From a lackluster first episode, they kicked-up the notch this time around, which proves that first impression doesn’t always last.
No courtroom battles this time around, but that’s okay as Miyama shows why he was headhunt by Madarame Law Firm while Sada is slowly losing his lucrative deals but he’s becoming more like a defense lawyer even though he can’t help but be pressured by his former rich and powerful clients.
Here is a summary of 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi : Episode 2 (I promise to make this a bit longer than the first one so there might be some spoilers)
Sada goes to work with his blood boiling upon learning that Madarame personally informed his rich clients that he’s no longer their counsel since he’ll be concentrating as a criminal defense lawyer. As for Miyama, the only thing his seething that morning is that the roast beef he ate for breakfast has too much fat and thinks that’s being disrespectful to the cow.
Since he doesn’t have anything else to do, Sada goes with Miyama and Tachibana to interview their latest client, Yamashita Kazuki, who wants to claim a legitimate self-defense after he accidentally killed a man named Kiuchi during an argument. Sada wants to go straight to details of the incident but Miyama wants to start the interview beginning from their client’s childhood. This cause the two to quarrel especially when Miyama starts asking questions that might condemned their client than with his legitimate self defense plea. To prove that he’s making a point, Miyama bangs his head on the door giving him an injury above his eyebrow. haha.
The criminal section spends an all-nighter to study the documents pertaining to the case. Miyama goes to Sada’s home the next day to state his misgivings starting with the number of stab wounds. Yamashita claims he stabbed the victim 2 times while autopsy shows 5 stab wounds. There’s also the missing envelope with money that was last seen with the victim, it’s now gone and was not found in any of Yamashita’s belongings. Sada thinks that Miyama’s search is pointless, they are still going with the legitimate self-defense plea while Miyama wants to seek the truth.
In search for the truth, Miyama and Tachibana heads to Shizuoka, Kiuchi’s hometown, where they learned more of his past including Kiuchi being a former delinquent and rapist.
While the two are in Shizuoka, Sada receives a visit from one of their top clients, Asagiri International president. The president wants the case involving his grandson, Kiuchi, to get settled as soon as possible so he hopes that the firm will go with the legitimate self-defense plea. Sada finds it weird that the president wants Yamashita to go unscathed even though his grandson died but the president is firm that he wants it to end amicably. He also informs Sada that one of his lawyers that continues to snoop around.
Later on, Miyama gets a lecture from Sada, though Miyama doesn’t care at all especially when he thinks that Sada is only agitated because he got pressured by Asagiri since Kiuchi is his grandson. Moreover, Miyama and Tachibana also learned that some lawyers pressured the rape victim to withdraw her case against Kiuchi or the video of her rape will be released. This cause the victim to commit suicide, leaving her fiance behind who happens to be Yamashita.
The pieces in the puzzle is slowly coming around as another person came into picture, and that’s the restaurant’s manager where Yamashita and Kiuchi first had an argument before they decided to settle their fight elsewhere. The manager, whom I can’t recall the name, affirms that he went out to look for the two but he didn’t see them anywhere. However, surveillance video shows that he clearly followed them.
Meanwhile, Sada gets a beating, literally, from Asagiri’s president since Sada can’t stop Miyama from prodding further into the case. Asagiri threatened Sada that not only he will end his partnership with the firm but he will drop a word to other companies to withdraw their partnership as well. Sada asks Madarame if he took the case knowing this fact and Madarame says that just like in rugby, even if the ball gets passed to the back, it will still keep moving forward.
Several investigations later that involves Miyama being a homeless man for three days, the conclusion of the case goes way back to Shizuoka, in a long-standing quench for revenge and justice involving a loved one. Just like what Tachibana said, “you can’t wish for a normal life when you destroyed someone else’s”.
As for Madarame, Sada’s clever use of his phone recorder as well as Madarame’s connections and a bit of threatening, they are still the top law firm as they signed a deal with Asagiri’s rival company as their newest client.
Comments
I love this episode, things are slowly coming together in Madarame’s criminal department and despite Sada’s earlier reluctance to work with Miyama, the two are getting their partnership head on. Not just between the two, but the department is starting to work together sans excuses from their personal life. My favorite part between the Sada and Miyama is when Sada clearly loves Miyama’s old man gags even though everyone thinks that its bad. haha. It’s funny to see Sada controlling his laughter from Miyama’s pun.
The case in this episode is not only better but it also involves some smart deductions from Miyama’s side. I never thought that something common in a dialect will make that much impact and the way Miyama folds his ear to listen closely is not that annoying anymore, in fact, I think that it makes sense that he has that habit. I was half-expecting that Miyama will do his trademark re-enactment scenes but thankfully, he stick to questioning this time because that’s what lawyers mostly do anyway. It’s a wonder why Miyama didn’t become a detective when that’ll give him more access to investigate but as I said in the first episode, I think that Otomo is one of the reasons Miyama is in that career.
Speaking of Otomo, I miss the prosecutors in this episode. Well, they aren’t really needed since Asagiri isn’t even pressing charges. As for Asagiri, I can’t believe that Sada just accepted having a teacup thrown at him. This goes to show that lawyers can be powerless in front of their clients, after all, the clients are their cash cow so accepting expletives is included. Oh, Madarame seems to be a high-end law firm so its weird that Madarame would take those not-so lucrative criminal deals. I don’t think that Yamashita can pay their fee so if Madarame accepted that to find a way to get out of Asagiri then it’s really weird. I really think there’s more behind Madarame’s decision to put out a criminal department.
Anyway, this episode shows that what we do in the past will surely affect our present and our future and no matter how much we ran way, the past shadows will still chase and hunt us. So, be kind!
Dorama Doll 