[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Haven't you considered the possibility that these pieces of evidence were deliberately left behind as a calling card to Hanto? Either to motivate him to accept the operation, or to warn him what happens to journalists who put their noses in dangerous places. Journalism is about finding the truth, which means thinking of solutions as well as problems.

That's why I put the "orgy of evidence" meme from Minority Report in a new paragraph. Whether those pieces of incriminating evidence were left by the actual culprit, or by someone who was framed as the culprit, or by someone who was the manipulator, it'd still look dumb. Sure, the writers can make that those pieces of incriminating evidence were left by a manipulator, but it would only make the story more convoluted and create more questions, such as:
- Who was the manipulator? Was it Nyelv (who is also Kenzou like I mentioned in my (outlandish) speculations above)? Was it the reason why Nyelv was holding a broken Hito Press which looked like the bottom half of Mr. Shioya's Hito Press in episode 6 @ 13:16?
- Who broke Mr. Shioya's Hito Press? Was it broken by the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou?) or by the captor (the Mushroom Granute)?
- What was the point of the Mushroom Granute submitting Mr. Shioya's (broken) Hito Press to the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou)? Was he simply forced by the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou)? Did he know that it was part of a plan to manipulate Hanto, which means that Hanto would later suspect him if Mr. Shioya's (broken) Hito Press was conveniently left at the crime scene?
- More importantly, how could those objects (a piece of paper containing the address of the bar, a wallet, a camera, a bag, and Mr. Shioya's broken Hito Press) very conveniently stay in that same open spot without being found by random passers-by? No way in God's green Earth that big, conspicuous objects like a camera and a wallet could stay unrecovered in the same exact spot on a busy street near a public place in a business district without being found and recovered by a random passer-by and then reported to the nearest police station in the lost-and-found section. Mr. Shioya's broken Hito Press, having his face printed on it, can also act like an ID, so it would've also definitely recovered by the random passer-by and reported to the police station. You plant fake/manipulated pieces of evidence in a closed, undisturbed environment that's safe from any external interferences until the intended victim comes into your trap. You never plant fake/manipulated pieces of evidence in a very open, very public place like this that can be disturbed by random passers-by. It's makes no sense at all.
- And, if it's done to intimidate or silence or deter journalists, then it should've also be done to the primary eyewitnesses who have posted their encounters with Granutes in social media. If Stomach corporation needs to hide their operations and cover their tracks, then then should start by silencing the primary eyewitnesses, or better, by kidnapping them as well. So far, many Granutes kidnap people in open, public spaces, for example the Mushroom Granute in this episode who kidnaps people during his magic show. Stomach corporation should focus their cover-up effort in silencing those many eyewitnesses, not intimidating journalists (or other third parties) who are often not eyewitnesses.

Unnecessary "manipulation" subplot (and likely plot twist) like this requires way too many conveniences. That's the hallmark of a convoluted story: Conveniences after conveniences after conveniences after conveniences after conveniences. This type of robotic, rigid, clumsy writing is so forced and unnatural that it makes the viewers roll their eyes. Plot convenience is one of the worst ways to break the story's immersion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

You can't just blame everything on a higher power, or else there would be no point in journalism.

What I've meant by "a higher power/a higher force" in my comments is the writers of this story who love manipulative/unnatural/forced/heavy-handed writing.