The movie 'The Voice of Sin' is a masterpiece that accurately adapted the subtext of the original work: Thinking about the lives that might have been

　Continuing my musings on the live-action adaptation of mystery novels.

　The previous entry is here.
Why the movie 'Goodbye Debussy' chose 'heart-solving' over 'riddle-solving' - On the timing of the live-action adaptation of 'The Decagon House Murders' | Emi Suzuhara (note.com)

　(Hereinafter, honorifics for authors, actors, etc., will be omitted.)


　If it is to be adapted into live-action, I want it handled by someone who either loves the original work dearly or can maximize its strengths. This is a desperate request as a fan.
　I think about this again because I heard the news of the live-action adaptation of the masterpiece mystery 'The Decagon House Murders' (Kodansha Bunko / 695 yen excluding tax) by Yukito Ayatsuji. So, feeling that I absolutely had to write about it at this timing, I am writing various things, and this time it is about the movie adaptation of Takeshi Shiota's 'The Voice of Sin' (Kodansha Bunko / 920 yen excluding tax).


　I will talk a little about genres, but if I were to divide them, 'The Decagon House Murders' would be honkaku (orthodox mystery), and 'The Voice of Sin' would be a social mystery. Perhaps this might cause a difference in preference for whether to read it or not.

(1) Whether it's orthodox or social, the fun of the destination is the same if it's a mystery!

　
　However, I love both.
　
　For example, some might say that orthodox mysteries, which enjoy logical riddle-solving like a puzzle, and social mysteries, which are centered on social backgrounds and human drama, are completely different in nature.

　But personally, what I feel is 'essentially the same' is that in both, the fun of the 'so that's what it was' riddle-solving is there, and the ability to be absorbed in chasing 'where the story ends up'. If there is a brilliant development, you can read it through in one go. There is only a difference in quality depending on the work, and that is not a difference in genre.

　For example, in 'The Decagon House Murders', 'who is the culprit' and 'how was it done' are the destinations. As for interest in the visual adaptation, there is the point of how to convince the viewers of 'that one line' and how to surprise them. I am currently at the stage of looking forward to it so that I can pleasantly experience the excitement, the thrill, and the 'Wow! I see...' (as of February 2024).

　Then, where is the 'destination' of the social mystery 'The Voice of Sin' that I am taking up this time? By the way, the author Takeshi Shiota's latest work 'Subete no Sonzai' (Asahi Shimbun Publications / 1900 yen excluding tax) is nominated for the 2024 Japan Booksellers' Award. He is a fascinating author.

(2) Who became the most unhappy in the shadow of the major incident?

　The destination of 'The Voice of Sin' is 'who became the most unhappy in the shadow of the major incident that shook society?' The direct victims of the incident were several famous companies, and the methods of the criminal group are organized in the records, and after careful investigation, the motives and the end of the criminals can also be seen. -- but that is just the surface.

　
　Since reading 'The Voice of Sin', the siblings 'Nozomi and Soichiro Ikushima' have not left my heart. Their existence is heavy. They may be characters in a novel, but they are not existences that can be dismissed as such. Every time I hear the news, this novel clearly brings to the surface the 'unexposed victims' that I vaguely felt 'must surely exist'.

　I want many people to read such an excellent novel. -- However, this is also difficult.

(3) When you want to spread an excellent novel, 'visual adaptation' is a blessing close to a divine revelation

　
　So-called bestsellers and award-winning works are famous in the world of book lovers, but for people without reading habits, they are 'things that do not enter their daily life in the first place' or 'things that require a lot of effort to read'. They are not even an option for entertainment, let alone a source of knowledge.
　-- As a book lover, it is a pity, but habits vary from person to person, so it cannot be helped.

　
　However, when I wished for this story to spread, 'visual adaptation' and 'movie adaptation' have a power close to a divine revelation. It is truly a happy thing.


　If it is a drama or a movie, I can recommend it casually, and I might be able to watch it with family and friends, or even talk about my impressions.

　In fact, I myself sometimes pick up a book after seeing a visual work, thinking 'the novel came first' (recently, I was surprised by 'Deaf Voice', which was adapted into a drama on NHK). The power of visual adaptation and the speed of information transmission are tremendous. To use a metaphor, it feels like riding a wave. -- but with that comes responsibility, I think. Since it is seen by many people, it is meaningless unless the original work's strengths are accurately adapted into visuals and the essential message is the same.

　For that reason, I immediately watched the movie version of this amazing novel 'The Voice of Sin' (Director: Nobuhiro Doi / 2020). And -- I was made to cry a lot.

　Nozomi and Soichiro Ikushima, whom I had not been able to forget since reading the original work, were certainly there.

