Our Dream
Episode 4 of The Naked Director Season 2 begins with Muranishi making big strides with his satellite gig. However, tensions can be felt between Kuroki and Muranishi as they do another press conference together. Kuroki plays up to the camera while Muranishi forces a smile. Off-screen, Kawada and Wada continue to experiment with different kinds of porn. Within all of that Kawada ends up with a sex doll… and yes he does start kissing it. Back at the newly acquired villa, Umino arrives and gives his verdict on Muranishi. Given he’s the CEO, he defiantly says no to Muranishi being broadcast. Regardless of how qualified he is, him being arrested and being labeled as an ex-con is what’s caused him to be rejected. This throws their new adult video plans completely out the water. The whole operation becomes exhausting for everyone involved. Mitamura falls asleep at the monitor, there are girls passed out in the hallway and Miyuki is depressed and doubting her life choices. She got into this business on Kawada’s recommendation and to try and make art. Now though she’s having doubts. Thankfully Kaoru is there to help. Elsewhere, Toshi arrives to see Fuyura. While he waits, Sayaka shows up to talk. He’s pretty frosty toward her but mostly because he’s worried about her. In fact, he’s not happy that she’s essentially being used by her Mother to pay off her debts. Suddenly, everything explodes into a frenzy of gunshots, blood and sword blows. These Taiwanese gangsters we’ve been hearing about come storming in and light the place up. Toshi grabs Sayaka and encourages her to join him. Fuyura watches from the wings as he realizes he’s been set up. Muranishi, fresh off the humiliation of the satellite gig, shows up to dinner with Umino and his date. He’s immediately escorted out the building, but not before wooing his date in the process. He’s thrown straight onto Honda’s car. That doesn’t deter Muranishi though, who decides to go straight to the Takamiya residence and win the family over. When Umino shows up, he’s not happy. When he finds out Muranishi has been granted satellite rights, he tries to convince Watabe otherwise. It’s no good, he’s intent on shaking things up on the dull and stagnant satellite. This deal comes with a price. Muranishi needs to impress and given this deal is out on the open market, he needs to be ready. Well, with this deal in the bag, Muranishi prepares to be a Director once more. He’s not going to star in the movie. When Kaoru finds out, she’s crushed. She tries to convince Muranishi to change his mind but he’s having none of it. In fact, he tells her that their previous video was a complete fluke and there’s no way they’ll ever be able to surpass that. This is one step too far for Kaoru who walks away – only for Miyuki to step up and take her place instead.
The Episode Review
Slowly but surely Muranishi is losing everyone in his life that made this company such a success. This ascent to the top and seeing these pieces start to crack and peel away has been done before in other shows but the journey is no less effective here. The series has done a great job demonstrating the sacrifices Muranishi has taken to get to the top, while also showing the passion slowly leaving Murinashi to be replaced by this cool and steely business mind. And not even a viable business mind either, a recklessly questionable one. Alongside this though is the more gritty inclusion of the Yakuza and Taiwan gangs, with Toshi stuck in the middle of all this. It’s a nice distraction from the Muranishi situation and does help to paint a picture of the changing wave of criminal activity in the city. Right now this is remaining parallel to the other plot but I’m sure they’ll intersect and cross over later in the season.
