Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace

The Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars, is an annual American award that honors the best in cinema and their achievements in the film industry. Since its introduction in 1929, winning this award has become the gold standard to which movie titles are measured against, as well as the end goal that many bigwigs within the film industry aim for. It encourages innovation and progress, which is always a good thing in any form of storytelling medium.
And while the Oscars celebrates the "best of the best," there's an equally recognizable award that does just the opposite, The Golden Raspberry Awards. Better known by ... its shortened name The Razzies, since 1980, it has served as the antithesis of the Oscars by honoring the "worst of the worst" to come out of the film industry. Needless to say, this isn't the award anyone wishes to be bestowed with. And if anime titles were to ever be given an equivalency to the Razzie award, I can safely say that Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace would be nominated with flying colors.

Overworked, ostentatious, and utterly deplorable, Ranpo Kitan was a tethered together mess with inconceivable plot twists and dizzying tonal shifts that relentlessly forced a narrative along with no proper rhyme or reason. It's a title that fails so much that it transcends to an ethereal plane of stupidity, becoming something like a "how-to" guide to making a bad anime. An achievement so successful in fact, that as an end result, it manages to turn shitty writing into an art form.

Ranpo was classified under the mystery genre but was better suited to be seen as a comedy. Trying its best to tell an interweaving story of a conspiracy, we're introduced to our trap protagonist Yoshio Kobayashi, or who I like to refer to as Fujoshi-kun, as his mundane life is flipped upside down when he finds himself involved with a detective after a gruesome murder. The rest of the story chronicles Fujoshi-kun's misadventures with this detective and the rest of the wack jobs they encounter along the way.

The mystery genre tag for Ranpo Kitan is extremely misleading since most of the cases have no real "mystery" behind it. For the most part, the show is simply dedicated to showing fucked up psychopaths and the extreme methods they're willing to take in order to murder people. There's no guessing, there's no clues, there's no investigation, just a bunch of crazy dimensionless lunatics killing people in very over the top ways. It's like Spike's TV series "1000 Ways to Die" with an extra serving of vanilla homoerotica. And at the off chance, the show does try to tell a mystery story, it became irrelevant since Fujoshi-kun and the detective Kogorou Akechi are basically the Houdinis of solving crime. With little to no foretelling clues, they're able to piece together a case as if it was simply routine. There's no proper answer given and when they made any attempt to explain it, the reasoning was convoluted logic that only made sense when the writers retcon past events.

Another poor element the show attempts to use is a highly volatile sub-form of math known as chaos theory. Like time travel, chaos theory is in its fledgling stages of understanding and falls more into the realm of make-believe than factual content. Most of what is known of it come from a lot of guess and check work that ultimately pans out to a dead end. To put it in layman's terms, it's impossible to prove accurate. And since math is all about accurate assessments, trying to incorporate such an unstable arithmetic equation in a real world setting only comes off as stupid. And that's precisely what Ranpo attempts to do; it takes an asspull theory and uses it to haphazardly explain away events as "it's all according to plan" logic. If you use an inkling of common sense while watching this it'll frustrate you to no end. It's the equivalent of a "mystery" show making up bullshit as the story goes along and pretending it was predestined.

But perhaps the aspect of this show that became the most grating wasn't the ludicrous story but rather the ill-conceived cast of characters that populated it. This is a show that's asking you to take things seriously while presenting a loli teacher who looks like she's 10 but is actually 32, a fujoshi bait lead who is far removed from reality and think everything is "fun," a man who wears a paper bag over his head and watches little girls, a masochist that wets herself, a detective who's a living breathing Gary Stu, a 4th wall breaking medical examiner who happens to be a loli, and the list just goes on and on.

These caricatures that make up Ranpo Kitan are tonally conflicting with the dreary atmosphere the story is trying to present and as the story continues along, they somehow manage to get worse. It's a motley crew of one terrible personality after a next, each one adding a headache inducing layer to the show. This conflicting tone between the characters and story results in some of the worst tonal whiplashes imaginable. Dark scenes can be immediately followed up by yaoi fanservice or poorly placed comedy. Nothing is treated seriously despite the show's desperate attempt to be serious and as a result, nothing feels significant in the least. Just poorly handled "dark" moments being forced to share screen time with subpar humor.

The only thing Ranpo deserves recognition for was its audiovisual presentation. It used very interesting techniques to convey certain scenes and even had a few motifs, that while too deserving for such a badly written show, still helped to enhance it from being a complete failure. Some notable examples were the 'butterfly effect' visuals that tied back to chaos theory (obviously being represented by the butterflies) and silhouettes being used to show a character's relevancy to Fujoshi-kun within the story, by either masking the person in it or having them step out of it. It was a well thought out idea that deserved credit for its inclusion. No, it wasn't on the same pedigree as something Masaaki Yuasa or Kunihiko Ikuhara would use but it was certainly a step above average.

The opening and ending theme were also nice ear-worms and even had accompanying visuals that were well paced. "Speed to Masatsu" by amazarashi, which served as the opening theme, was a catchy progressive rock fusion song that really got the blood pumping. Certainly a standout track from the summer season. The same could also be said about the ending tune "Mikazuki" by Sayuri, a bittersweet ballad that hit the right high notes while building into a nice pop rock anthem finish. They were both sonically soothing and were great as stand-alone listens.

2015 saw with it a sleuth of detective/mystery anime titles, Ranpo Kitan was yet another statistic. However, out of the bunch, Ranpo was quite possibly the worst to make its debut that year. And for that, it earned its Razzie and spot in the annals of shitty anime.

Enjoyment: 3/10

The only thing I enjoyed was the opening and ending themes... the show itself can jump off a cliff into oblivion.

Overall: 2/10

I'm not going to mince words here, this anime is really bad. It sets out to create a mystery and the end result was a faux pas into B-grade territory. Unintelligible and pointless, there is nothing here worth digesting outside of a superficial level. With that being said, I highly suggest you save yourself the trouble and ignore this honking pile of turd.

Here’s the thing about detective fiction. When you go into a series with mystery as part of its genre, the least you should expect are cases, then suspense, culprit(s), clues, and the resolution. Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace takes the typical ideas of a mystery and attempts to transform the show into a blockbuster thriller. The key word here I refer to use is “attempt”. Otherwise, this series is what came out as a disorganized mess with a colorful script that started out with life but ended up as wreckage.

First, we should understand a bit of the background info about the original series. The 11-episode ... adaptation is based on an author known as Edogawa Rampo. As a celebrated author in Japan, the main focus of the series concentrates on some of his published works from over 50 years ago. Back then, he was known for breathing life into the mystery genre in Japan with inspiration based on famous detective known to many as Sherlock Holmes. But don’t think this show as near as smart as it should be. Sherlock Holmes didn’t invent criminal justice. He perfected it.

Now enough about Sherlock Holmes. This show does concentrate on mystery and suspense alongside peculiar cases at works. The first few episodes establishes a rather bizarre case involved a schoolteacher being murdered in a crude fashion. The main male protagonist Yoshino Kobayashi becomes a suspect because of his close proximity of the murder and because he is a key witness. He also becomes an assistant of Akechi as they work on the case. This is where the mystery aspect of the show comes in. The first two episodes establishes Kobayashi as a capable investigator. Although not on the same level as Akechi, he is able to deduce with clever thinking that a culprit framed him for murder. Through careful analysis, he is able to clear his name. And by doing so, the audience gets a clear view of his potential as the assistant. On the other hand, Akechi is on another level of skill. He claims to work on strange cases out of “fun” but the government has actually issued a license for him to investigate in abnormal activities.

Here’s the thing about the show though. It’s both a simple and complicated series. On the simple side, Game of Laplace appeals to the cases as some of them have fairly obvious red herring and resolutions. And if you can call a few of those resolutions, it sometimes comes out as fairly rushed and lacks concrete interest despite a thrilling buildup. A few of the cases does have recurring themes and symbolism that is memorable on terms of content. The complicated part is more of the characters. By complicated, there’s a few ways to look at it. First, it’s more of whether we should know them better. At first glance, there’s a good amount of interest that should be invested into the main characters in particular Akechi. His intellectual mind is legitimate and someone that we don’t see too often. His intention to take down a primary source of antagonists known as the Twenty Faces in the show is a keen interest that is explored often. On the other hand, there’s Kobayashi, an androgynous boy who is hard to take seriously. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t focus much at all on characterization for either of the two main leads. It does however, compare the two on a background basis because of their ideals and perception of the world around them. There’s more necessary focus on the cases and because of content, we also get a bit of that on the supporting characters. To say the least, most of the other characters are far less interesting. Examples include Kobayashi’s best friend Hashiba with mostly a minor role throughout the show and an implied crush on him. Or there’s Hanabishi who dresses like she is going to a cosplay party, the Black Lizard with an obsession on Akechi, or the Shadow-Man whom is dubbed as the ‘master of disguise’. Is it just me or do all these characters have something in common? All of them are downright strange. And because the show is so insistent on focusing mystery, it neglects most of them with a lack of characterization.

Despite this, I guess the show could appeal to certain type of audiences. Anyone interested in suspense that’s laced with imagery, symbolism, and metaphors can find this show to be quite appealing. I’ll also have to admit that despite some of the comedic values added in the show, it retains its seriousness throughout almost each episode. Body horror is also a prominent aspect from the very first episode that runs all the way through the show. It’s not just symbolic but also literally frightening if taken on a realistic approach. Some of the plot twists of the cases are also gruesome with disastrous consequences that results from human sins. Additionally, the show offers some insight on various studies such as chaos theory and algorithms. To say the least, Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace is well crafted when it gets serious and not off track. But often or not, it doesn’t fulfill its full potential.

