Yuukoku no Moriarty

During the late 19th century, Great Britain has become the greatest empire the world has ever known. Hidden within its success, the nation's rigid economic hierarchy dictates the value of one's life solely on status and wealth. To no surprise, the system favors the aristocracy at the top and renders it impossible for the working class to ascend the ranks.

William James Moriarty, the second son of the Moriarty household, lives as a regular noble while also being a consultant for the common folk to give them a hand and solve their problems. However, deep inside him lies a desire to destroy the current structure that dominates British society and those who benefit from it.

Alongside his brothers Albert and Louis, William will do anything it takes to change the filthy world he lives in—even if blood must be spilled.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

James Moriarty, William Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Holmes, Sherlock Main

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

James Moriarty, Albert Main

Satou, Takuya Japanese

James Moriarty, Louis Main

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Moran, Sebastian Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Porlock, Fred Supporting

Uemura, Yuuto Japanese

Watson, John H. Supporting

Ono, Yuuki Japanese

Holmes, Mycroft Supporting

Yasumoto, Hiroki Japanese

Ms. Hudson Supporting

Asumi, Kana Japanese

Inspector Lestrade Supporting

Komatsu, Fuminori Japanese

Sabat, Christopher Producer

Cook, Justin Producer

Maeda, Toshihiro Producer

Morihiro, Fumi Producer

Reviews

Aug 15, 2024

Will2miNB

Recommended

Moriarty the Patriot is an anime that masterfully reinterprets the iconic figure of James Moriarty, famously known as Sherlock Holmes' archenemy. The series stands out for its ability to transform a character traditionally viewed as evil into a complex antihero with a clear mission: to overthrow a corrupt and unjust social system. Throughout the narrative, we are presented with the story from the perspective of this ultimate antihero, the one London doesn’t know it needs and, in many ways, doesn’t deserve.

At the heart of the story lies the theme of justice and revenge. James Moriarty, a brilliant mathematics professor, is not only a criminal mastermind ... but also a man with a clear vision: to destroy the British aristocracy, which has built its power and wealth on the oppression of the weak. The anime delves deeply into the moral complexities of right and wrong, showing how justice, in Moriarty's hands, becomes a double-edged sword, justifying extreme acts in the name of a greater good.

The characters in Moriarty the Patriot are deeply developed, each with personal motivations that make them memorable. Moriarty is not merely a criminal; he is a man driven by profound empathy for the oppressed, making him both a fascinating and tragic figure. His accomplices, including his brothers and various reimagined historical figures, add further depth to the plot, creating a web of alliances and conflicts that captivate the viewer.

Visually, the anime is a treat for the eyes, with a meticulously crafted Victorian setting that reflects the dark and oppressive atmosphere of an era dominated by social disparity. The animation in the action scenes is fluid and well-choreographed, maintaining the narrative tension at a high level.

A particularly notable aspect is how the anime balances the psychological introspection of the characters with the tension of their criminal endeavors. Their internal struggles and the difficult decisions they face make the story compelling, without ever becoming predictable. Each episode offers a continuous reflection on the themes of justice, morality, and sacrifice, prompting the viewer to question the true cost of vengeance.

In conclusion, Moriarty the Patriot is a work that not only reinvents an iconic character but does so with such depth and care that it becomes a must-watch for those who love intricate and morally ambiguous stories. It’s an experience that challenges expectations, offering a fresh perspective on what it truly means to be a "villain."

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jan 9, 2024

hexashadow13

Mixed Feelings

tl;dr: A very strong premise that shows a lot of promise towards the beginning but is overall terrible executed.

*Note: This is a review of Part 1, Part 2, and the OVAs.*

Moriarty the Patriot is an anime that focuses on James Moriarty, the best known adversary of the renowned detective Sherlock Holmes. To be more precise, there’s a group of three brothers all of whom are James Moriarty and all of whom are focused on to a degree, but the deuteragonist is undoubtedly William James Moriarty. From the start, from the title even, it is clear that Moriarty won’t be portrayed as a villain, but rather ... as somewhat of an anti-hero who does what he does out of patriotism. More specifically, he wishes to improve Britain through eliminating the class divide and his plans to do so involve becoming the Lord of Crime infamous throughout London. As one would expect, this results in him getting into conflict with Holmes with the two becoming bitter rivals.

