Tantei Gakuen Q

Tantei Gakuen Q is pretty much just another detective show with fairly interesting mysteries for all the detective addicts to get high on. Based on the manga by Seimaru Amagi and Fumiya Satou, Tantei Gakuen Q is about the young Kyuu, who is talented at deduction and reasoning. He eventually enrolls into the famed Dan Detective School, a specialist school that train students into detectives. He befriends a number of the other students in the school, each with their own specific talents. Together their group tackles a number of mysteries and crimes that occur.

Tantei Gakuen Q is episodic, with each episode mostly focusing on different ... crimes that occur around Kyuu and his friends. There are a number of multi-episode mysteries in the show, which in my opinion are much more interesting, witty and detailed compared to the one-shot mysteries. Majority of the mysteries are fun to watch, with some crimes containing tricks that are incredibly complicated. Occasionally the story may drift to cheesiness, and certain parts may be quite predictable. A plotline runs throughout the entire series, although the main focus of the show is still on the specific crimes in each case. The ending of the anime, unfortunately, is rather unsatisfying, with the previously mentioned main plotline finishing off rather unresolved.

The animation is rather plain, and contains nothing special. Occasionally, characters may appear disfigured, but with the focus of the viewer on the mysteries occurring in the show, animation is most likely the last thing on everyone’s minds. Character designs are simple and more or less unappealing. It is a wonder with the logical nature of this show why the main character has green and white hair (even as a child).

For the sound, voice acting is satisfying. No character really stands out with an incredible voice actor although you may find one or two characters with a VA that you would rather not have to listen to. The background music is rather enjoyable to listen to, if not overused in the show. You’ll most likely not complain if you like it enough that you wouldn’t mind the same piece to be played over and over again. The openings and endings are rather unmemorable. Especially with the cliffhanger endings in the show, a lot of people would probably rather skip through the opening if they could. With that said, the openings and endings are not bad per se, and I find the first opening to be excellent.

Characters are not really the strongest point in the show. Character development is near non-existent, from the beginning to the very end; characters more or less still act the same (with an exception of a few individuals). Each of the main characters have their own specific traits and talents, and help out in each of the cases using these traits. The teachers in the show are hardly ever seen, and are pretty much forgettable. The criminals are rather generic, with their weak revenge driven hearts, anger, greed, selfishness or tragic upbringings or events that lead them to do their crimes.

As for why I like Tantei Gakuen Q, the tricks used in the show were fascinating. I did not really care much for any other aspect of the show; the mystery was pretty much the only thing I found really going for it. The drama in the show was frankly rather annoying and cheesy to watch most of the time. I also wish the show wasn’t aimed at kids.

Overall, Tantei Gakuen Q is pretty much an anime that the mystery and detective lovers would probably like the most. It doesn’t have much else going for it except for the specific stories in each of the cases. If you would like to give your deduction skills a try, go ahead and watch Tantei Gakuen Q. All hints are always given and fully explained in the show. Be warned though, some of the tricks are complicated and not exactly the sort of thing an average person is going to suddenly think up.

If you're a mystery maniac or just looking for an entertaining series to watch, you can't go wrong with this one. Although the age of the characters belies the depth of each case, its a good plot for anyone who once and still wishes to be like sherlock holmes, nancy drew, etc. Imagine a school that actually develops one's deduction skills at a very young age. The graphics could use a bit more improvement, but nevertheless the cases are varied -- ranging from light to crimes that leaves you feeling regret and pity for the characters involved. There are plenty of funny scenes, and suspense ... especially when the good detectives meets with the antagonists. The ending's a bit lacking, since there are no final results on the crime group that the detective school are fighting against, and there's no closure either on one of the character's story. All in all, the main attraction for this anime is the interesting cases the students solves, and how they came up with the results behind it.

This crime anime may seem somewhat childish at first, but eventually a true appreciation for the intricate plots both episodically and arcing emerges along with a respect for each character. There are emotional angst-y parts nicely balanced with adorable comedy and character interactions. Fun to watch alone, but even more fun to watch with another friend or two to guess "who done it" for each mystery plot ; ) For an anime with murders as the most common crime there is very little bloody violence, so good for younger and older crowds.