The artwork invests itself with a unique fashion although nothing outlandishly mind blowing. They essentially capture the mystery elements and thankfully accomplishes that. The most noticeable part is the obstruction of the character faces with the use of shadow silhouettes. By doing so, it creates a suspenseful atmosphere that appeals to the themes of identity. On the other hand, character designs are more or less worth praising. Kobayashi is designed to look like a trap and the show itself seems to be aware of this as it pokes fun of his looks. There’s also a bit of fan service when it comes with characters like Black Lizard along with her sadism. Still, the show does maintain a distinctive way of delivering its art style. The amount of symbolism the show possesses in the form of butterflies and other background makes it enough to attract interest.

A stronger point in the show is the soundtrack. The OP and ED theme song are not just visually appealing but also very well decorated with clever cinematics. The OST has the style of what makes a mystery show especially when episodes reaches its climax point. This is further accompanied by the eerie feel and coordination when demonstrated by its suspenseful angles. Finally, we have the character voice mannerisms. Criticism can be easily approached again with characters like Kobayashi, who doesn’t really sound like a detective prodigy. On the other hand, I will say that Akechi has a voice that sounds like the mind of strategist. Furthermore, some episodes is able portray the emotional appeal with more sensible themes.

So what does this series in the end equate to? It’s more of an average mystery show that has some promise but mostly doesn’t live up to itself. What seemed clever and well-structured in the beginning quickly becomes stale. The storytelling is unbalanced despite all the interesting themes each episode that ultimately becomes half of entertaining as it is. And to top it off, only a few of the characters are memorable and probably only by their names. I will say that the unique style of some of the artwork and symbolism strikes as intriguing. And when connected with the soundtrack, the show can be a blockbuster thriller. Each episode’s title tries to lure the audience in but in the end, Game of Laplace plays out as a not so much fun.

A damn shame, i didn't had a lot of hype about it but i was hoping that it would end up good.
It failed.

Ranpo Kitan is an anime to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Edogawa Ranpo. He's pretty much of the godfather of mystery series. If he was alive, i'm not sure if he would be happy about this adaptation of his works with the modern twist of these days.

For the story, i'll not talk about it you can just read the synopsis. However, what i can say is that the mysteries around the cases aren't really good. They are cases ... that could have been interesting but it goes so fast and they don't even show you a clue, they just throw the answer like that.

''Hey, we never showed you that girl or these clue but it doesnt matter, that's what happened deal with it.''

Where's the fun in this ? Dammit Makoto Uezu and Seiji Kishi stop touching mysteries and stuff. Stay with comedies. Please.

The art is good. It's not ugly but it's not ''holy sh- it's beautiful'' too ! However, we can see that they try to be original with the presentation and some of them are really appreciated like the people who only were silhouettes representing people that Kobayashi doesn't care at all and only the people that he finds interesting is seen normally. Just background characters for him. Sometimes, they try too hard with the symbolisms that it just gets boring.

The sound is ok. The OP and ED were some of the best in this season. ( I listen to them a lot in my car, no joke.) The OST is also nice, but there one song in particular that plays almost every episodes. Is the song bad ? No. But it gets annoying, a little bit like the song ''Don't loose your way'' in kill la kill.

The characters are ... most of the time forgetable. With the exception of one : Kobayashi. A boy who got us all confused, thinking that it was a girl. Kobayashi is bizarre and wants some action in his life... thats pretty much it. The protagonist pretty much gets in trouble, help sometimes Akechi and gets our ding confused. The other characters aren't worth mentioning with Hashiba who might be gay for Kobayashi (we will never know), the detective super-duper intelligent and anti-social Akechi and Minami the medical examiner aka one of the worst character this season. Popping out randomly, trying to be funny. The Shadow-man was good tho. Weird and sometimes creepy but he was definitly the most interesting one.

Overall, i was hoping that it gets better. The first episode people were sceptical and i was thinking: ''Oh c'mon people it's just the first episode. Give it some times.'' The more it was going, the more i was thinking that ... yeah, that's not good at all.

4/10, don't waste your time with it.
Well, there's only 11 episodes so you can try if you want but don't get your hopes up.

In the first 3 episode, I started to think that this series was interesting. But in the last 3 episodes, it all goes wrong..., in almost every aspects.

I will first discuss the story, the anime was identified as the mystery genre with no other genres. I should say that at first, the story promising many things. As we know, in mystery series, there's only one item that been offered to us. And the answer is 'the mystery' itself, but if we identified all of the available cases in Game of Laplace, there's not much mystery in it. It just a blank question that ready ... to be answered at any time and any place. The bad thing is the anime unable to present intense mystery settings to the screen. Which a fatal error to the story plus the enjoyment. Imagine this,
"Have you had any idea if we watch a detective or a mystery movie without any mysteries within it?". The mysteries revealed with unclear reasons and many plot holes. Good thing this is just 11 episodes.

Another annoying thing is the character. I didn't even know why there's always psychopath that do the killings. The main cast could be told as one of the most typical, uninteresting, and ridiculous cast I've ever seen. You must know that the director is having a brain wreck. Instead offering a great mystery, they offering a yaoi fan service. Really? YAOI?! In mystery genre?! They exacerbated the situation with many other annoying and bizarre cast which I didn't want to describe one by one because it's just too.......ridiculous.

The animation and sound settings it's fair enough to make me watch this until the last second. Thanks to that two aspects, my headaches starts again.

Comic Relief, Ridiculous Cast, Unfulfilled Individual Element, and many other bad things make this anime got worse and worse. All of that wrapped up in just 11 episodes.Trust me, if you have any idea about watching this, I suggest you too forgot this for an instant.

Now is the time, once again, for me to have an opinion in the minority here. I see plenty of scathing reviews for Ranpo Kitan. But I'm giving this show a positive review. I really liked this show.
I imagine that the problem most people thought that this show was pretentious, silly, all style, no substance, no profundity. And truthfully, I agree with all those except for the last two.
It is very true that this show is one of the most stylistic animes I have ever seen. I have never seen a show like this. It reminds me of Chicago, but this is that style ... in the form of a mystery theatre instead of a stage play. And it is brilliant. It's bright, it's colorful, it's dark, it's powerful. This is something that truly sets this show apart. It helped with the drama and it helped with the comedy.
Then there is the fact that this show has the single best soundtrack of any show I have ever seen. I'm not just talking about the opening and closing themes. Anybody who has seen this show knows about that one song. I call it "Another Sky", and it is one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful songs ever. I will but the OST when it comes out just for that one song.
So, what about the story and characters? I personally think that the story was brilliant. Twenty Faces is one of the best symbolic villains ever.
This show can be boring, generic, and silly at times. But this show has been home to some of the best moments I've seen in an anime.
Ranpo Kitan is a lot of things. It's silly, it's dark, it's strange, it's generic. But before it is any of those things it is a great art piece. Is it perfect? No. But this show made me really feel and really think. I think it was a wonderful experience.

This anime to me resembles a lot like Tokyo ESP v2.0. It is pretty sad to say that Kishi Seiji has declined in quality ever since Persona 4 the Golden Animation which I didn't watch.

STORY (3):

This anime marks the 50th anniversary of Edogawa Ranpo's passing. Edogawa Ranpo was known as the Sir Author Conan Doyle of Japan who produced mystery fiction books. Now, Kishi Seiji the director undergoes this project.

You know a mystery fiction has to build tension and suspense when it comes to mystery solving and riddles to be solved. However, this anime failed on that ground. Everything was extremely cliché and countless ... mystery fiction have done before in the past years. Everything was unresolved at the end.

Some mysteries try to include all those sexual fantasies of the creators which Japan has been infamously known for. I told you I am very tired of all these sexual fantasies of the creators, they have been done to death in the past decade of anime. Like for example Kuro Tokage being tortured and she shows joy, especially Yaoi in this anime. Yes, I'm not joking.

ART (4):

The animation is below average just like Tokyo ESP. The animation never give the other characters some colors, imagine just like Watamote.

SOUND (4):

The opening was the best thing that will ever stay in my head in this anime.

CHARACTER (3):

I really hate to say this but Kogoro Akechi has great character development other than the rest of the casts. Seriously, Kogoro Akechi was like a wish-fulfilment character.

Souji Hashiba is just like another Azuma Kyoutaro with no personality that can stand out among the generic crowd. And do you guys remember Azuma Kyoutaro in Tokyo ESP, neither do I. But I do remember that Azuma Kyoutaro was useless and relied on Rinka Urushiba for help. Just like Souji Hashiba, he barely did anything but just be there for Kobayashi AKA Mr Transvestite.

I will just define Kobayashi's personality with this quote.

I'm just a sweet transvestite from Transylvania. I can't do anything and I jerk around with Akechi & Hashiba.

Kuro Tokage was the most creepiest person in this anime. She tries to be like a sex desire but she became creepy instead. The voice actress Hikasa Yoko this Summer 2015 anime has now voiced actresses that moaned a lot and including one character from Bikini Warriors. She is just a sex model.

The main villain was as cliché as the main villain as in Tokyo ESP.

CONCLUSION (3):

It seems that this anime is basically Tokyo ESP v2.0 with mystery that is not compelling and characters that are as bland as they can get.

I've got nothing more to say. Lerche has now declined in quality this year.

This anime gets a 3 out of 10.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Crime has been around for as long as humans have roamed the Earth. While it would be awesome if everyone held hands and made peace and sang carols, an idyllic world of that kind simply does not exist. There are “bad apples” everywhere. People who, for whatever reason, resort to crime.

Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace centers on crime like pedophilia, torture, and murder. Grotesque crime, but crime all the same. It shows the lengths people on both sides of the law will go to and what that means for everyone in society.

I have never committed ... a crime and I have (thankfully; knock on wood) never been the victim of a crime. Someone did steal a USB drive of mine once, but I was not so annoyed that I wanted to call for an investigation. Thinking about it now, I wish I still had that USB from way back when. And thinking about it more, if I had a copy of Ranpo Kitan on that USB, not only would I not care about it getting stolen, I would thank the thief for stealing it.

STORY

Ranpo Kitan is filled to the brim with problems, and nowhere is that more evident than in the tale it tries to tell.

The anime touts itself as a “Mystery” anime, and to be fair that is partially true. Each crime committed is usually quite strange: people contorted into furniture, little girls kidnapped and molded into concrete slabs, and so on. No matter the crime, the characters logically determine who the culprit is, what the culprit did, and why the culprit did it. Though the point is not this detective work because the crimes are usually solved within the episode, which realistically means within about ten minutes. Worse still is that the mysteries mean very little to the rest of the show. Individual mysteries do not affect the other mysteries, nor do they affect the characters themselves. Thus, the mysteries serve little else besides providing the setting. A misstep, especially considering the “Mystery” tag.

The main theme of the anime is the idea that crime goes unpunished. That these murderers and pedophiles escape conviction either for making bail or for having a mental illness, allowing them to “cheat the system.” This is where Ranpo Kitan encounters another major problem. The show is so one-sided that it becomes difficult to take the narrative seriously. The police are aggravatingly inept. Akechi and Kobayashi often need Kuro Tokage, the masochistic criminal who is madly in love with Akechi, to tell them where to go, even though she is behind bars and is a criminal herself. Kagami, one of the detectives, is put behind bars forever despite doing the exact same thing as the other criminals.

This last detail is meant to show the stupidity of the system in place. But it is so silly because of how contradictory it is. The precedent had already been set: criminals walk free even after committing egregious crimes. So when one case out of the (presumably) hundreds of others goes against this norm, it comes off as a cheap way to show how “unfair” society is.

Ranpo Kitan also has a glaring problem with just the tale it is telling. It starts off with these singular, mystery cases that allude to a so-called “Twenty Faces.” What was supposed to happen was a build-up towards the eventual boiling-over of the Twenty Faces dilemma. Instead, what occurs is a lot of stagnation. The crimes are, at best, semi-related to Twenty Faces, so when the Twenty Faces conflict reaches its climax, it comes out of nowhere. Build-up is further squandered when the anime interrupts the conflict. Episode six is too comical and too unrelated to the overarching plot. And episode ten, while expounding on Namikoshi and hence the origins of Twenty Faces, disrupts the tension that was finally being created.

Then there is the so-called “Dark Star” law which cheapens the narrative further. This law coming out of nowhere is a problem, but the biggest problem with this law is its scope. As an omniscient law, it is never wrong, meaning the narrative gets to do whatever it wants without consequence. When the law is wrong, it is either unfairly avoided (Namikoshi conveniently “updates” the law after Akechi “solves” it) or the explanation is nonsensical (Namikoshi and Kobayashi have to commit suicide in order for the law to be “complete”).

The ending also has issues. Rather than gracefully concluding the season, Ranpo Kitan tries way too hard to wrap everything up. The attempt made is a bunch of words without fully showing the aftermath, acting as a sort of catch-all to cover its bases. But the ending does not stop there. As the characters discuss, Namikoshi is (possibly) still alive, which is ridiculous. Not just because he has now pretended to die for the second time, but also because the entire purpose of the ending – the reason why Namikoshi went through this overly complicated crime – was to, in the end, kill himself. So when the anime nonchalantly states that the main antagonist is still alive, then everything throughout the season was for naught.

Even the tone of the anime is problematic. The crimes depicted are dark, yet the anime regularly dips into comedy. For instance, Minami, the doctor, is regularly used for comedic effect with her joking about the violent deaths. The idea is that the contrast is supposed to be funny, but because the anime is too serious when it comes to its subject matters, the contrast is less hilarious and more jarring.

Ranpo Kitan’s narrative simply has too many problems to consider it well-executed; contextually, the narrative is as barebones as it gets.

ANIMATION

Arguably the best aspect of Ranpo Kitan is its artistic direction. Multicolored lighting and nice shadows are used, but its best move is embracing its weirdness, creating scenes that bend reality at will. Impossible proportions, impromptu objects, and involved symbolism are just a sampling of the ways in which the anime depicts its scenes. “Scenes” in the literal sense. Curtains, spotlights, and fourth-wall breaking are used to make elaborate, stage-like creations to explain the crimes and events. The show even goes so far as to have the characters viewing the explanations as if they were watching a play. Since the crimes are a spectacle, presenting the anime in this fashion is not only interesting but also quite fitting.

When Ranpo Kitan is not focusing on the imaginary, the anime can look pretty dull. Besides Akechi’s abode and various parts of the city, the backgrounds and locations do not have the same pizzazz as the previous scenes. Although that is sort of the point. Similar to the story’s tonal contrast, a contrast between the crazy scenes and the mundane ones is designed to make the crazy scenes that much crazier. Dissimilar to the story’s tonal contrast, the artistic contrast actually works.

Another cool detail is how the anime presents uninteresting people. When Akechi’s perspective takes the limelight, uninteresting people are drawn as wooden puppets, symbolizing how they are controlled by the world around them. The most interesting case, however, is when the anime draws them as outlines with faded colors. Light grays, pinks, and greens cover the people that are currently uninteresting, including the main characters. How the anime determines who is uninteresting is based on Kobayashi’s feelings. He is disinterested in the world, so much so that the people he does not care about – the people he finds uninteresting – receive this faded treatment.

Unfortunately, the character designs are a step down, mainly due to their plainness. Akechi wears dress clothes with a red tie, but he looks a bit too old for his apparent age. Hashiba is similarly plain; besides his glasses, he has no outstanding qualities. There might be a case for Kobayashi who is designed to be feminine in appearance, but he, too, has a design that lacks any “oomph.” Shadow-Man might have a case as well given his signature paper bag he wears over his head. The paper bag symbolizes his ability to disguise himself as anyone he wishes, disguises that he regularly uses. Hanabishi, the teacher, has a strange design with cat ears, pink colors, and a short stature, although why her design is like this is never explained. Altogether, even giving Shadow-Man the benefit of the doubt, the designs lack the necessary appeal to call them impressive.

As for the actual animation, there is a moderate amount. The elaborate scenes are most likely the culprit for this, since they are more for show than they are for movement, although they can have moving parts and shiny sparkles. Hair, eyes, and limbs hardly move, and besides Akechi fighting some bad guys, there is not a whole lot of action. But again, to be fair, the anime’s focus on standalone shots of fancy setups makes this an expected outcome.

CHARACTERS

The characters of Ranpo Kitan are as abysmal as the story they find themselves in.

Kobayashi, the main protagonist, starts off well-enough but quickly tapers off. In the beginning of the season, he (indirectly) talks about his “boredom.” His “empty” feeling, as he puts it, causes him to be disinterested in the world around him. As if life had nothing to offer. That is a sad thing for a junior high school student to say since the world has so much in store.

It is not until he is framed for a murder that he finally finds the calling he had been searching for. He then starts working with Akechi, this work considerably lifting his spirits. At this point, Kobayashi’s character stagnates. He is always present, but he does not stray far away from his characterizations of solving the crimes and acting carefree. So when the finale comes around, and he is ready to commit suicide, it is perplexing. Not only was he finally enjoying himself, he had Hashiba, he had Akechi, and he had his ability to help solve those heinous crimes. There was never any indication that he was contemplating suicide let alone regressing back to his earlier thoughts.

Namikoshi is likewise a weak character. Namikoshi does not enter the series until midway through episode eight (out of eleven) and very briefly at the end of episode nine. All of episode ten is spent on characterizing and developing him. This episode shows everything: the bullies he had hounding him, the abusive parents he had at home, and his cherished friendship he had with Akechi. Doing this characterization and development so late is a major issue because the audience has no time to understand him as a character. He shows up, he gets developed, and then he disappears, all within the span of essentially a single episode.

What Namikoshi is ultimately meant to be is a parallel to Kobayashi. Both Namikoshi and Kobayashi felt left alone by the world around them. Both Namikoshi and Kobayashi were intelligent in ways that few others knew. And most importantly, both Namikoshi and Kobayashi had a best friend that, no matter their troubles, would fight to stay by their side. This parallel is supposed to exist between them, however, it is poorly handled. Namikoshi appears at the end (their relationship has no foundation) and Kobayashi no longer feels the same way as Namikoshi (his actions and demeanor throughout the season prove this). So not only are Kobayashi and Namikoshi weak characters individually, but they are also weak on a relational level.

Other relationships have problems as well. Akechi and Kuro Tokage – the masochistic, psycho woman in prison – presumably have some kind of past. But how they met or what kind of relationship they had is never explicitly shown. Akechi and Namikoshi’s also lacks strength; their relationship, while constructed, is not around long enough to say that what they shared was worthwhile.

The worst offender, however, is Hashiba and Kobayashi’s relationship. Unlike Akechi and Namikoshi, whose relationship demonstrates that they care for one another, Hashiba and Kobayashi’s relationship lacks that same sense of friendship. This is mostly due to Kobayashi’s attitude. Hashiba pesters Kobayashi and saves him from certain death, so he clearly cares for Kobayashi. In contrast, Kobayashi regularly ignores Hashiba’s pleas, making it clear that Kobayashi does not care about Hashiba as much as Hashiba cares about him. There are a few scenes in which Hashiba and Kobayashi interact in a meaningful manner, but they amount to nothing more than small apologies or asides. The result is the awkward relationship they share.

