whether an episode lands or not depends a lot on if that is satisfying or just comes across as contrived.

I also think they are leaning far too heavily into Imaizumi as a very weak source of comic relief. I just don’t find the degree of cruelty towards him funny or how ridiculous he himself gets. The last episode, despite otherwise being pretty good (I enjoy them having the big we’re going to America! episode for the finale and then have it being possibly the cheapest one of the whole show, mostly just being two people talking on a bus) was marred by its dreadful Imaizumi-focused B-plot.