Ura Baito: Toubou Kinshi - Ch. 160 - Estate Liquidator ②

[zawarudo]

Have to agree with @1412.

This story was not about the figurine itself but more about Takuma Yagi and what drives him. Much like his father enjoying his bizarre death (perhaps finally feeling validated about his lifelong obsession with the Gray, almost like his Eureka moment), Mr. Yagi desires to dabble in things that he cannot just instantly comprehend or get good at. It is very likely that the goofy ass figurine was not the one that switched Mr. Akagawa with a cow's innards, it's just the one that happened to activate because of all the people visiting the residence, hence why it was shown merely chasing the girls away and was noted to have disappeared afterwards. The actual Gray object that killed Mr. Akagawa might still be in the house but just lays dormant and doesn't stink because the unknown conditions to activate it were not fulfilled for a second time.

But of course it's also probable that the figurine has various powers and it might be featured in a subsequent story, with this particular one being part of the buildup. I hope Daidai gets to BTFO it.

 

[GAMERUsagi]

If I read this correctly, this is just a Chekov Guned Red Herring chapter, the two incidents are not directly related to each other.

so basically, Takuma (the detective)'s father collects various gray objects, to the point of obsession, which eventually leads to his divorce, and now one of his collections also kills him in the most bizarre way. yet even so he is dead smiling.

Takuma hearing his father's demise now has to clean his house (liquidate his property) and there they find a gray doll that may or may not have killed his father. Yet that is not important for this chapter. the more important thing is Takuma and his mother's conversation.

Takuma's mother tried to convince him to stop his current job as a gray worker broker because she had prepared a better employment, (and implicitly) She also worried that his job would lead Takuma to the same fate as his father. which Takuma declined as his current job as a Gray Worker Broker is his obsession (much like same as his father)

So what this chapter wants to convey is... sometimes, people will risk their lives for their obsession / to escape their boredom of mundane life. Takuma's father's death condition and the creepy doll are just Chekov Guns Red Herring that are not really important and just tools to show the danger of the Gray world, yet in the end, Takuma's father dies smiling, and now Takuma also doesn't want to forfeit his job.

You nailed it right on the head. This "arc" wasn't about solving any mystery. Even Takuma said they'll probably never really now why is father was in the cow. It's not about that. They mangaka just wanted to let us in on Yagi's perspective on gray work and life. Great chapters.

 

[looc64]

Have to agree with @1412.

This story was not about the figurine itself but more about Takuma Yagi and what drives him. Much like his father enjoying his bizarre death (perhaps finally feeling validated about his lifelong obsession with the Gray, almost like his Eureka moment), Mr. Yagi desires to dabble in things that he cannot just instantly comprehend or get good at. It is very likely that the goofy ass figurine was not the one that switched Mr. Akagawa with a cow's innards, it's just the one that happened to activate because of all the people visiting the residence, hence why it was shown merely chasing the girls away and was noted to have disappeared afterwards. The actual Gray object that killed Mr. Akagawa might still be in the house but just lays dormant and doesn't stink because the unknown conditions to activate it were not fulfilled for a second time.

But of course it's also probable that the figurine has various powers and it might be featured in a subsequent story, with this particular one being part of the buildup. I hope Daidai gets to BTFO it.

See I'd guess that the figurine and Mr. Akagawa's death won't reappear or be explained to emphasize the stuff about Yagi and his dad.

Like the point is that his obsession with collecting gray stuff was gonna catch up to him eventually so the specific object that actually killed him isn't super important.

 

[Mekanike]

Yeah this one really just isn't a mystery but a character study. Which honestly I'm fine with.

i really liked this chapter. the horror is great, especially the color chapters, but i'll take any chance to get a deeper look into the main cast

 

[LupusVir]

that was weak, hope author is just using this for building plot

This was very obviously to get background on character motivations. It's not about the toy.

 

[Vainfire]

Sometimes you gotta engage with material on a metaphorical level in order to grok it. In this case, the point of the story was to give us backstory on Mr. Yagi and why he is the way he is. We got to know him through his mom, his dad's estate, and his own retelling of his life history. Why was his dad in a cow? That mystery will, as Mr. Yagi says, never be explained. What's the point of the cursed toy? Not sure, but it's unrelated to the cow. But it's that unexpectedness that draws Mr. Yagi in, and keeps him around. And it's why he's in the business of grey detective work, probably: with how easily he pieces together even extremely convoluted supernatural cases, imagine how easily he could do normal, mundane detective work. Imagine how bored he would get.