Who would've thought Studio Pierrot would ever do something correctly?

Tantei Gakuen Q-- or Detective Academy Q, is a show about a boy with a talent for logic and reasoning. Wanting to become a detective after being saved by one during a kidnapping; our main character Kyuu finds out about the existence of the DDS, Dan Detective School, a school formed by the legendary detective Dan Morihiko. After meeting Megumi, a girl with photographic memory, the martial arts master Kinta, the geeky programmer Kazuma and the mysterious Ryuu, Kyuu and his friends join "Class Q" at DDS, and tackles many difficult crimes, always seeking the truth.

The ... story is very simple and not very thought out : a boy and his friends are always involved in some kind of crime they have to solve, and pretty much always find the culprit at the end. Even though the premise is fairly simple and not very original, the cases are actually very well thought-out, rarely obvious, and the show always give enough information for the watchers to actually solve the mystery and find the culprit, which is a good thing, because following a mystery you can't solve yourself is pretty boring. The show is mainly episodic, with some arcs spanning two to four episodes, though later on there's a subplot going on. However, it is never fully explored since the anime ends with an open ending without any kind of continuation. Unfortunately, it seems the author ran out of ideas near the end, as the latter cases seem to be very similar to the first ones; and the culprit's motives are also pretty much the same. In the end, I was still highly satisfied, but the flaws are quite apparent.

I would say the characters of the show are far from original and follow the typical shounen jump archetype. The best example would be the main character himself, Kyuu, who's just a normal boy that aspires to be a detective because the person he looks up to is also a detective. And like every other shounen jump story, the main character has a motto he always follow-- In Gakuen Q, that would be "A detective must never give up, or the case will remain unsolved." It is very cheesy and unoriginal, but let's not forget Gakuen Q is a show for (apparently) children to begin with.

Another problem is Megumi. The character is fine, but her ability, photographic memory, can be way too convenient at times, and the main character usually relies on her memory to solve crimes (although he uses his reasoning to solve the mystery, most would be impossible if she didn't recall certain details or changes in a crime scene, before and after the crime.)

And finally, Ryuu is a badly written character. He is pretty much a Gary Stu. He has no real flaws, he's always smarter than anyone else, he's never wrong either. He is also mysterious but his past is pretty lame and not thought out at all.

The animation type is very cartoony, which is fitting because it's a show for children. The art style reminds me of Kindaichi, but that's simply because both are by the samr artist (and author.) The character design isn't bad either, except for Megumi who has very funky hair and a badly proportioned body most of the time.

Gakuen Q is kinda old, so the animation isn't the best there is. Not only that, but Studio Pierrot is known to mass product long running anime, so the animation quality is even worse than it would usually be. Surprisingly enough, there aren't many repeated frames, which is a good thing. Don't worry though, the animation gets better as the shows goes on. Pierrot probably noticed it was getting a bit more popular and decided to put more effort into animating this.

This anime doesn't really need ultra high quality animatio anyway, as characters are usually not moving that much, contrary to action shows like... I dunno... just think of one yourself.

The voice acting isn't too shabby, but Kyuu's voice was very annoying at the beginning. The voice actor always made him speak on a high pitch, and it didn't really fit the character. The rest of the cast is very well acted, I have no complaints.

I won't comment on the OP and EDs, they are just... generic. Background music was spot on-- it always played at the right time and most of the songs are also pretty good. I was surprised because I expected the BGMs to be forgettable, but a few emotional scenes made some BGMs hard to forget for me. The best song is probably the one that usually plays when a culprit confesses of his crimes.

Unfortunately, I don't think this anime has a high rewatchability. Mystery anime are often like this, the main thrill in watching a mystery is to solve it. Once it's solved, nothing's really thrilling anymore, right? I would probably just rewatch the Ichinose arc, definitely my favourite!

In the end, I think anyone of any age can enjoy this show. While some characters are pretty bland, the mysteries are very interesting, and as I said earlier, there is always enough information to solve the case by yourself, making this show a very enjoyable watch with lots of interactivity. I recommend this to people who like reasoning and logic.

