However, what I experienced was...very underwhelming. Why?
Well, I’ll tell you.
Story - 1/10
From the start, Pretty Boy Detective Club was…all over the place. In this so-called mystery anime, we get comedy, we get talks of romance, we get drama, some action, and even some slice of life in the aspect that there is no actual story to be told whatsoever.
Mayumi Dojima comes across The Pretty Boy Detective Club by chance and asks them to help her solve a mystery about a star she had claimed to see as a little girl that she never came across again. Ultimately, they assist her, solve the mystery, and she becomes a member herself and assists in the club’s case solving.
Now I don’t know about you, but I got a major Ouran Highschool Host Club vibe, especially in episode 3. It was kind of a cheaper carbon copy with prettier animation with reasoning that didn’t quite fit. Haruhi joined because she just “looked” like a boy and that was it. There were no rules. But in Pretty Boys, the first RULE of their club is “Be a boy”. Mayumi, clearly, is a girl, but yet she can join because Manabu claimed she had the”heart of a boy”. I’m sorry but…that’s realllllllly stretching it.
Aside from that, we also have the cases as well. Over the course of 12 episodes, there are 5 of them, and aside from the first case which provided the main introductions of our characters and non-existent story, the other 4 were pretty pointless.
They had no relation to each other, no connections, were very forgettable, and had a lot of unanswered questions and split ends. For example,The Twenties were after Mayumi, kidnapped her, and let her go cuz they got caught. But…why? Like aside that Mayumi saw something she shouldn’t have. And then they’re just…never brought up again. No origin story…nothing. The same with the casino, etc.
For me, it's a battle of thinking between the cases. They seemed far too stupidly intricate for middle schoolers (while intricacy is sometimes what makes a case good), while also so pointless and uninteresting that I found myself not paying attention to the actual detail at all. With exception to the first case and the last episode of the last case, which was, and I really have to mention this, far too extreme and deep of a sudden change for the tone this anime tried to carry.
Overall, there was practically no story at all. Just an overall message to live life beautifully and make beautiful memories which was the only aspect of the story I found respect in.
Art - 8/10
Art was…well…beautiful. Very unique and bright and fun. I thoroughly loved it. Especially the color schemes for the characters from even to the details in the eyes and shoes. It was the highest point of the anime and was very well done.
Sound - 5/10
Pretty mediocre. It was nice to listen too. Classy like in most mystery anime, especially in the refined setting. The opening by far was my favorite though. It made my playlist after the first episode.
Character - 6/10
Keeping it brief, I actually enjoyed our whole main cast. Everyone was unique, had their own quirks, and were fun to watch. Of course they had their slow moments but I’m actually not going to put the blame of the lack of character on the characters themselves. They were all very well done minus one thing…
They didn’t have a good enough story to accentuate them!
I feel I could have enjoyed the characters much more if they handled cases that would actually highlight them. I definitely got a good look at their personalities, but they could have shined so much more. If the cases connected to tell one whole story about their school or about their families, or maybe even completely random cases that were still fun but not boring and incomplete.
It’s the first time I’m saying this…but the characters were robbed of being better because of the story itself and it’s truly a shame
Enjoyment - 3/10
I really, really, realllllyyyy wanted to enjoy Pretty Boy Detective Club. I was so excited for it! But it was just trying to do too many things at once while almost doing nothing at all. Far too intricate and boring with forgettable mysteries that did nothing but drag the show down.
Just like a few sentences ago, I truly believe that if the cases had been different, then my score would be on a whole other level, and this would actually be a pretty solid mystery anime.
However, there is nothing to be changed now so my enjoyment, sadly, still stands low.
Overall - 4/10
I didn’t want my score for Pretty Boy Detective Club to be this low. Really I didn’t. I saw so much potential within the first 3 episodes and stunning animation, but it just goes to show that looks can be deceiving.
A mystery anime should have twists and turns and drama and excitement! Maybe a little blood and cheeky perpetrators/villians/antagonists that fit the story.
Pretty Boy Detective Club is certainly unlike any mystery I’ve ever seen and maybe that might be a good thing, because aside from great graphics, good characters, and a decent OST, the mysteries portrayed are almost better unsolved (not that I really think any of them were truly solved in the first place)