As for Hashiba’s individual character, he blushes a lot whenever Kobayashi is nearby – while maybe not romance, it is assumed that he is attracted to Kobayashi. Besides this fact and that he comes from a rich, gambling family, nothing else is known about the best friend.

Hence, the best character is Shadow-Man, though even he is not without problems. His hobby is protecting little girls from would-be criminals, though people misread him as a pedophile. He is undoubtedly the most unique character the cast has to offer, yet as is common with Ranpo Kitan, the anime fails to use him. This is not even about developing or changing his character, he simply has next to no presence within the show. After his initial introduction, he appears in episode six (the comedic one) and then not until the finale. So while his character is strange, that is all he is, because that is all that the anime used him for.

Thus, like the story, the characters are as barebones as possible.

SOUND

The opening theme is not slow; there is a quickness to it that pulls the listener along. And contrary to the anime, the song is not spooky. The first section has a single beat that seems like it will build towards that, but it is followed by a softer section that feels like longing. The middle section is comprised of a smattering of noise, leaning heavily on repetition. But the more its heard the more spiritual it becomes, fitting the sort of spiritual mood that the anonymous Twenty Faces and death in general entails. Also, the lyrics are interesting: “Sing notes of bronchitis,” “And my blood is my escape route,” and “All as speed and friction burn my insides” are graphic and haunting, once again fitting the anime’s mood. The song is not that impressive, but it at least hits the right atmosphere for Ranpo Kitan.

The ending theme starts off somber, an acoustic guitar and strained singing filling the piece. When the song picks up someplace in the middle, the piece becomes, like the OP, a cacophony. It is a bit overbearing, but it does have a purpose. As the visuals help to illuminate, this cacophony represents the craziness and figurative fall of society that the show regularly depicts. The piece goes back to its somber roots as it concludes, ending the piece on a sad note. This flow of emotion – from low to all-over-the-place to low once more – reflects the story’s own progression, making the ED, if nothing else, symbolic.

The rest of the original soundtrack is subpar, to say the least. The anime expectedly uses spooky compositions, such as a slow, ambient track that was essentially lifted from a haunted mansion. These set the mood, but are not fun to listen to outside of the show. Ranpo Kitan also uses a lot of piano tracks for the dramatic moments, but these tracks lack emotion. One dramatic piece in particular is Namikoshi’s favorite song, the song that Akechi plays from time to time on his jukebox to calm himself down. This song goes too far the other way; the song is too emotional and feels out-of-place. Then there are the comedic, jazzy tracks that only further the jarring tonal problems. Altogether, the OST is a largely forgettable offering.

Voice acting has no noteworthy performances. Rie Takahashi as Kobayashi gives the feminine male a girly voice but that is because Ms. Takahashi is a woman. Takahiro Sakurai as Akechi uses a voice that is a bit too old for his age. And Yoko Hikasa as Kuro Tokage, while energetic, does not come off as the conniving “Black Lizard” she claims to be because she always sounds so hyper.

ENJOYMENT

I cannot say that I liked this one.

For starters, the comedy and the drama did nothing for me. I was not laughing when Kuro Tokage peed herself from pleasure (which happened a lot), and I was not emotional when Kagami was recounting the tale of his sister. My disliking of the comedy and the drama stems from my dislike of the characters. Kobayashi was too annoying, Akechi was too full of himself, and Namikoshi was too nonsensical for me to take seriously.

Shadow-Man was interesting, if only because he wore a paper bag over his head. His episode, where he tries to save Sachiko for the second time, is also the best of the season because there was an actual relationship and person worth caring about. Sadly, the anime forgets about Shadow-Man for much of the rest of the show, so I cannot say I will remember him too much. Fitting, considering his name and disguises.

The mysteries were lame, too. Akechi and Kobayashi always instantly got the answer, so it never felt like I got to solve the mysteries or at least try to figure them out in some capacity. If they had some kind of trouble with the mysteries, it would have felt more genuine for the show and the audience.

Then there were all of the ludicrous instances. The mother of the little-girl kidnapper literally not turning her demented son into the police. Everyone in the city joining Twenty Faces’ cause so suddenly. An island that basically amounts to a slavery ring that nobody ever investigated. And (albeit petty) Akechi slurping his black coffee all of the time.

My favorite aspect of the entire anime was something that was insignificant: the cat. The cat was a happy cat, which made me a happy person. She was a fun cat, but she had nothing to do with anything. She was there be a cute cat and nothing more. If she was the only part I found entertaining, that speaks volumes for how I felt about the rest of the show.

Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace is awful. The story is broken, the characters are weak beyond belief, and the show is generally a bore to sit through. The art and parts of the music save this one from total atrocity, but only barely. It is practically a crime that this anime even got made in the first place.

SUMMARY

Story: Terrible, the mysteries are pointless, the main theme on crime going unpunished is silly, proper tension is never built, the “Dark Star” law is cheap, and the ending is handled horribly

Animation: Good, the elaborate scenes are interesting, the lighting, contrast, and other details add purpose, about average actual animation, but subpar character designs

Characters: Terrible, Kobayashi, Akechi, and Namikoshi are weak individually and in conjunction with each other and the rest of the cast

Sound: Bad, okay OP, okay ED, bad OST, below average VA performances

Enjoyment: Terrible, only the cat was fun to watch

Final Score: 2/10

Ranpo Kitan - Game Of Laplace is one of the three shows that aired in Summer 2015 from relatively new studio, Studio Lerche. This was the studios first time ever producing more than 2 anime in a year, and I must say, besides one major fault, this, as one of the 4 series from them this year, is my favourite.

Let's get the bad thing out of the way. The execution of the writing. The first 2 episodes and the last 5 episodes I absolutely loved, however, all that was in-between I would have counted as filler if they didn't come into use (even though small) ... in easily one of the best finale's of the year. Their were three writers to the series, and all had their own distinct style which creating a bit of a problem for many watchers. The weakest out of which is the writer not mentioned in the staff part of this series' page. When she was on script, the series felt rushed and packed with completely forgettable introductory episodes. The writing itself I had no problem with, it was excellent and daring, but it was the execution of some episodes that really dragged it down. However, even if those episodes left a sour taste in the mouth, the finale quickly redeems those faults.

Production -
The production is on the complete opposite of the spectrum. Even if just for the production, watch this series. This really proved that Lerche is full of both veterens and creative young animators alike. Just like in all other of their series, their wasn't a single frame that wasn't near perfect art. The animation was well above the average standard also. However, it was the creative aesthetics that made this show so excellent. Everything has meaning. Its full of symbolism and unique visuals which change depending on what point of view the episode focuses on. The cgi was really well done and blended in nicely, and the colour palette was extremely vibrant and atmospheric in itself. The voice acting was also incredible, with the most notable actors being Jun Fukuyama with his short yet absolutely phenominal role as a key character. The music was excellent, as would be expected from the man behind "Your Lie In April"'s soundtrack.
However, the man who deserves the most praise is Seiji Kishi. His cinemetography, choreography and just overall his direction is still to this day second to none in the T.V. anime industry.

Highlights of the series -
Music - Phenominal
Voice Acting - one of the best acting of the season
Art - very minimal flaws only noticeable if going individual frames at a time.
Animation - varying from fluid to movie quality
Direction - some of the best directing of the year.
aesthetics - almost studio Shaft in nature.
The Finale - couldn't have been more excellent.

Overall, this proved many things to us about studio Lerche.
1 - they are daring and will not hold anything back. They are also masters at censorship, sometimes the censorship is used to even compliment the overall visual.
2 - they have excellent production quality
3 - they are a studio that can actually think
4 - they are incredibly creative and unique
5 - they have massive potential going forward

Ranpo Kitan was a great series only bogged down by poor scripting.

Okay okay, before I get backlashed for my "high" rating, please read this (almost lengthy) review.

For a disclaimer, I haven't read any of the source material. I've heard bad things about this adaption, but I can't agree or disagree. But you have my condolences on it not being to your standards, really, I understand. And yes I'll probably read the source material in the future.

Story - 7/10

The story, for my tastes, was interesting for the most part. There of course are lots of things I wish they had done differently, but you can't win 'em all I guess. For example the ... "comedy" relief in Ranpo Kitan isn't that great. I didn't find most of it actually "funny." Then again, humour is subjective. The characters are also a disappointment, but I'll get more into that later.

The actual plot of this story, to me, is interesting (even with execution not being as good as it could have been). It makes us ponder the everyday vision of society. Who are we and what do we mean? Who is bad? Who is good? Is there really a difference? I love anime that makes me blur the line between "good" and "evil." Whether it's cliche or not, it's interesting to think about.

*spoiler warning ahead--just skip to the "art" part*

Before I get into the actual spoiler part, let's do some backtracking. This anime is filled with a plethora of symbols and metaphors. Ranpo Kitan's whole plot and visual aspect is built on this. So of course if you don't look into the small detail or even care about it, you'll miss out on something. This isn't an anime you can turn your brain off and watch. You have to pay attention.