A vary generic detective anime series, this doesn't mean it's a bad series it just isn't in the same level as more prolific and popular series like Meitantei Conan.
The story has its highlights sometimes mainly when explaining the mysteries of the crimes.
But what gets down pretty fast the series is that is manly made of clichés and stereotypes and abuses of them making both the story and characters not believable enough and very predictable.
Taking into account this it means that there's only the character introduction and almost no development or evolution of them sticking to their stereotypes.
The only thing that keeps interesting the stories in ... each episode are the mystery solving itself, when they're well thought, because there are some cases where the crimes are so predictable that end up being very obvious and some are so complicated that end up being unrealistic to be possible to be made by the culprit.
At some point one could end up predicting each episode evolution and character reactions almost like expecting them to do their thing at some given moment and that becomes irritating sometimes because one ends up annoyed by some sequences that repeat each episode.

Yhe sound and music are adequate for the series using the common stock sounds in general for anime series, the songs are fine but not good enough remember them.

The animation is well made with fine character designs but nothing that could stand out or make different this series from many others of the time maybe a little too colorful for a detective series.

The characters are the weakest point in this series ranging from the female characters that end up only supporting the male protagonists passing through the genius nerd kid, the athletic and impulsive guy to the smart protagonists that lack a lot of personality and aren't likeable enough.

As conclusion the series isn't bad but mainly recommended more for kids and persons that had never seen detective series before because for people that have watched a lot of anime and detective series this will end up being a tedious series.

This is my first review. I really love this series because I am a detective otaku. This anime is about a boy named Kyuu who got qualified to Q class along with Megu, a girl who has photographic memory, Ryu, a mysterious genius, Kazuma, a computer programmer, and Kinta, who has 4.0 eyesight and is a pro at martial art. Together, they solve murder cases that were considered difficult for police to solve.
Story: 7-
In each episode, it would show Q class solving a murder case and some of the cases are intriguing, but some are just kind of lame. Unlike the manga, there is no ... definite plot what so ever, we still don't know what happened to Ryu later on and the ending doesn't make any sense at all.
Art: 6-
I personally don't like the art in this anime, it looks very bad compare to the manga.
Character: 6-
This anime lacks background stories in each of the characters, well only Kyu, Ryu, and Megu. Also, the anime is missing out a lot of the characters...there are no King Hades, Charon, Thanatos, and Cerberus. Well they replace Cerberus with Anubis, which made me a little upset.
Sound: 8-
The seiiyuu is not so bad, it totally fits the character.
Overall: 6

The creativity of the creators of this anime probably ran dry towards the final episodes as quite a bit of the plot seems incomplete and no explanation is offered for some of the happenings. Since I haven't seen many detective/mystery based animes besides Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, this one could have been at one of the top slots but the hurried ( and some lame parts ) ending really did not give me the chance.

The mysteries were mostly good and on some cases absolutely brilliant. The drawbacks were the lack of character developement, the hurried ending, unexplained parts and the some ... of design of the characters . The white patch in Kyu's hair failed to impress and his Seiyuu was plain irritating with the overexcited tone at all times. Megu's shocking pink hair and the hairstyle was plain bad. Others were fine. None of the characters were lovable and will surely fade from memory soon.

Overall, a very entertaining series, looked very promising initially but the loose ends were disappointing...or it could be that the creators intentionally kept some cliffhangers for a second season perhaps?
Recommended for everyone looking only for good mysteries!

Not bad :/ but not great :/
Definitely disappointing for fans of the manga like me. The manga was so strong in terms of character development and so does the live action played by Kamiki and Shida. Yet, the anime is so weak in mystery development and character development. Worst, the ending is awful and abrupt. The best of this anime is probably the good soundtrack.

If you like mystery/detective stories, then this is definitely a show for you. Overall i gave this show an 8 even though the individual parts of the show rank lower,

its based primarily on my enjoyment level, and i enjoyed it so much i should have given it a 9,

however, this show does have some flaws, but for me, the 45 episodes went by so fast that only in retrospect did i notice them.

Without giving away too much,

the show is primarily episodic, with very few consistent plot points, the story sort of meanders around without so much of a strong central theme, but there ... is great characters and character development even if it is a bit forced.

In closing of my short review, I would have liked it to have continued, there is still many things that this show could have accomplished with a continuation or second season.