*From this point on, I will touch upon the contents of the original novel and the movie. While this is not a full-blown spoiler, I will touch upon the ending to some extent, so please be careful if you are concerned about that.

(4) What if the 'voice' of a major incident that shocked the world was your own?

The original novel 'The Voice of Sin' is a story based on the 'Glico-Morinaga case' that actually occurred in Japan in 1984. Although written as fiction, to borrow the author's words, 'I reproduced the date and time of the Glico-Morinaga case, the location, the contents of the criminal group's threats and challenge letters, and the subsequent media coverage of the incident as accurately as possible based on historical facts' (excerpt from the author's note at the end of 'The Voice of Sin').

First, as a synopsis of the story, let me quote the afterword from the back cover of the paperback edition.

Toshiya Sone, while trembling at the thought, 'Why is my voice?'—begins to investigate the case in his own way. Perhaps someone very close to him was involved in the incident. But it is also a battle against the fear of being exposed to the public as the 'tape child.' Although the incident, referred to in the work as the 'Ginga-Mando Case'—or 'Gin-Man Case' for short—has already reached its statute of limitations, it is still terrifying when considering the public's attention.

Meanwhile, newspaper reporter Eiji Akutsu, who began investigating the case on orders from his boss, is busy chasing down those involved, flying to the UK, researching old documents, and interviewing people involved. As they follow his footsteps, the reader (audience/viewer) can efficiently understand the outline of the 'Gin-Man Case'.

This part is detailed in the novel, but a good point about the movie is that you can understand the flow of the incident speedily with the help of visuals.

I personally remember the 'Glico-Morinaga case' vaguely in real-time (as I was a child), which is why I am interested in following the text to 'know more,' but for those who are not, and for those who are intimidated by the volume of text, it is quite a heavy read, so the achievement of the film adaptation is significant even just for this point.

—To return to the subject, the appeal of the movie is, first of all, Gen Hoshino, who played the tailor Toshiya Sone, and Shun Oguri, who played the reporter Eiji Akutsu. Personally, both of them are perfect for the image in the novel.

(5) There are two more tape children...! What is the 'destination of the incident'?

These two men, although in different positions, are both in their 30s, and are set to have been raised by loving parents in what seems to be a very ordinary family. They have jobs and incomes that are rewarding enough, and above all, they are kind-hearted.

This being kind-hearted and basically wanting to believe in justice, while not pushed to the forefront, is one of the pillars of the story.

This is because if Toshiya Sone, who is a 'tape child,' had only thought about protecting his current life, the story would have ended by rejecting the offer from Eiji Akutsu, whom he meets in the middle of the story (in both the novel and the movie, he feels fear and refuses at first). If Akutsu had only thought about doing his job as a reporter in a perfunctory way, even if he had found 'Soichiro Ikushima' in the end,


he might have ended up hurting him even more.

The two men eventually realize that this case, when pushed to its conclusion, leads to the 'tape children'. They are the other two children whose 'voices' were used besides Toshiya Sone. Unlike Toshiya Sone, who grew up peacefully without knowing anything, the two children who went missing one daycould not have been safe. They are the siblings Nozomi and Soichiro Ikushima. Who used their voices, how did they do it, and what kind of lives did they lead afterward—.

(6) A stunning drama! The climax that brilliantly visualizes the subtext of the original work

In the original work, the recollections where the parties involved or the individuals themselves say 'this is how it was' are dramatically recreated in the climax of the movie.


From the dense original work, which is 535 pages in paperback, the quality of the movie would have been completely different depending on how it extracted what the most important scenes to convey were, with the persuasive power of the visuals.

And as someone who read the original work, this movie brilliantly visualized the scenes I most wanted to see.

Thanks to the passionate performance of Nanoka Hara, who played the older sister Nozomi, the tragedy of the sister and brother who were 15 and 8 years old cannot be watched without tears. -- Is this really fiction? No, of course it is, but perhaps stories like this are overflowing everywhere.

When something happens, it is a daily occurrence that the weakest suffer the most.

And it is more sinful than one can imagine for adults to use children for their own shallow thinking at the time. Children cannot choose what they should or should not do. -- Nevertheless, the life that follows is long. A life longer than that of the adults who used them awaits. When asked 'why,' do adults really have the words to answer?

This is also told as a strong message in the movie.

The scene where Toshiya Sone confronts the person who recorded his voice on the tape. This is also in the novel, but in the movie, it is told with even stronger anger and sadness in Toshiya's own words. I will not write here who that person is, but I want to quote only Toshiya's lines from the movie.

