Out Of Control
Episode 6 of The Naked Director Season 2 sees the beginning of the end for Muranishi. Ms Oba, the level-headed employee our porn Director has been leaning on all this time, is a fraud. She’s been using a fake name and has been working with Komu. With salaries paid in cash, there’s no trail back to find out who she and Komu really are. Komu and Oba – our Bonnie and Clyde – take off in a lavish sports car to the coast, far away from Muranishi’s operation. Muranishi shows up at the Chairman’s pleading for another chance but he’s promptly escorted off the premises. Umino shows pity on him and encourages Muranishi to give up on the satellite deal. In fact, Umino has decided to resign too, leaving Muranishi well and truly on his own. Things aren’t much better back at the studio either. Rugby’s not happy about the lack of blur while the girls – especially Naoko – question Muranishi and believe he’s scamming them. The harsh treatment o the girls is made worse by Muranishi playing favourites with Muyuki. They’re not the only ones after money though. Toshi and Kawada decide to dub old videos in order to drum up the cash they need to get Fuyura off their back. As they start their operation, it’s clear it’s going to take a lot of time. In order to satisfy this quote, they bring in some extra help. The last day to pay the satellite fees arrives and Muranishi arrives to see Detective Takei as a last ploy. Takeismirks and tells him he’s lost control. However, he does reveal that Toshi and Kawada are working together now. If he wants to compete then there is someone he can ask…Furuya. And he does too! Muranishi has sunk so low that he’s gone to the Yakuza. He buries his head and pleads with Furuya for the funds. He’s given the 250 million yen but reminded that if he doesn’t pay back then everyone he knows will be killed. No pressure then! Muranishi heads straight to the bank to pay the satellite fees but there’s a problem. Under the satellite contract he promised to have 100 million subscribers… and he has 763 subscribers. He’s making a loss of nearly 250 million yen every single month. It’s reckless and with Diamond Visual hastily jumping into the satellite gig, the company is going to go bankrupt if he keeps this up. Instead of paying off his debts, he snubs Honda’s advice and decides to pay for another money of satellite fees. It’s the wrong move, of course, as men and women come after him, desperate to be paid. Rugby does his beat to try and quell the growing rise of anger but it’s clear this isn’t going to end well. The exodus begins with the staff, as Naoko stands up and demands he pay up what he owes. Although Muranishi nonchalantly shrugs it off, a rain-soaked Mitamura only exacerbates the issue. He confronts Muranishi about selling the uncensored videos and the Yakuza deal. When this is aired out for all to hear, the girls are shocked and even more so when Muranishi calls them all merchandise. This inevitably causes everyone to leave, including Rugby, Mitamura and Nori. After working tirelessly, Mitamura earns enough to pay back Naoko for the funds she’s lost. He admits that he loves her and is doing this for her. She refuses to take his money though and simply hugs him warmly, eventfully telling him to have sex to ease her pain. While things aren’t looking good for Muranishi, they’re on the up for Kawada and Toshi who run their business properly. They even have a new Director in Junko. As the episode comes to a close, Diamond is off the air. Muranishi is a complete mess and numerous notes are left angrily asking him to pay up. He receives a surprise visitor though. It’s Kaoru and she asks Muranishi to kill her!
The Episode Review
The conversation between Honda and Muranishi is easily the highlight of this season, with one moment encapsulating the entire crux of the issue – and Muranishi’s character. This man is so proud that he’d rather continue spiraling into debt than concede defeat and take diamond of the air. Well, this is his undoing as he ends up in an even worse position than he was before. And what a downfall it is. Muranishi finds his entire world crumble, with everyone in his life turning away and leaving massive question marks over his future. Although satellite is the future, Muranishi was far too hasty in getting this set up and didn’t heed the warnings from Kawada or Honda. With money owed to the Yakuza and Kawada now back on the rise again, the final two episodes are set up beautifully to see this drama explode into action.