Its extremely immature most of the time, even pedestrian, even if it isn't childish in that sense. The mysteries are well done, even though they draw from similar wells a little too often. its still a fun ride while it lasts. You are either going to be a fan of this genre or not. so balls on top of face

Story:
The drama ''Tantei Gakuen Q'' is one of my favourites, and I watched it long before i decided to watch the anime. Since dramas follow (but always not too closely) the original manga/anime, i had expected to see some similar cases the characters faced in the drama, in the anime. I can't say that i am disappointed, when i discovered that it was true. All the cases are just as appalling, and even though i knew what is going to happen next (for some), i find myself hoping and waiting for whatsoever to happen.

Art:
The art is not my cup of tea, and because i usually ... look at the art before watching any anime, i was put off by it. It is okay when i watch it for a long period of time.

Sound:
When watching anime, i would not really notice the sound. The OP and ED themes are considerably good, so i guess it was fine.

Character:
I really like the characters. All the various characters have their own unique personalities, and for the characters in the Q and A class, that plays a huge role. Their personalities affect the way they think, observe the case and deduce, after all. To add on, the one thing i like about Tantei Gakuen Q is that the main lead is not the only ''intelligent'' one in the Q class. He and this other (mysterious and seemingly dark) guy work together exceptionally well, to the point where i think that they can communicate through telepathy.

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed the anime a lot, but there are also quite a number of unsatisfactory areas. Aside from the fact that the plot remains hanging at the end, i also dislike the fact that Tantei Gakuen Q does not give a serious feel. Perhaps it is because it is targeted more towards a younger audience, that is why the plot remains light.

Overall:
As a mystery fan, i would consider Tantei Gakuen Q a must watch. I would put it as that this is what i believe a true detective story is like, despite the unsatisfactory points. Last but not least, i definitely hope for a second season to come out so as to solve all the unsolved mysteries.

Coming from the same creator as Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Tantei Gakuen Q is another detective anime and to make a long story short despite enjoying watching it (At least after the first few lethargic episodes) I have the same opinion about this anime with the one I have for the Kidanchi Returns seasons and that's that the bittersweet soul the original 1997 TV series had is absolutely gone and the more taboo topics have been severly toned down

If you are at all familiar with detective anime there's not too much more to say really . The characters are charming , It has some ... fun cases and there are many heartwarming moments but predictably the show falls into the same traps such as repetition , Believability , "Dying message" over and over etc.

Presumebly because it was made to appeal to a younger generation the anime squanders it's potential and refuses to go to that next level where things would get more "spicy" for a lack of a better word . Without spoiling anything of the top of my head there are two instances where the anime had the opportunity to become very interesting (First with the first academy mission and the other with Ryu's background) but like I already mentioned they refused to pull the trigger which leaves a lasting impression that no named characters will be harmed and no interesting twist will ever happen

Despite it's faults I still recommend it though if you are into these type of anime

I have used my special skill to conduct a research on net about this show and had to hack into MAL reviews using my email and password to input this sequence of opinions that form a review... is the kind of condescending tone you will get if you decide to watch this show. It's a mystery series targeted towards young audience, which is not me, but even to them it might be a bit of a stretch to enjoy. Show heavily relies on cliches and viewers lack of desire to think about what they are watching. Not to mention it's about a group of happy ... go lucky kids walking around murder scenes while explosions happen left and right. Yes, we totally expect a kid to be focused and thinking straight after someone turned into splat in front of their eyes and not making rivers of snot and asking for mommy.

Mysteries are completely unpredictable and you really can't follow trail of evidence and come to same conclusion main characters did. In part this is due to lack of understanding how real world works by the author and in part it's them requiring you not to think. For example main character will smugly point out how something is the only outcome for chain of events preceding it, but you can come up with 65 different reasons why that might not be true. In fact it's often not even most likely or most obvious outcome. But no, it must be this.

It's annoying and not entertaining one bit. If you want good mystery and detective series look elsewhere. This is not it. Why mixed feelings then? Well it's not offensively bad, just overrated and boring to me, which doesn't mean it will be boring to everyone. One episode is all you need to decide whether you'll like the rest or not.