The brilliant performances of Gen Hoshino and the actor playing his counterpart shine. It is a heart-wrenching scene, but I think the essence of this story also lies in the fact that the other person has nothing to say in return.

There are no words to say. The fact that a person who did such things has no words to say is empty from the perspective of the recipient.

Actually, a scene similar to this one also exists for Eiji Akutsu.


Akutsu identifies the mastermind of the 'Gin-Man Incident' and goes to a certain place where that person lives. Since the statute of limitations has already passed, he cannot be prosecuted under current circumstances, and he is only listening as a reporter, but Akutsu feels a sense of emptiness at the culprit's words. He understood the modus operandi and the purpose of the crime. -- But, a deeper understanding does not reach. Was there dissatisfaction with society? Did anything change because of that??

I will quote this sense of helplessness from the scene in the novel.

This scene is also depicted in the movie. It is also a highlight for Shun Oguri, who plays Akutsu. If many viewers and audience members could feel the same way as Akutsu at this moment, couldn't we say this movie was a success? I did.

The process by which Akutsu, who is highly capable as a reporter but has doubts about the way social news is covered due to his inherent kindness, awakens to his own sense of justice is depicted well, especially in the movie. I like that part too.

By the way, this scene where Akutsu meets the main culprit is set much later in the timeline in the movie than in the novel. This is quite effective as the climax of the film. I think it's brilliant.

This movie is carefully crafted by taking advantage of things that "can only be done through film." It is also fun to pay attention to the small props, such as the sloppy way Akutsu wears his suit (and the indescribable expression Sone has when he sees it) or the freebies that come with Ginga (Glico) caramels.

(7) What is the meaning of "prime factorization" and "prime numbers" mentioned in both the original work and the movie?

In both the original work and the movie, a helping hand is extended to Soichiro Ikushima at the end.

However, it is not a simple "I'm glad you're alive" ending, but one that highlights a tragic half-life. Even so, thanks to the will and actions of Akutsu and Sone, a miraculous reunion takes place, and the story ends with a ray of light shining through.

In the original work, the conversation between Akutsu, who has finished almost all the "things he needed to do," and his boss Torii, a demon of a crime reporter, is memorable.

This scene is also in the movie, and Kanji Furutachi, who plays the boss Torii, adds a nice touch.

However, as someone who read the original work, I have to say that the novel was superior in terms of the flavor of the writing and the slowly spreading emotional impact. It's amazing. My heart warms at how incredible it is. The author must have written the novel with exactly this sentiment in mind.

Chasing the "destination" of an interesting story and reading a wonderful "closing sentence" at the end is a sense of accomplishment that only book lovers can obtain. That is why I hope many people will enjoy reading, but the hurdle remains high as always. Even so, for those who are not good with books, they can just watch the movie "The Voice of Sin," which accurately visualizes this story.

As a fan of the original work, I have nothing but gratitude for such a wonderful adaptation.

(8) Can we extend a helping hand and find a form of salvation?

I wrote earlier that the fact that Toshiya Sone and Eiji Akutsu are good people is the pillar of this story.

It was because these two were the ones who found Soichiro Ikushima that a ray of light could still be seen at the end of the story. There was a possibility that Soichiro might not have been found, or that he might have been found and become even more miserable.

How much can we know about the existence of people like Nozomi and Soichiro Ikushima, who must surely be in the corners of this society? Is it possible to think about what form of "helping hand" would be appropriate for each individual? No, when a major incident like the "Giman Incident"... the "Glico-Morinaga case" occurs, or even when small, everyday incidents occur, can we exercise the imagination to ask who was hurt the most?

The author's words at the end of the paperback book say this.

　Just as those words suggest, it was a powerful work that was enough to make me think that such a life might have truly existed. And the movie was, too.

　
　Eiji Akutsu and Toshiya Sone are by no means perfect human beings. Perhaps, by a mere coincidence of events, they were able to become'good people' to Soichiro.

　
　I would be happy if I could also become 'a good person to someone' at some point in my life. And if I were to become 'Soichiro,' would someone find me and be a 'good person' to me? —I don't know.


　However, by encountering a story like 'The Voice of Sin,' I canexpand my imagination. I cangive shape to my thoughts. That might lead to a chance to save someone, or perhaps myself.

　That is why I want to keep remembering Nozomi and Soichiro forever.

　'The Voice of Sin' is a work that I want many, many more people to read and watch. It was truly wonderful.

　To be continued.

　Next, I will write about 'Inspector of the Dead' (Suna no Utsuwa) by Seicho Matsumoto.
Truly a miraculous departure! Why the movie 'Inspector of the Dead' is also one of the best music films in Japanese cinema: It's not just because the music is amazing | Emi Suzuhara (note.com)