With that said let's get into the ending spoiler. A lot of people are complaining about the ending and how "nothing changes," and how "this was a waste." While I agree there was TONS of wasted potential, the ending was perfect. All the efforts made by the characters proves futile. That's right, useless. But life is a paradox; this ending was suppose to represent the society we live in. While things do and will change, there's just some things that won't. We CAN'T make the bad people go away. Evil will always exist. So Namikoshi's death (or maybe he tricked the formula into thinking he died) went in vain. Nothing came of his disappearance. This means deaths everyday in this would are "wasted" on this idea that it will mean something. While some do, most don't from the other people looking in. Their death, unfortunately, becomes a part of a statistic.

Evil isn't born, it's created. it's created by people who were also created by evil. It's a never ending cycle that can't and will not be broken. Bullies, rapists, molesters, kidnappers, murders, etc etc will always exist and other people will always be a victim to these monsters. And that's what this ending represents; a never ending cycle of bad people being created in this world. Take it or leave it, but just know that our justice system is just as messed up as these people.

Art & Sound - 9/10

The animation in this anime is very fluid (for the most part). I enjoy the dark scenery and character designs in contrast to the characters' eye color. It could represent the light we see in people but how the darkness is an unavoidable concept. The art and animation is also visually beautiful. Mostly the symbolic story telling in a lot of the scenes. It's all so so stunning. I love the color pallet they chose for Ranpo Kitan overall.

The sound is also beautifully done. The OP is just great. I'm now a big fan of amazarashi's music. They are known for they storytelling music and I love that. "Speed and Friction" is one of my favorite OPs of the season. Now the ending song. Wow the first time I listened to it I was captivated. It's beautifully dark. "Mikazuki" is one of my favorite EDs this season as well. The whole soundtrack is on point and I love everything about it.

Character - 5/10

And this is where my review does a 180. The characters are so bland it makes me wanna bang me head on a wall. While I didn't HATE Kobayashi, I completely understand why people do. He's so annoying. He's part of that "comedic" relief I mentioned earlier. It all seems out of place and he makes me feel a lil uncomfortable. Especially because he's so fascinated by death and such. Now I personally find death interesting, but I'm more interested in where we go after we die, not dead body parts. I understand how his character is suppose to be a polar opposite of the entire plot, but it wasn't done well. I like the supporting characters more, but his best friend was pretty annoying too. I will admit his gay lil crush is kind of funny and cute, but that's about it. It's the only thing I like about either of them lol.

Now with Akechi, the paper bag guy, and Namikoshi. I like the "I don't give a fuck" archetypes such as Akechi. Nothing really stood out with him for me. I do admire the care and love he had for his best friend Namikoshi though. With no one in the world to understand each other, they only had one another. I get that on a personal level. This brings me into another thing people didn't like which was the cliche backstory on Namikoshi. Saying it was a typical antagonist backstory, which is all true. It's as cliche as they come, but it fits the overall anime well. It's the simplicity that really reflects society. There are tons of people in this world that are/were in the exact same situation he was in. This anime revolves a lot around death the social injustice of this world. So it all makes perfect sense.

The paper bag guy was just one small fraction of the humour I enjoyed in Ranpo Kitan. He was interesting. I still wonder who he really is, but some mysteries are meant to be unknown.

Enjoyment/Overall - 8/10

I know the flaws. I know the small plot holes. I know a lot of things went unanswered. I know this story had it's issues. With all that being said, I still really enjoyed myself. This anime is honestly a hit or a miss with people, and for me it was a win. This is coming from someone who loves looking beyond the given visuals. It's easy for me to read in between the lines. It gets an eight for mostly the ending otherwise it would be like a seven.

It's impossible for me to recommend or not recommend this anime. It's just up for the viewers interpretation. You might be disappointed and hate or like it and feel fulfilled.

I really don't want to 'pile on' the Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace troll train. This show has been shat on and abandoned by so many bloggers and critics that it needs no more of that. Rather, though I'm giving this show an overall score of 4, I'd like to mount a short defense of the show. I do not regret watching it, and would encourage others to do the same.

Warning: some spoilers, though nothing too significant, follow.

Here are what I believe to be the greatest problems with the show, and the ones most criticism live on:

The mysteries are not great, and billing this as ... a detective, or mystery, show is somewhat untrue. Leaps of logic, insane and often inane conclusions based off the most meager of evidence, frequent the show. The cases are often punctuated by brief bouts of melodrama, where the culprit's trauma is explained as tragedy; some of these are more ridiculous than others. A few, however, are moving. Murders occur in the beginning, and culprits are caught in the end; but this is not the only thing required for a good mystery, and perhaps the most relevant criticism we can make of Ranpo Kitan is that it fails to engage the intellect of its viewers in this crucial respect. Though it parades the structures and tropes of a mystery show, this has little to do with mystery.

Watching this show on a weekly basis leaves the viewer with no sense of cohesion or order. All is chaotic. A grand design behind the show's haphazard design is not perceptible. As has been pointed out before, this anime is, in two words, fucking weird; intense and stylized scenes merge the grotesque and ordinary, perhaps most pointedly in the medical examiner's lighthearted dissections of the murder victims. Even if a grand design is apparent to those who've finished it, the show fails to compel viewers to come back week after week. Those who kept watching do so less out of eager interest, and more out of a benign curiosity, with the intent of observing the final moments of a beautiful trainwreck.

I could go on.

Coming into this show with the expectation of mystery - primarily because it commemorates Edogawa Ranpo - leads you to one conclusion: this show blows.

We might instead think of this show in the tradition of Gatchaman Crowds, and think of the cases that pepper the show as angles that slowly reveal a particular social condition to us. It is precisely this element that captivated - well, captivated is too strong a word, but compelled kindasorta - some viewers even as so many dropped the show. In adapting Crowds to its modern incarnation, the show changed and "updated" much of the show; here is a similar attempt, though it tends to flail and drown where Crowds soars and succeeds. If Crowds is a social commentary that happens to involve superheroes, Game of Laplace is a social commentary that happens to involve detectives and mysteries, and while the former is no doubt a more successful show, the comparison still holds water.

In adapting Edogawa Ranpo, the creators of the show wanted to modernize and accentuate elements of Edogawa, and they dramatized it as they saw fit. In a similar fashion to Crowds, they focus on the cross between the net, anonymity, and justice.

The aching sorrow with which each culprit is portrayed may seem too much, but the tableaus all flow from a general disgust with the legal system - a system that fails, we are told, to hold even the most cruel criminals accountable for their actions. And the leitmotifs the show employs - the butterflies, the shadows, and the tender (if silly) way each culprit's grief is put on tableau for the viewer; they're all more digestible when viewed from this perspective. These recurring tropes make little to no sense, and are indeed distracting, if you consider the show a mystery.

The protagonist, Kobayashi, is only 'explained' by way of the completion of the plot - indeed, another flaw of the show. Even then, you might not buy it, and viewers of the show will only have a 'cold' connection in the characters - not an empathetic or meaningful one. Many simply kept watching, I imagine, to see if Kobayashi would lapse into crime. Yet the show points to Kobayashi's psychopathy as a metaphor, and proceeds to do little to nothing with it, aside from gift us all a few beautiful stills that glimpse into his perspective. Though I suggest here a level of grandeur behind the show, I do not want the reader to believe I think the show does so with success. And so this review is not a typical, pretentious "you-just-didn't-see-the-point" of it review. The show still fails in many respects. Most, in fact. The art and sound design is good and sometimes great, but in every other respect it's lacking.

But it's still worth a watch. Beware the obsessively negative reviews; this show is at times beautiful. It is nothing near a masterpiece, but I would recommend it to any whose taste veer toward the strange and unique, or those interested in watching a dazzling trainwreck.

"Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace" attempts to gesture towards something complex, and fails - with magnificence - to say anything meaningful. This will never be considered a great show. Rather, it is an imbalanced show, leaping off a cliff without a solid plan of escape. But crazy shows that burn as they fail are still worth watching; the unique colors they give off as they descend into nonsense can be both rare and beautiful.

As of the time I'm writing this the last episode of Ranpo Kitan has finished airing. This series is genuinely decent. Just decent. If you're just looking to find a 'masterpiece' this show is not for you.

Also I'll just go ahead and tell you that as you go into this series, expect all sort of disturbing, disgusting things. The series is very gory and it's themes and undertones aren't exactly child friendly. So just a heads up, the show is messed up from day 1.


It's biggest flaws include it's story and character development. There are continuous plot holes that by rules I cannot discuss ... now, but they take away from the overall quality of the show especially from the first few episodes.

This show is also somewhat confusing for some viewers as some episodes leave you with questions and leave you wondering what's even going on. The way the plot progresses in the first half is rather mediocre and I'd even go as far to say odd. It didn't feel like much effort was put into this part and even by the end of the series the first 5 or so episodes feel irrelevant to the overall scope of things. By episode 6, the show overall picks up in quality and some very interesting events happen. From episode 6 forward the main focus of the anime shifts into a new, darker arc that finally introduces decent character development (but said development is only revealed in the final episodes) and events that were very....different from most other anime. Side characters also become important to the overall plot and events of the story and help the plot pick up. I don't feel like this series was rushed at all unlike some other series here. It had a somewhat 'open' finale but at the same time was somehow 'conclusive'.

While I'm at that, some of the antagonist's motivations are confusing and if you think logically while watching a series you'll probably pick up on. Just a heads up.


Art : The visuals are amazing for this show, I have to say. The scenery looks beautiful and conveys exactly what the writer was thinking. The character design is also very appealing but "generic" for most of the male lead. Definitely is different in terms of the way the art presents itself. During dialogue and flashbacks even the artwork is constantly changing. Almost sort of like the entire series is a play for the viewers even.


If you're interested in a "gory, action, thriller" anime that'll make you say WTF, Ranpo Kitan is what you're looking for.

Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace Review

Story (5/10) Mediocre

I'm not going to be doing a synopsis in this section I will be talking about how I felt about the overall story in general. The first episode made it seem like the all of the episodes would be able who framed the MC but that mystery gets solved within the first two episodes. After that it turns into an episodic anime filled with some controversial, sometimes interesting and sometime not interesting episodes. The the last like 4 episodes try to all connect together an introduce an antagonist for the sake of having some sort of series finale ... feeling which was an ok little arc but not enough to suffice and withhold anything better than a 'fine' for the overall story for the anime.

Art (8/10) Very Good

The art for the anime is really colorful and the cover picture for the anime is what caught my eye at the beginning of the summer anime season enough for me to give it a short. The art style did indeed drop rarely but most of the time it kept a colorful look to the entire anime and also a gritty look when the horrific and blood scenes occur also.

Sound (9/10) Great

The voice actors did a great job, the bgm was on point and the opening song is probably one of the best this anime season and the ending caught on to me by the time i finished the anime also nothing really to complain in this section.

Character (4/10)
More Specifically (4.5/10)

The characters I felt to rather weird. Like I said in art section the character designs and art style of everything in the cover picture is what caught my eye in the first place. And when looking at it from someone who doesn't know you would assume that Kobayashi is the girl that the main character Hashiba is trying to get and Akechi is some sort of anti-hero or rival of the main character Hashiba. But we (or at least I was entirely wrong). Kobayashi is actually a trap which for some reason the anime decides to awkwardly fanservice the crap out of the little boy to the viewers and he's technically the MC I have no clue what kind of sick message they want to get across nor do i care at the end of the day. Hashiba is technically his best friend but it seemed that Hashiba was kind of irrelevant majority of the anime always showing suspect blush moments towards his so called best friend and Akechi basically the senpai they look up to. All the other character in the show were unique but not worth mention in this review honestly the only character I ended up somewhat liking in the anime is Akechi and he's quite possible the most generic.

Enjoyment (4/10) Bad
More Specifically (4.5/10)

There was only about 2-3 episodes I fairly enjoyed in this entire anime all the reason I either didn't care for, weren't interesting or remember-able or they was just straight up bad. I ended up putting the anime on a semi-hold until all the episodes were out because it just wasn't worth rushing to watch every week with episodes like what I explained.

Overall (6/10) Fair
More Specifically (6.20/10)

So like I said earlier I had to put this anime on semi-hold because it just wasn't worth watching weekly I was able to binge watch it when all of the episodes were out at least but my overall thought on the anime didn't really change on it. It's a fine anime at best the best things about it were the art style and sound which these days isn't saying much because you can kind of get that anywhere.

DISCLAIMER: I haven't read any of Sir Edogawa's work when I wrote the review for this anime.

Ranpo Kitan is an anime coming from the mystery genre which produced Un-Go, Hyouka and Case Closed. The show's setup was good enough. The characters are quirky enough. The premise of the mysteries was creepy enough to pick the interest of the audience. To be honest, I really thought it can be a successor of Un-Go but what went wrong with this show? Oh well, let's proceed with the review.

Ranpo Kitan's direction is more mysterious than the story itself because the way on how the outcome of stories were ... solved was bereft of any thrill and life. It was also randomly handled at times that it managed to squeeze all the characters in a single episode for God knows why. It can also be inferred that one may not enjoy fully this series if he is not familiar with Sir Edogawa's works. That alone sends a distress signal in this anime given that it cannot stand in itself.

In addition, the audience was not given enough time and clues to solve the cases it had. A typical Ranpo Kitan case goes as follows: Akechi and his gang do their daily hijinks, a case comes up and bam! it was solved immediately. It was as if you are listening to a narration which suddenly jumps to the resolution and bores you to death.

The main story picks up at episode 8 (after some empty fillers), which is really late for an eleven episode anime and the payoff is not anything grand either. The sense of belief and tension in the finale were not there. It was as if I was just waiting to see what happens in the end. It starts to become passable then but it was too late to redeem the audience who dropped this early on.

Instead of focusing to create a solid plot, Ranpo Kitan focused in the quirks of the characters which was never good enough to compensate the lack of story. Twenty Faces, Shadow Man and the Medical Examiner are interesting enough since they are portrayed in a theatrical manner but without a good story to anchor them, they are just talking cardboards.

Ranpo Kitan's characters were also not given proper development and were only shown for the sake of the writing staff to move the plot. The only standouts given these characters are Kobayashi who seems to be a sociopath and Akechi who received fair amount of development from an overpowered protagonist to someone who is likable enough in the end.

Yet to say that Ranpo Kitan is a total waste of time is not fair. The visual techniques are really pretty that it compensates its inability to deliver a good story and I can certainly say that the background sound is one of the best I have heard this season. The opening song sets the mood for the show and the ending song is a pure earworm pop rock.

In the end, it seems like the noitamina slot is not fail proof when it comes in producing quality shows. Ranpo Kitan is one of their casualties this season which is a shame given that this is supposed to be the tribute to Sir Edogawa's 50th death anniversary.

SPOILERS: This show is garbage. It started as a simple, but decent murder mystery show. But then it goes into WTF territory of pretentiousness, head scratchers and forehead smacking that would have Evangelion telling it to relax.

This show sucks.

What’s good?
The main character Kogorou Akechi is the cool headed boy detective that I actually grew fond of as the show progresses. Always one step ahead, brilliant and having a sympathetic motivation, Akechi is what keeps the audience drawn to the show.

Souji Hashiba is possibly one of the most underutilized characters in the show, which is a shame. He doesn’t do much in the show, ... but the scenes with him (sans that trap) are some of the best moments in the show. I liked that he is straight man of the main trio while Akechi and that other one are eccentric and out-of-the-box. Hashiba should have been Akechi’s right hand man. Though rare, the best moments in the show are the interactions between Akechi and Hashiba, especially in the last few episodes where the two are working together.

The concept of 20 faces is really interesting. I wished the show put more focus on that than waiting for it to have any significance in the latter half.

The music is nicely composed, with some scores reminding me of Kingdom Hearts, oddly.

Why this show is garbage?
One, Kobayashi. This show is ruined simply by this person’s existence. First of all, why is she a trap? There’s no reason for her to be one. It’s become a trend in anime in the last few years that needs to die. It doesn’t help that she is possibly that worse case of traps in anime.

Second, the god awful pretentious behavior of this character and the outright neglect of consequences. It pertains to the last episode where he, (SPOILERS, but no one will want to watch this show), helps the villain only because he finds the villain to be more interesting than Akechi. She attempts to commit suicide along with the villain and the other 20 faces simply because he finds it interesting. Piss off!! Oh, and no gratitude towards Hashiba, the only one who genuinely cares for him, for saving his life. Poor Hashiba. His hormones must be a mess. Oh, that cringe worthy moment when Kobayashi saw Hashiba as a faceless mannequin.

Why is there a seductress that soils herself whenever she sees Akechi, let alone a teenager?

Why is there a gothic lolita teacher who clearly has some issue that I thought would play into the story, but never did?

How did Minami and her corpse doll interact with the real world? Weren’t they a figment of everyone’s imagination? What’s with those Family Guy cut-aways? That form of comedy got old 10 years ago.

Why there was an episode dedicated to a cat right after the good episodes Kagami??!!

Overall
Such a shame that this simple, yet enjoyable murder mystery show turned into a complete mess. Akechi, Hashiba and their interactions are great, but are not enough to cover all the badness this show has. Off pacing, nonsensical directing and the wasted potential of 20 Faces really made this show into a downer.

And screw you Kobayashi with your pretentious behavior and cross dressing. Where are Subaru and Charles to give this dude the 3D through the table? Kobayashi would make a fine chair.

This is an odd noitaminA series celebrating the temporary entry of Edogawa Rampo's work into the public domain. (@$%# TPP rubbish) The series isn't a whodunnit, but resides firmly on the crime story or borderline horror end of the mystery genre. Rampo, like his namesake, frequently wrote about horrific things so this isn't an inappropriate focus. His work has been turned into a horror anthology film (Rampo Noir), and the only readily available English translation of his work for a while was the inclusion of "The Human Chair" in the My Favorite Horror Story anthology. The series probably shouldn't have been billed as a ... mystery for western audiences, but that has little to do with the work's quality itself.

Story: I've seen a lot of complaints about tone shifts, but have watched enough live action Japanese movies not to be put off by it. Fits in well with stuff like Tokyo Gore Police, Stacy and Tokyo Zombie. So it might appeal to fans of those. Like me.

Spends a few episodes working up to the main plot, which is well used to develop the characters. The structure is odd, but that's to be expected when you're adapting favored short works and novels from a large canon as a single season anime. Imagine what a Sherlock Holmes anime doing the same would be like and you might get an idea of the overalll story.

Art: The art style can take some getting used to. Highly stylized overall. Frequent use of marionette imagery, words, etc in the artwork for thematic purposes. Pretty high quality throughout.

Sound: OP and ED are two of the better ones for the season. Sound is used effectively thoughout the season.

Characters: Kobayashi has never found anything fun or interesting, until he becomes a murder suspect in episode 1. Which he outright admits is the most fun he's ever had. He's a bit ghoulish, but well intentioned. I think he's one of the more interesting protagonists I've seen lately.

Akechi was originally a Sherlock Holmes expy, and that's still in force here. He usually knows the answer within minutes, and lets things play out for his own inscrutable reasons. If you dislike that type of character, he won't be changing your mind.

