English Dub Review: In/Spectre “And So, the Ruler Disappeared”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
A hotel chain magnate asks Kotoko for help in solving a murder… that he may have committed.

Our Take:
Every case has someone seeking assistance catching the perpetrator responsible for a crime. But what if the mystery involves that person seeking help being the suspect? This sounded like a joke at first, but like Kotoko, I was shocked to see that it wasn’t. This kickstarted what seemed to be the final mystery of the season, as Kotoko and Kuro are tasked with the impossible: helping the suspect admit to their murder.
The suspect in question is Koichiro Otonashi, the president of the famous hotel group. He claims he made a deal with a fox spirit, a Yoko named Fubuke, to murder his demanding wife, Sumi. Koichiro also promised Fubuke he’d build a hotel on the mountain where the other Yoko resides. Clearly, this crime shouldn’t go unpunished, especially since humans using yokai for devious purposes upsets the balance. However, Sumi isn’t precisely what we call a loving wife and mother, as she wanted her children to run the family business instead of them living the lives they wanted. Regardless, a crime is a crime no matter how mean the victim is.
This episode seemed to move away from proving someone’s innocence and battling Pinocchio with electric powers in favor of Kotoko helping someone confess their crime. While the supernatural detective element of the show still exists, it’s another example of the second season changing things up to avoid repetition in the seasonal plot. Additionally, it continues to deliver the enjoyable chemistry between Kotoko and Kuro by having them retrieve a pen set from a crane game while discussing the case. It further showcases the development of their cooperating as partners but still acting like boyfriend/girlfriend material, even though Kuro still doesn’t approve of that relationship. With the competition by Koichiro set in place for the remaining episodes, it would be intriguing to see how this case will wrap up and which sibling will discover the truth first.