More Women, More Wine, More Lessons
What They Say:
My name is Fukuzou Moguro, and people call me the Laughing Salesman. I am no ordinary salesman. The merchandise I sell is the human soul itself. Hooo-ho-ho-ho… All people in this world, young and old, male and female, are lonely. I am here to fill the emptiness in all of their souls. No, I won’t accept a single coin in return. As long as my customer is satisfied, that’s all the payment I need. Now, I wonder what sort of customer I’ll serve today… Hooo-ho-ho-ho-ho…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
In this week’s episode of Predatory Business Humanoid, the perpetually smiling Moguro Fukuzou has selected two more lonely souls to inflict with his special brand of “assistance”. In what is becoming his M.O., Moguro plies his clients with the magic of liquor and beautiful women; leaving devastation in his wake when they inevitably cross him the wrong way. In his sights this week is a lonely salesman seeking a little extramarital excitement and a freshly minted adult already traumatized by Japan’s notorious workaholic culture. The lesson this week? Be VERY careful what you wish for.
Once past Moguro’s typical intro where he tells us how wonderful his business is, we are introduced to his first client of the episode, Kihara Shisao. Shisao, a 46-year old salesman, has taken a detour on his way home from a business trip to stop at a small hot springs town for what he says is some “relaxation”. The Laughing Salesman, who may be the greatest enabler the Earth has ever seen, senses a deeply lonely aura about him…and he has just the fix. Adultery! Perfect! Moguro has learned to pick his customers perfectly, weak-minded and vulnerable individuals who all have work-related woes, and Shisao is no different. In this respect, The Laughing Salesman makes the lessons it tries to teach overtly simple and uninspiring. With each victim, like Shisao or young Deyashita Iyata virtually putting up no resistance in indulging themselves of the services Moguro is offering them. A credit card with no limit given to you by a complete stranger? A guilt-free, expensive night drinking with a geisha on the house? Any reasonably smart person, regardless of their desperation, would be able to sniff that out as a scam.
I couldn’t, however, discern exactly what the lesson from the second chapter was. It’s about a young businessman, Deyashita Iyata, whom after a particularly harsh chewing out, becomes afraid of even attending an interview for a new job. To remedy this, Moguro gets him a job at a very odd business where everybody takes turns being the boss, which eventually poisons young Deyshita, who sinks to the same “black company” level that he detested. For those not aware, “black companies” in Japan are companies considered to be highly abusive towards their workforce, though it seems to be a contagious attitude. When Deyashita neglects Moguro’s advice to not get too attached, he lays down the boom (literally), and essentially dooms the young man to insanity. What lesson is to be learned there? I suppose you could say that power shouldn’t be granted to those who are not mature enough to handle it, lest ye turn into exactly what you hate? Either way, Deyashita did leave with the episode with a secure job, so mission accomplished!
The modernized retro art style used in The Laughing Salesman NEW employed by Shin-Ei is used to good effect, especially when highlighting an abnormally beautiful woman such as the geisha that Shisao becomes so smitten with. This comes out strongest in the opening theme, with a catchy song paired with highly stylized imagery being able to catch the viewer almost instantaneously. It’s a shame then, that with as much opportunity that The Laughing Salesman NEW has to work with, it has so far failed to paint Moguro has nothing but a skeevy salesman whose main trick is getting you liquored up and spending tons of money. The Twilight Zone feel is still prevalent, so perhaps the writers can harness what’s left of that vibe and give us something a little more disturbing in the upcoming episodes.
In Summary:
Whilst projecting an eerie Twilight Zone attitude, Moguro has yet to show the viewers any depth in his character or strategies to ruin his victims/customers other liquor, money, and women. Admittedly powerful, that trio of temptations is already starting to overstay its welcome as a source of conflict in his arsenal. Hopefully, the potential put forth by its concept and the stylized art used won’t be wasted on mediocre writing.
Grade: C
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