Hashiba, Kobayashi's best friend and possible love interest, spends most of the series as the only sane man. He also tries to save Kobayashi from Kobayashi a lot of the time. The three have a pretty neat dynamic together, and I enjoyed the focus on them.

Recurring and secondary characters are a strength of the show. It's a pretty odd collection as you might imagine. Hard to go into without spoilers, but there are a lot of fully realized characters who could carry a story.

Enjoyment/Overall: Ranpo Kitan deals with some pretty heady themes: the morality of vigilantism vs law, Japanese laws on mentally ill criminals, and even determinism vs free will. It manages to do it without coming across as pretentious which is hard. Overall it was a pretty fun mix of action and characterization. The series is sort of the mutant freak baby of Yoshihiro Nishimura and Edogawa Rampo. Which is cool in its own way.

I enjoyed the odd collection of characters and will miss seeing more of them.

Honestly I wish there were a negative scoring system because I don't think this even deserves a 1.

Story - 1/10

Unfortunately, any attempt to establish a plot utterly failed. Most episodes just seemed like a generic crime show where they would present the case and then come up with a culprit out of nowhere. Aside from that, there were a few episodes which were so cliche that they were utterly predictable.

Art - 1/10

Animation seemed really lazy for this anime. Most notably the fact that all the characters irrelevant to the plot were just grey blobs.

... Sound - 1/10

A lot of people seemed to like the OP and ED, personally I disliked them. Nothing from the OST really stood out either.

Characters - 1/10

The characters were really one-dimensional in this series and they utterly failed when it comes to character development. Kobayashi was a generic trap, Akechi was a generic bored detective and Hashiba served no purpose.

Also... they seriously had a character who could shape-shift? This was supposed to be a mystery/horror anime, not magic. Did Nymphadora Tonks get reincarnated or something?

Enjoyment - 1/10

When it started out, I thought this was kind of an interesting anime but that quickly descended into "do I really want to watch Ranpo Kitan this week?". There's really nothing noteworthy about this series and I'd say the rewatch value is 0/10.

Overall - 1/10

I had pretty high expectations for this series but it ended up being a train wreck. Went into this expecting mystery, ended up with a mishmash of comedy, death and yaoi scenes.

This was a huge waste of time, please don't bother watching it. You'd be better off watching pretty much anything else from this season.

As I normally do, I will have spoilers as you can't really explain how good/bad the story flows without actually explaining/telling parts of the story. So don't read if you don't want to get spoiled.


Story: 1
For an 11 ep series, it sure took its time to get to the main story: the Twenty Faces identity. The first few eps are largely character introductions, showing how inadequate the police force is, how great Akechi is and how unjust the justice system is. It dragged on needlessly as it could have easily been condensed within two episodes; maybe even one. And even when Twenty Faces was introduced ... it dragged on quite a bit with continuous side missions/mysteries.

The highlight was when the origin of Twenty Faces was revealed and that was when it became interesting. Unfortunately the writers probably have little to no experience regarding the philosophical/mathematical concepts they throw out, like 'Laplace Demon', 'Chaos Theory' as they mentioned how they were both similar; except a quick wiki search will show you that Chaos Theory is a counter to Laplace's demon.

Continuing... the ability for Twenty Face to affect people is largely excused with "people are angry" combined with the pseudo-intellectual application of "Butterfly Effect".
Now, you might be thinking that I'm harsh and that I should have a suspension of disbelief. Sure, let's try that for a moment and believe that everything works.
So as the climax, the antagonist then kills himself/disappears to complete his formula to make Twenty Face realised/complete. And the aftermath is that Twenty Faces appear more, then... they're forgotten... ??? All this is explained within the last few mins of the episode. It's as though the concept of Twenty Faces went back to square one and that the formula suddenly stopped working.

So the entire series was basically four episodes long that contradicts itself and ends up having essentially no effect as the concept of Twenty Faces pre-dates the story's timeline.

PS: There was even, what I consider, a filler episode (ep 6), in that nothing happens that advances the actual story. It is literally a side mission/mystery that's presented and solved in one episode.




Sound: 7
I liked the ending song and the piano insert song (look up Ranpo Laplace Dream on youtube and have a listen). Voice acting was pretty standard, I didn't feel like I felt attached to any particular character's voice selection. Overall, very average/standard.




Art: 7
The art isn't particularly bad, though the colours are a bit all over the place which reminds me of the *monogatari series. Though I feel that they share some kind of artistic overlap, in this series' case, it's not done as well as the *monogatari series and really just feels random.
Character designs are your more typical modern anime types in that their eyes don't take up half their face and hairstyles are more refined.



Character: 1
Akechi - Of all the three main characters, it feels like Akechi is the only one whose impact is actually felt outside of plot devices from the other two. He solves everything, fights everything and is basically the get-out-of-jail card that's used every single episode.

Kobayashi - He is basically the plot device to bring the camera to the villain (of the episode) so we can get some expository dialogue about the situation, then have Akechi come in and solve it.

Hashiba - His character feels completely out of place with the overall mood and story. His yaoi tendency serves no purpose towards the story nor does it even have any humourous impact. He's basically the incarnation of the concept of 'devil's advocate', except in a really annoying manner and without effect.

Supports - When we find out that some of the recurring characters turned out to be part of Twenty Faces, their impact towards the story just feels like the writer was trying to pull a 'bet you didn't expect that' card. But since their purpose basically fades away instantly, you end up not really caring too much about it in the end.
- Black Lizard had literally no purpose other than perhaps providing some fan service which also applies Hanabishi who is a 'moe', loli looking school teacher introduced for the sake of more fanservice (probably).

Nakimoshi - The only one who's remotely interesting but is quickly off'd as the series had to come to a conclusion. Basically a bullied guy who has a 'notice me senpai' complex who looks for affection from Akechi and took his disapproval as rejection which led him to Twenty Faces



Enjoyment: 2
I really dislike episodic series if they're trying to have an overall story. Stuff that's a slice of life like Non non Biyori works fine because of its nature, but when something has an overall story but takes almost 6/11 to get to it, then there's a problem with the writing. A large portion of character interaction is bland and has no development and the mysteries aren't even that enjoyable as they're resolved too fast with little complexity.



Overall: 1
I would not recommend this series

Ranpo Kitan: Game Of Laplace was created to commemorate the passing of the famous Japanese author, Edogawa Rampo. And just as his literature was, Game of Laplace is dark, twisted, and all over the place. The weird thing though, is that it's all done with a smile. All of these grotesque scenarios like: Child abduction, self-mutilation, murder...they're all presented lightheartedly as if they were no big deal whatsoever. And if that sounds weird to you now, you don't even know the half of it. Ranpo Kitan is one of the most creative shows I have seen in quite a long time. However, it has come ... under fire as of late by many viewers who see it as "Too sporadic and odd to provide a positive watching experience". That isn't a direct quote, but I feel like I paraphrased a good portion of the community pretty well. Regardless, this is definitely not something you have seen before.

Directed by Seiji Kishi (Angel Beats/Persona 4: The Animation) and animated by the lesser-known studio Lerche, Ranpo Kitan comes off as abstract, while still bringing forth and even satirizing a good number of typical anime tropes. The story follows a 12 year old girl....err, boy...named Yoshio Kobayashi. Being the suspect of a gruesome murder case involving his teacher, Kobayashi had to figure out a way to prove his innocence. Which, in turn, he did. This ultimately lead to him discovering an interest in detective work which would soon-after morph into him clinging on to the lead detective of the former case -- that being Kogorou Akechi. Akechi (Who is also a full-time coffee and drug addict) is reluctant in letting Kobayashi help, but eventually submits seeing as it would be even more annoying having him beg at his doorstep like a stray cat for 24 hours a day.

And so, these two (As well as Kobayashi's friend, Hashiba) start going out and solving various cases too intense for regular police to handle. Whether it be a fat guy who steals little girls and buries them in his walls, a guy with a bag on his head that can somehow disguise himself as any other person, or that same guy that continues to steal little girls despite being told not to. The crimes are few in numbers and extremely weird, but there is a sense of unspoken realism to them not commonly touched in anime. Ranpo Kitan, if anything, isn't afraid to be ambitious and depict events that most studios wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. And it only gets more in-your-face as the story goes on. The downside, if you can even call it that, is that it winds up getting more confusing as a result. But at least a concrete story line is picked up once Twenty Faces emerges around halfway through the series.

At this point, the show becomes less focused on shock value and instead shifts its focus toward a deeper meaning -- the difference between right and wrong and the flaws of the typical justice system. In this anime, and even in a lot of real-life cases, criminals receive reduced sentences for pleading their mental instability. This eventually turns into them being able to roam the streets and repeat their offenses, hurting even more people. Twenty Faces is a vigilante who only kills those people. So now we have to ask ourselves if what Twenty Faces is doing is actually justice or not. Yes, it's illegal and even immoral, but should Akechi be going out of his way to catch him instead of the same people that Twenty Faces is targeting? I mean, he must be doing something right if half of the city has started to follow in his footsteps and even worship him on some levels. Twenty Faces becomes more of an ideal than a single person. If one is caught, two appear in his place. If those are caught, even more show up. The vigilante justice increases and increases until it eventually escalates way too far and the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, are at stake.

Ranpo Kitan is a lot different from how it appears on paper. It isn't your typical "Detectives doing detective stuff and catching bad guys" story. It's more of an audiovisual collage that blends lighthearted anime tropes with the darker side of the real world. It's the subtlety of the characters morbid tendencies that is more than just disturbing -- it's real. The school teacher has scars covering her wrists, but does her best to keep a smile on her face. Shadow-Man stalks children in order to "Protect" them. Akechi is an obsessed drug addict who has dedicated thousands of hours to proving that he is right. And everyone else is blacked out. Literally. The characters that don't matter are just shadows and wooden figures, implying that they are all the same, interchangeable creatures. The show is well-aware that it isn't a typical detective anime, and that's okay. In fact, it's even better.

