[AI Mystery Manga: Live-Action Version] Episode 39: You Call a Returned Hand a Malfunction? — Retrograde Exposes the "Second Hand U-Turn Scam" —

COMMIT Ginza | AI Mystery Manga: Live-Action Edition, Episode 39

Clock hands are meant to move forward. That’s what Kenji thought, until, before his very eyes, a golden hand instantly jumped back to the left. Was it a malfunction, a reverse running mechanism, or simply a quirk of the watch? A female appraiser begins to unravel a request for a discount, built upon the "defect" of a perfectly normal feature.

① The Reason for the Discount Runs Ahead of the Watch

With the commotion of the previous night finally cleared up, Kenji was busy tidying up the display tags at the salon counter. Kishimoto, a man in his forties, sat down—wearing round glasses, a brown jacket, and a black sweater. He had taken a liking to the RG-39, a fictional watch with a pale blue dial. When they began discussing the price, Kishimoto placed his smartphone on the table.

The watch on the display stand was still ticking away. The video Kishimoto played was just a short clip of the hand returning, which the shop had sent beforehand. There was no certainty the footage had been tampered with. However, he kept replaying that same few-second segment and refused to show the movement before the hand reached the far right.

② Sixty on the Far Right is Not a Dead End

The appraiser placed the RG-39—cushion and all—in front of them. The upper half featured a fan-shaped scale running from zero on the left to sixty on the right. There was only one golden hand extending from the central pivot. On the lower half, there was a small round dial with two hands for reading hours and minutes. The upper hand was dedicated to the seconds, serving a different purpose than the time display below.

The golden hand moved toward the far right, finished its designated cycle, and then snapped back to the starting point on the left. Afterward, it began its journey to the right again. Kenji leaned in from the back of his chair.

③ Only Kenji’s Mind Is About to Go Back 28 Years

The appraiser had Kenji take a seat. "Retrograde" is a mechanism where, instead of the hand continuously circling a dial, it moves within a fixed range and then snaps back to the starting point to repeat the cycle at the end. Just because the upper hand returns, it doesn't mean the entire movement has reversed or that the time has effectively "shaved off" a minute.

Kishimoto argued, "A second hand should go in a circle." That understanding applies to common watches, but there isn't just one way to display time. The appraiser makes sure not to lump "different from usual" and "different from specifications" into the same category.

④ "Retro" Does Not Mean Outdated, nor Is It Grounds for a Discount

The appraiser opened the specification manual for this unit. The management number was RG-39. By comparing it with the physical records, they confirmed the scale for the seconds, the return position, and the description of normal operation. The RG-39 in this case was set to have the seconds indicator progress across the fan-shaped range from zero to sixty and return to zero at the end of the one-minute cycle.

⑤ One Minute Doesn't Go Back. Only the Hand Returns for the Next Minute.

As the golden hand reached the middle of the fan shape, the appraiser pointed to the minute hand below. The zero at the top is the starting point of a new cycle. It is not an indicator that the previous minute has been erased. The actual time is read on the lower hour/minute dial, and the upper seconds display progresses within that cycle.

The number sixty is a mark indicating the end of a cycle. It is not a setting to display "sixty seconds" for a long time and then add extra time. The image is a dramatic representation of a moment; please use the roles and sequence in this table as a guide rather than the precise indicated position.

⑥ A Single Moment of Return Is Not Enough to Conclude an Inspection

The appraiser shook their head immediately. The fact that the return is a standard specification is separate from whether every condition of this specific unit is in good health. Just because one normal return was observed does not mean the accuracy, duration, or other potential issues were confirmed.

With Kishimoto's consent, the three of them recorded the actual movement. By fixing the cushion and keeping the camera steady, they captured both the upper fan display and the lower time display simultaneously. They didn't touch the crown or handle the watch during the process. They left a record of five minutes of operation, including multiple returns and the moments before and after.

⑦ Continuous Recording Fills the Gaps in Explanations

Playing back the recording from the start, the upper hand moved across the same range, returned at the end, and began moving to the right again. There was no sign of the lower minute hand jumping back by a minute during the returns. The three of them saved the original data and wrote down a distinction between what they had observed and what remained unexamined.

They also confirmed where Kishimoto’s short, selected clip fit into the original footage. What was shown was the return at the end of a normal cycle. They didn't prove that the speed or order of the video was faked, but rather that he had singled out only the return from a long operation to label it as "running backward."

⑧ Don't Use Winning or Losing a Negotiation as a Substitute for Inspection

Kishimoto remarked, "In the end, isn't this just an explanation convenient for the shop?" The appraiser did not engage in a battle of arguments, but instead proposed having the watch examined by an independent watch repair shop, separate from the sales decision. They documented the subject and the items to be verified and left the watch for inspection. Kishimoto returned the next day to hear the results.

At the workshop, they verified the progression and return of the seconds indicator against the specifications, the operation over multiple cycles, the hour/minute display, and basic timing accuracy. The report stated: "Under the verified conditions and scope, no abnormalities were observed in the return movement as pointed out." It was not a guarantee that it would never fail or that there were no problems in every conceivable environment.

On the other hand, this inspection allowed them to move beyond a judgment based solely on the shop's short demonstration. The correspondence between the specs and the item was verified by another pair of eyes not involved in the negotiation. The appraiser handed the workshop's record to Kishimoto and explained the scope of the verification as it was.

⑨ The Confession of a Malfunction Changed When the Next Line Was Read

What remained was the explanation from the shop that Kishimoto had cited. The appraiser suggested, "Let's look at the full text of the explanation we sent." Kishimoto operated his smartphone himself and opened the guide he had received earlier. They did not take his device without permission or investigate his other conversations.

Kishimoto had read only the first sentence as the basis for his discount request. The following sentences explained that the return was a feature of the display and that the condition check was separate. By taking out a single short sentence, the explanation had been transformed into one that "admitted a malfunction."

⑩ What Should Return Isn't the Hand, but the Reason for the Request

The appraiser placed the documents in order: the RG-39 specifications, the continuous recording, the independent workshop report, and the full text of the prior guide. They didn't use just one to press Kishimoto. They confirmed how the two points he claimed—"faulty because the hand returns" and "the shop admitted a fault"—corresponded with the records.

Kishimoto withdrew his request for a discount treating the return movement as a malfunction and rewrote the reason on his inquiry form. Whether he decides to buy it and whether it fits his budget will be reconsidered. He is free to feel that the mechanism doesn't suit his preferences. However, an explanation that replaced a known normal operation with the basis of a defect did not pass.

⑪ Properly Enjoying the Returning Mechanism

After Kishimoto left his seat, Kenji looked at the watch on the cushion once more. The hand that had seemed like the protagonist of a "reverse-running incident" until just a moment ago was now nimbly returning to its starting point for the next minute. Knowing the mechanism changes how the same moment appears.

⑫ Only Kenji’s Empty Plate Demands a Retrograde

Tea and small sweets were brought out before the two of them. Kenji ate one, then the second, and pushed the now-empty plate toward the appraiser. Next to it, the RG-39's hand was silently continuing its next cycle.

Conclusion: There Is a Reason Before and After the Moment of Return

Understanding how a watch works isn't about having tools to immediately deny the other party's claims. It's about looking at the before and after of a concerning movement, comparing it to the unit's specifications, and conducting necessary inspections separately. This return was a planned display movement. One cannot jump to conclusions of "it's a malfunction" or "there are no problems at all" from that fact alone.

A hand can return to the start in an instant. Read the explanation to the very end before jumping to a conclusion.