Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace (Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace)

After what appears to be just another ordinary day, middle school student Yoshio Kobayashi wakes up in his classroom to make a terrifying discovery: his teacher has been mutilated, and Yoshio happens to be holding the weapon used to commit the crime.

Despite the initial shock of finding himself in this predicament, the curious and detached Yoshio can't help but be secretly thrilled about this attempt to frame him. His put-upon friend Souji Hashiba is turned into a willing accomplice, and together, they are determined to prove Yoshio's innocence. Additionally, Kogorou Akechi, a genius high school detective, has come to the scene of the crime in order to investigate the case and when Kogorou meets the young man found guilty, an intense mutual interest sparks between the two of them. Kobayashi wishes to enter Akechi's world of crime solving as his assistant, and Akechi is determined to see if the enthusiastic boy is up to the challenge.

Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace is a surreal mystery and horror anime that contains brutal and bizarre crimes, loosely based on stories written by Ranpo Edogawa, who is famous for his influence on Japanese fiction.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace (lit. Strange Tales of Rampo: Game of Laplace) is inspired by the works of author Edogawa Rampo (a pseudonym for Tarou Hirai) and commemorates the 50th anniversary of his death in 1965.

He was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, the first recurring detective character in Japanese fiction and is clearly inspired by Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

(Source: Wikipedia)

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kobayashi, Yoshio

Main

Takahashi, Rie
Japanese

Akechi, Kogorou

Main

Sakurai, Takahiro
Japanese

Hashiba, Souji

Main

Yamashita, Daiki
Japanese

Kage Otoko

Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito
Japanese

Namikoshi

Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Minami

Supporting

Fujita, Saki
Japanese

Kagami, Keisuke

Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki
Japanese

Kuro Tokage

Supporting

Hikasa, Youko
Japanese

Kagami, Tokiko

Supporting

Toyoguchi, Megumi
Japanese

Hanabishi

Supporting

Nakahara, Mai
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Higa, Yuuji

Producer

Matsumoto, Miho

Producer

Mori, Akitoshi

Producer

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Opening Theme

"Speed to Masatsu (スピードと摩擦)" by amazarashi

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Ending Theme

"Mikazuki (ミカヅキ)" by Sayuri (さユり)

Reviews

Sep 17, 2015

NameWithheld

Recommended

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 ...

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Sep 17, 2015

Stark700

Mixed Feelings

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.

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Sep 20, 2015

ZephSilver

Not Recommended

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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 ...

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Poll: Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Sep 17, 2015	146 replies	by Archean-Return »» Dec 4, 2023 11:47 AM
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Kobayashi, Yoshio

Akechi, Kogorou

Hashiba, Souji

Kage Otoko

Namikoshi

Minami

Kagami, Keisuke

Kuro Tokage

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Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace

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