Sunny Recap: Grief Shield

As a seasoned observer of human nature and a connoisseur of intrigue, I find myself captivated by the twists and turns in this narrative. Suzie, our protagonist, is a woman with a past that seems to be haunting her more than she realizes. Her friendship circle appears to be as complex as a tangled web, with each relationship revealing a new layer of mystery.


It’s now appropriate for the TV series “Sunny” to begin reaping the fruits of the mystery it has been cultivating during its last three hours or more on screen. Indeed, the seventh episode among its ten starts off by revealing the answer to a murder mystery that even the most devoted “Sunny” fans, those who have tanned excessively from their love for the show, may not have considered in weeks.

Indeed, it was Himé who carried out the assassination of Councilor Ito, a public official whose untimely death at home was mentioned in both the series’ first and fourth episodes. In this scene, we see him going for an early morning jog with his household robot, followed by a contented expression as he watches himself on TV announcing new legislation intended to protect citizens from yakuza harassment. As he climbs the stairs to take a bath, a shadowy figure in black – clearly Himé, attempting to assume the role of oyabun (a powerful yakuza boss) – shoves his robot down the stairs, causing Councilor Ito’s fatal fall. Dramatically, his head strikes the floor, and his eyes open wide.

To put it simply, it seemed like a miraculous hit when an appliance was dropped on someone. It’s a perilously fortunate way to try and eliminate someone, considering the organization involved has a history of destruction so extreme that they eliminated an entire plane full of people just to ensure they got their intended target. Later, Himé utilized Masa’s seal to reactivate Ito’s home robot, which she had apparently deactivated after Ito returned from his run. Once we bought its memory, the bot gleefully declared it was ready to cook the pancakes Ito had requested, oblivious to the fact that its master lay dead on the floor right in front of it.

Following the titles, Mixxy finds herself awake in Suzie’s bed. There’s a conversation about which of Suzie’s clothes she will wear for her journey to work, as Suzie suggests it would be inappropriate for Mixxy to leave wearing what she wore previously. I can’t help but ponder if Suzie often wears outdated or ill-fitting clothing as a symbol of her disconnection from the world, or if she’s wearing Masa’s clothes as a sign of mourning for her deceased husband. Mixxy’s hesitation to accept Suzie’s offered outfit in this scene suggests a deeper motive than just personal taste. It seems that actor Annie the Clumsy is portraying something beyond a simple generational difference in this scene.

Mixxy is also adamant that Suzie should not try to wake the damaged, glitchy Sunny in Mixxy’s absence.

Even though Suzie managed to wake Sunny up the night before when Mixxy brought her over, she had stubbornly refused. However, this morning, Sunny is wide awake, which leads to an intriguing and amusing scene. It’s delightful when the show takes a playful turn – it’s just what we love about it! Sunny behaves as if she’s a slightly irritated partner instead of an artificial assistant. She questions Suzie about why she was awakened, and voice actress Joanna Sotomura expertly conveys Sunny’s emotional turmoil through her words. Suzie suggests putting Sunny back to sleep, but Sunny declines, indicating that she’s awake now. This human-like inconsistency in sleep patterns is evident. Sunny then plants herself in front of the TV, giggling at what appears to be a game show. I can’t recall many instances where robots or androids have laughed before, except perhaps to illustrate their lack of understanding humor. But here, it seems that Sunny truly comprehends the jest.

In addition, she exhibits subtle hostility: When Suzie criticizes the show Sunny is watching by saying she doesn’t get its appeal, the AI responds by implying that understanding Japanese would be a requirement. Sunny brushes off Suzie’s concern about potential PTSD in the homebot and counters her joke about PMS with a straightforward statement that homebots do not menstruate. The situation reaches a peak when Suzie expresses hunger, but the bot, designed to serve her, seems to disregard her request entirely.

As a film enthusiast, I’d rephrase it like this: From behind bars, I, Noriko, make a call and promptly criticize my son’s wife’s skincare routine. Then, I ask for Sunny-chan, who greets me in Japanese with warmth that was missing from my conversation with her. Meanwhile, Suzie, sipping her morning wine, peruses pictures and videos of Zen.

After some contemplation, Suzie decides to call Dee, explaining that she’s been unsuccessful in contacting her for quite a while and apologizes for past actions. “I acknowledge I behaved poorly as a friend,” Suzie admits. And yes, we haven’t encountered Dee yet, and we’re not privy to Suzie’s misdeeds, but it’s clear that more questions are being raised, and maybe a touch of mystery too.

Mixxy arrives back at Suzie’s dwelling, bringing word that she has been let go from Ochiba, the cocktail bar where they initially crossed paths. When it seems like Suzie downplays the significance of this turn of events, Mixxy confronts her harshly for her self-centeredness, claiming she uses a “Shield of Grief” to disregard the emotions of others. Delving into psychology despite their brief acquaintance, Mixxy questions why Suzie lacks other companions, doesn’t hold a job, and hasn’t mastered Japanese. (Suzie has openly discussed her dyslexia as a challenge in learning Japanese, given that the direction of reading depends on the specific writing system being used.)