Except, that’s not really what it feels like at all. The writing seems to act like this has become the case at some point, but very little occurs to really establish as actually having happened. Sherlock Holmes and William James Moriarty having a complex relationship where Holmes wishes to discover the identity of the Lord of Crime while also having a begrudging respect for him, while also independently becoming friends with William I think is a fantastic set up. However, I feel the value in this set up isn’t in the destination but in the journey to get there. The writing in this seems to gloss over that completely with very little of the cat and mouse game I was expecting.

Based on what characters say, it can be assumed that there were likely many more mysteries involving the two that were never explicitly shown. However, skipping them feels like putting the cart before the horse. This was especially disastrous towards the final stretch of the second cour, wherein it seemed to be focused on hitting heavy emotional beats centered around the relationship between the two. But due to a lack of building up that relationship, these emotional beats, and the ending overall, simply doesn’t land at all.

Another area I feel the writing in this anime is surprisingly weak, is that for a story based on Sherlock Holmes there is a shocking lack of intelligence and wit. Most of Moriarty’s crimes aren’t all that intricate. The crimes that Holmes solves are somewhat better, though still not strong enough to hold up the show. The first cour is still pretty decent in this regard, but the second cour regresses significantly. Unfortunately, the second cour also has the cases that are much more significant, and thus the overall impression of the series feels much more rooted in the second cour than the first.

The primary example of that would be the finale of the second cour, wherein it finally gets to explaining what William’s plan is and why he needed to become the Lord of Crime. However, his plan is to put it simply completely and utterly juvenile. Speaking in vague terms so as to avoid spoilers, it basically comes down to nobles finding their conscious and becoming good people when faced with a major threat also facing the commoners. It is incredibly hard to believe that this happens to a degree significant to have an effect on the class divide. Especially as right up to that point, by which I mean literally right up to the preceding scene, nobles are portrayed as cartoon villains that see commoners as less human than themselves. Maybe if it was drawn out with better pacing than it could seem reasonable, but within the context that it occurs it felt laughably stupid.

I also felt that the writing had a very hard time with the source material it was using as it’s foundation. Of course no one should expect derivative works to stick to what they’re inspired by completely, as that would just be boring. However, I would still expect them to demonstrate a good understanding of the original work and to have deviations feel worthwhile. Here it felt more like it was only using broad and superficial elements of the stories of Sherlock Holmes, and thus I don’t think this anime has much value to those that are interested in it for it’s Sherlock Holmes related aspects. It’s portrayal of Victorian Britain was also off in a lot of regards so I don’t particularly think it has a lot of value for those interested in it for it’s historical setting either.

Still, it’s not like it’s all bad. The various cases may not be all that smart, but a lot of them are still pretty enjoyable. Seeing Moriarty take down spoiled nobles is pretty satisfying, and the stupider and more absurd it gets and more fun it is. The various other crazy stuff that happens during his plans such as shooting a coin to change the angle of the bullet, or using an automobile (in Victorian London) on what is supposed to be a covert mission, was hilarious. Sherlock is also a really amusing character, so that alone is enough to hold up a lot of the anime. The action was also pretty cool at times. The anime is at it’s best when it’s just doing it’s thing without caring at all about any overarching plot threads or character arcs. Though that unfortunately does mean that it’s highs aren’t all that high while it’s lows are really low.

The art is pretty good, especially the backgrounds, and animation is decent enough as well. The character designs I don’t really get though. They’re generally pretty boring. If they were historically accurate I would get it, but they don’t seem to be that strict on that regard. I feel there was definitely room for them to be more interesting. Both OPs were pretty great in terms of songs and visuals. I wasn’t all that fond of the visuals or songs of the EDs though. The soundtrack was decent enough but not particularly memorable.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 14, 2024

SheolShaman

Not Recommended

MEH

The worldbuilding is bad.

For all of their faults, aristocracies created stability and prosperity for hundreds of years. You'd expect a political thriller to deal with these nuances. In this show, every noble is evil to an absurd degree. To the point it actively hurts them. Moriarty's philosophy is "nobility bad" and that's the extent of politics in the show.

Sadly the mysteries / plans are also mediocre. A good mystery gives you enough pieces to put it together, should you pay attention. This show doesn't. Moriarty makes up some dubious theory and always happens to be right. And then the author hopes you're tricked into thinking ... this is good writing. Moriarty is also never in any real danger. So that whole "L vs. Light" mind game type of stuff doesn't work.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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