Creativity is the first thing I look for in any form of art, anime is no exception. Ranpo Kitan is absolutely beaming with it. No, its bleeding with it. This shows emanates the darkest sectors of reality and presents them as if they were normal. Because the truth is, they have become normal. The world isn't all smiles, Pocky, and brightly-colored haircuts. There are forces out there beyond our control -- subtle miseries, that we are afraid to acknowledge. This anime takes those fears and disintegrates them, leaving us with a product that can be confusing to some, but memorable and important to others. It might not be for everyone, but I honestly feel like Ranpo Kitan is one of the deepest, most under-looked shows out there.

In Summary:
Ranpo Kitan is not for everyone. If you are looking for a detective anime or a murder-mystery, look elsewhere. If approached with a clear state of mind and no specific expectations, Ranpo Kitan could wind up as something extremely thought-provoking and important. By no means is this show for anime-beginners. Instead, I would recommend it to seasoned viewers looking for a show that will break away from the norms that have grown to shape the anime industry. It may just be the single most creative thing I've watched this year. That alone can't possibly be a bad thing.

So the summer anime season is coming to a close and as we prepare for the Fall to simultaneously disappoint us and blow our minds, let’s start looking back at how awful these last three months have been. And what better way to start than to beat up a shitty noitamina anime? I’m actually kind of surprised Ranpo Kitan was amongst the first of this season’s crop to have an ending. Okay, it started on the first week of releases rather than wait until everything is out like noitamina anime usually do, but I assumed it was just 12 episodes like the other two offerings ... for the timeslot this year and that it anticipated that weekly delay that practically every show went through this season. But no, it’s the standard 11 episodes, which is a blessing in disguise because A) it ends quicker B) I get something to review and nothing says catharsis more than beating up a show no one in their right mind would defend.

Yes, I’m sorry to say that unless A-1 somehow churns out a worse mystery anime next season - and I know it’s A-1, but this series is just sad - Ranpo is easily the least interesting of noitamina’s offerings in 2015. Punch Line had a decent story that was let down by execution issues and some people seem to like Saekano in all its poorly animated, stakes-less ugliness for some reason, but at least they promoted discussion. You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone other than masochistic mystery buffs who made it past the first two episodes of Ranpo Kitan, mainly because it was directed by a hack who makes Akiyuki Shinbo look like David Fincher.

Where exactly are these fans who still support Seiji Kishi enough to have him continue with this thing we humans call a career? Yes I know he’s always adapting really popular stuff due to whatever connections he’s got, but after a while, you’d think people would catch on and realize that Devil Survivor 2 will be more the rule rather than the exception. And more to the point, who was it that approved of him to adapt the works of Edogawa Ranpo in the first place? Who even owns the rights to the property these days? Because after watching this tripe, I think we’re going to need a change of hands to someone who can actually say no as well as some psychological counseling towards the original guy after he experiences the thing for himself.

This is where I usually describe the plot of this show, but I honestly don’t know what to say because it’s just too fragmented and lifeless to put in coherent words whilst being way too dependent on the characters. I mean you’ve got this downbeat detective out for justice. You’ve got this kid who looks and talks like a girl, but is really a boy, and speaks like a robot. You’ve got his male glasses-wearing friend who may or may not be gay for him. Then there’s this bag-man and woman dressed in bondage gear - and I never actually read a Ranpo story, but I’m pretty sure the wacky nurse who looks like the bastard lovechild of Paranoia Agent and Danganronpa wasn’t in the original source, let alone took a substantial role in the show’s climax.

All of these characters are given the Kishi hyper-stylization treatment and have about as much believable human emotions as Itchy and Scratchy when they’re phoning it in. And you remember how in Durarara where the unimportant people are drawn in gray and only when they actually have significance to what’s going on is when someone bothers to color them in? Ranpo Kitan has something like that too, except the characters fade into silhouette-like backgrounds at really arbitrary moments and it looks incredibly unfinished rather than stylistic. It leads to this weird disconnect of coldness most normal people who try to watch Ghost in the Shell experience in that even if you saw something worth watching in here, it’s presentation makes actually accessing it all but impossible. Only in Ranpo Kitan’s case, not only are the smart things just the same old bullshit regarding “what is justice” and every other moral you could get in any cop show either, but there’s no excitement to be had even if you penetrate the presentation and dig that sort of stuff.

Now the show’s utter lifelessness makes remembering events difficult, but I do remember that most of the individual cases are more stuff the anime does to fill out time rather than pieces to a much bigger picture. The closest thing we get to an overarching plot thread is through some lunatic named Twenty Faces, who basically kills criminals for justice, and catching him would be a lot easier if there weren’t multiple people doing things in his name. But this conflict only takes up half the screen time and the rest of it is just piddling about. Please explain to me the significance of that one episode where The Amazing Bag-Man stops by the detective’s house and we spend the entire run time basically coming up with theories like a bad stand-up comedy before ending on a conclusion that - as the domesticated father said regarding the broken toilet bowl that had just been used by his kid after digesting food from Taco Bell- was full of shit. There’s taking a break from an on-going plot and then there’s just throwing shit out of that bowl just because you can.

I’m probably going to have to address the elephant in the room regarding the actual mysteries in this show and whether or not they’re good at some point. Short answer: no. Long answer: Fuck no! The logic is incredibly hard to follow - not helped by the giant heapings of dialogue that desperately needed an editor during investigations - and the actual criminal is always some arbitrary person that the show just pulled out of thin air with either no foreshadowing or so little of it that it wouldn’t make a difference either way. Backstories for the criminals are so token and predictable that you’d only need thirty seconds to explain it. Detective Conan-style. And yet for some reason, the show decides to devote entire half-hours trying to make me sympathize with these morons.

The way the Twenty Faces arc concludes is pretty much a combination of all the problems I listed above with another one added, and that problem is the feminine main character. Up until that point, he’s always been an audience cipher that no audience member can relate to, but he was in the background so I let it slide. But the final few episodes put him at center stage for the crucial part of Twenty Faces’ grand plan and his emotionless accepting reactions become impossible to ignore to the point that he might as well have been wearing a yellow T-shirt that said “I am an obvious plot device” in big black letters. It wasn’t until the final few minutes that ended on him that I realized he was basically a walking metaphor for the show: a small lifeless pile of gimmicks who hangs around with the big boys just because he can. And if he died, no one but sad geeky losers would give a shit.

So on the whole, I can’t really say I recommend Ranpo, even if you’re a die-hard noitamina fan. It’s badly written and it’s hard to even pay attention to the writing at times because there’s a high chance the visuals will put you to sleep beforehand. Some people may say Kishi’s style is still fresh and interesting even if it’s not being good, but I say that gimmicks are gimmicks. It was gimmicky back when Shaft first used it over a decade ago, and it’s godawful now.

Another anime ruined be its ending. I am very picky, even small things can ruin my mood. This ending definitely ruined the enjoyment for me. Was expecting an ending more like the one in fight club and not a wimpy nonsensical melodramatic wannabe happy one.

Story:
The story in a way is the embodiment of a shapeshifter transposed into the plot of a series. Interesting in itself, but as a result it's creepy and unenjoyable.

So it first starts of as a nice mystery anime, with murder solving elements, although a bit awkwardly exaggerated it was still great and from the first episode on i only expected it ... to be a mix of horror and detective crime solving anime. Would have been truly awesome.

However the 2nd or 3rd episode, not sure which, starts a bit comical with a guy wearing a bag over his head. I thought it sure adds a bit more excitement to the anime, even if it's not what i had expected it's deviating from a monotonous linear genre driven story. Unfortunately that line deviating from horror/crime solving towards comedy runs all over the place. It makes you wonder if the author threw a dice to see what genre it should intersect next.

From there on it swings even more chaotically. Unfortunately the ending crash lands the plot into a dumpster with the most putrid, rancid and nausea inducing pile of decaying matter you could imagine.

Character:
Sure the mc being a cross dresser was funny, especially since he was so excited about it. His friend showing strange feeling towards him was odd but intended to be comical.

Aekichi seemed to be rather odd. At first he is supposedly the genius detective, always invoking cold thinking and a cold heart too. He can solve about any crime effortlessly and emotionally detached, not really caring about who dies or lives, but just about solving crimes for fun. By the end of the show however he pulls a 180 and becomes an hyper emotional slut that wants to save the world and his best childhood buddy.

A lot of the characters and their actions don't make sense. Those that do make sense are a bit shallow.

Wish they would explain Aekichi's girlfriend who sits behind bars. Why is she tied up with strings and why are her ogres escaping later on, or how are the even escaping. Nasty plot hole, seriously.

Art:
I liked the art a lot. If it weren't for the blanked out characters it would have been perfect.

Sound:
eh? not sure what to say about it, the OP/ED theme was crap

Enjoyment:
I did find the anime interesting enough to watch it in one go, but seeing it intentionally sabotaged and destroyed like a plane flown into a skyscraper, it only left me irritated at the end. Yes, it was exactly that depressing. The only thing missing to completely ruin the enjoyment is to have the creator jump from a building and live streaming the event ...

If you want a clear picture of this anime, then imagine drawing a line from point A to point B. Before getting to point B you will move your pen in all directions as chaotically as possible and then only reach point B. That is exactly how this anime is in it's entirety.