The peak of the situation finds Sunny, who Mixxy hadn’t suspected was awake, suddenly throwing a punch at Mixxy’s abdomen. This unexpected act of resistance, seemingly fueled by defiance, comes from a machine that had been programmed since its capture to disregard and resist emotional signals from its assumed creator. It’s worth noting that this robot, possibly, brutally murdered a man in the ImaTech labs. Suzie was about to express her concern for Sunny when Sunny interrupted with that punch to Mixxy. This suggests that Sunny might have been thinking tactically rather than emotionally at that moment. Suzie then commands Sunny to rest. Interestingly, it appears that Sunny is complying with this command even now.

As I pay my heartfelt tributes to my late father in a manner that truly embodies who Himé is, a wave of frustration surges through me. “Why, you old bastard,” I mutter under my breath, wishing he could have lasted a little longer. The news that my cousin Jin had been with him during his final moments leaves me feeling suspicious. The nurse informs me that his last hours were peaceful, a swift demise we all secretly yearn for. This revelation sets off alarms in my mind.

In the fourth episode, Botan, Himé’s unfaithful soldier, informed Tetsu that Himé was aware of Ito’s murder but not of the incident involving Flight 405 before Tetsu killed him at the bathhouse. However, it was Himé who ordered Tetsu to eliminate Botan. Moreover, we will soon discover that Tetso and Himé are romantically involved. The series presents a mix of espionage intricacies similar to ‘Slow Horses’, set against a backdrop of absurd robot comedy. Yet, as the episodes progress, the show’s diversity appears to be more of an obstacle rather than an advantage.

In the following scene, Suzie and Mixxy take Sunny to a covert mechanic who had given Suzie information about the Dark Manual in episode two, this same young woman with Masa’s seal tattooed on her stomach. They seek answers as to why Sunny was able to strike a human. Examining Sunny’s programming, the mechanic finds no signs of manipulation using the Dark Manual. However, she does detect three tracking devices planted on Sunny: one on Suzie herself, another in the prison Noriko intentionally sent someone to, and a third on an individual at an apartment building near the train museum. These trackers have been active only within the past day, coinciding with Sunny’s abduction by Himé and her associates. The mechanic enables Suzie to monitor these trackers from her phone, but upon discovering that those tampering with Sunny were yakuza, she advises Suzie to either destroy Sunny or discard her in a river (Suzie has attempted the latter but not the former).

In prison, Noriko’s childhood friend, who seems to have committed a serious crime despite having terminal cancer and not being granted a compassionate release, recounts a chilling story about an ex-inmate. This woman intentionally put herself behind bars, only to be transferred to solitary confinement supposedly for her own protection.

At home, Suzie carefully takes off her clothes piece by piece to identify which one might have been tampered with. Similar to her incident of being uneasy about being seen undressed two episodes back while relieving herself in nature, she appears unusually uncomfortable at the thought of her friend witnessing her in such a vulnerable state. The tracking device is found concealed within Suzie’s wedding ring. Perhaps it’s the disillusionment of another letdown concerning someone she considered a friend that prompts Suzie to offer a sincere apology for her poor treatment towards Mixxy.

“Historically, I’m a terrible friend,” Suzie admits. “Currently too.”

1. Mixxy responds with a smile, causing Suzie to become aware that her top may have slipped, revealing something inappropriate. “It seems she was apologizing as well,” Mixxy remarks, keeping the controversial area hidden from view. Suzie decides to investigate the enigmatic third tracking dot near the train museum alone, but Mixxy, always supportive, insists on tagging along with her. Suzie places her wedding ring inside Sunny’s storage compartment for monitoring purposes, continuing to refer to it as an inanimate object.

Prior to their departure, Mixxy, secretly viewing Suzie’s phone communications, catches a message from Dee stating that they are no longer friends and not to contact her again. Mixxy erases this message. It remains unclear whether Mixxy is trying to protect Suzie’s emotions or if there’s something more malicious at play. Meanwhile, the sweet potato truck driver who previously kidnapped Suzie and left her bound in a previous episode, lies in wait outside her house, making no attempt to hide himself. He updates Himé that Suzie is moving but the tracker they implanted on her remains stationary.

Upon reading the message, Himé lets out a heavy sigh and shares the news with her partner, Tetsu. This is surprising; we weren’t aware they were married. “Give my regards to your spouse,” Himé replies. However, when Tetsu objects that he loves her deeply and would go to great lengths for her, Himé instructs him to fetch his gun.

As a seasoned detective with years of experience under my belt, I have come to appreciate the intricacies of following leads and solving mysteries that seem impossible at first glance. This particular case, however, has proven to be quite unique in its own right. The trail led me to an impressive apartment tower, where each door was painted in a dazzling array of vibrant colors – a stark contrast to the grimy city streets outside.

“You can take mine if you want,” the woman replies in Japanese.

It wasn’t until they decided to explore the building’s basement that they stumbled upon someone Suzie recognized. The person turned out to be Yuki Tanaka, who had introduced Sunny to Suzie in the first episode and claimed his name was Yuki Tanaka then. “Suzie,” he said in English, “We need to have a conversation.”

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2024-08-14 17:55