Odd Taxi

I have to admit it, this anime was EXCELLENT.

At first I had reservations about whether it was made for children. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and complexity of the plot, the compelling characters and the overall quality of the storytelling. The anime's narrative is well written and the characters are well developed, embodying the essence of a well-rounded and engaging cast. Each element of this anime has been carefully introduced, with a clear connection to the central narrative. The viewer is able to understand and follow the intricate story of this magnificent anime.

Personally, highly recommended :)

Not gonna lie, I was fairly disappointed throughout the entire show. I basically watched for the only song in the anime, and the alpaca dance. Everything else was pretty avg. The story follows an opp (for those who don't know... An opp is short for "opposition" usually given the label to people who are compliant with police in order to stop a specific person) who quite literally can't see straight, and is working as a taxi driver for the public. Its really comedic in the fact that anyone would let him do his job in such a condition, let alone relay information to cops ... after mistaking someone as a raccoon on the street. like lol...The entire meaning of evil was perceived only by this character. The other characters seemed fairly flat, and some of their places in the story could have been removed and still wouldn't make a difference. Even though there are some unique characters, they usually are fairly stereotypical which the main character doesn't help with at all. Since he also wraps them up in stereotypes (in the bits of screen time they have in the show). The trailer to this show was really goated though it had me interested.
I am not everyone so if you like the way the main character thinks then you'll enjoy it. Though many of the other characters don't get enough screen time or story depth to actually mean anything.

Oh no, I’m finally talking about an anime everyone who watched it says it’s amazing and yet I don’t like it much. I know this is not going to end well, but I’m doing it anyways.

The thing with Odd Taxi is that it’s not too much of something specific. You are not going to like it if you are in a mood for only comedy or only slice of life. It’s a holistic type of show, very good for what it’s doing as a whole, but not very good at attracting a big audience with what it’s about on a moment to moment basis. And ... I’m saying that because I had dropped it several times as it was airing. I didn’t care about the certain episode I was checking out; a sentiment that was shared in the anime community. Despite the constant shilling of many bigshots Odd Taxi was never popular or hyped or talked about compared to your run of the mill action shonen. I mean, what is there to say if you are a casual viewer who checks out the first episodes? It’s a bunch of animals that are talking while looking very bored. There is no action or suspense or fan service or any of the usual shit that keeps people watching.

Obviously the show is rewarding you if you watch all the way to the end and you see how every character ends up connecting with the others, but what kind of an excuse is that for the average viewer? Every episode has to be exciting or captivating. Nobody can say the show gets good once you finish it. It has to be good as you watch it. Which wasn’t the case for most people. Me included.

The problem starts with how visually unimpressive it is. You cannot claim it stands out because it has talking animals, since there are a lot of shows that did that already. And you can’t say it’s beautiful to look at for long because the animation and the character designs are average at best. There is nothing for maintaining your interest and since it was deliberately made to look like it’s for little kids it further made sure almost nobody who recently finished Jujutsu Kaisen will bother to watch more than 5 minutes of it.

The next problem is how there isn’t much of a plot to speak of. It’s just animals talking about their first world problems. 80% of the show is just people sitting and talking, and it’s not even a sitcom. Most of what they say is unfunny. Sure, it’s a slice of life, it can’t have tension by default. It’s more about what the characters are doing, and how you gradually learn more about them and the setting. Unfortunately it has the same effect as listening to a podcast about two people sitting down and talking about random topics for hours. At the end of it you will have learned a lot about them, but it’s not like there was anything going on in the meantime. And I have to say, none of them are oozing with depth. They are one-note and have a one-track mind. Real people are not doing only one thing and are not defined by one thing either, thus the setting comes off as cartoony as the talking animals.

Also the only reason you have for looking at the screen is for reading the subs. If you could get your hands on the transcript or listen to the dub if there ever is one, there would be no point in watching the screen at all. What’s the point of this being a tv series when you don’t need a tv? It doesn’t make use of its medium.

There is also some mystery about a girl that disappeared but you are not going to be biting your nails while waiting to find out what’s going on. The pacing is so slow and it’s brought up in an almost casual manner like it doesn’t matter. There are a few scenes that can be considered high in stakes, but they end up being anticlimactic. People survive or don’t get punished enough even in situations that seemingly deserve it. The setting doesn’t come off as realistic as it wants to because of it. As for the great answer to the mystery of what happened to the girl and who did it, it happens in the last episode when the perpetrator casually reveals it while talking to the phone. Nobody exposed that person or somehow tricked it to reveal the truth. It just blabbered about it like it didn’t matter. Worst mystery plot ever.

There is also a plot twist of sorts, since it turns out none of the characters are actually animals. They are all people than the mind of the taxi driver was making them seem like they are animals. How does that change the plot of the show? It doesn’t, therefore it sucks as a twist. Just like the perpetrator it happened in the last episode and didn’t amount to anything. It was just a gimmick for masking the completely dull human character designs.

Adding to all that, despite its attempts at being down to earth, Odd Taxi is still up the ass in plot conveniences that don’t feel natural. The reason everything connects at the end comes down to people accidently finding someone or something exactly when the plot needed it. It happens all the time and comes off as artificial as the force in Star Wars that magically makes people who are related to each other, meeting up accidently in a vast galaxy.

In conclusion, the biggest mystery regarding this show is why did anyone consider it being amazing. It doesn’t have any action, the production values are average, the characters are one note, the plot is talking about a mystery that is solved when the perpetrator talks about it out of nowhere, a twist that has no effect on anything, very small negative consequences, and lots of plot convenience. It’s so obviously a bad show, it’s not a hidden gem or even something worth recommending. I have no idea why some of you liked it so much and I will never revisit it.

You are now free to try explaining why I am wrong and why Odd Taxi is the GOAT.