1. Be pretty
2. Be a boy
3. Be a detective
A magical pairing that once made history, is here again to revive whatever hopes you had on Shaft after Owarimonogatari's ending. In the beautiful storytelling of Nisioisin and the imaginative and creative team of Shaft studios' team, Bishounen Tanteidan is here to appeal to everyone with its charming characters, crazy screenplay and dialogue-packed plot that is sure to make you amazed at the mere thought of such a creative piece existing.
Doujima Mayumi is a regular high school girl whose eyes were always up to the sky. When she was a child she saw a beautiful star that she was never again able to see afterwards. Upon stumbling with Manabu Soutouin and a club full of self-proclaimed "Pretty detectives", they go on a hunt for such star. From that point on it's started the adventures of such club, with the premise of a child's play, and all the determination to be pretty, be boys, be detectives, and be a team.
First of all, witnessing one of Nisioisin's pieces is always a treat. The way he deals with the storytelling and is able to be innovative, though never losing his essence as a writer. Such show perfectly in this anime, with fresh and mostly unexplored themes, an astonishing set of characters and an involving progression with dialogues that will keep you on the edge of your seat as well as take laughs off of you when you least expect it.
Still on the subject of unique characters, to which we owe a special shoutout to the designer, Kinako, many of them deserve special attention, not only through the way they are portrayed, but also in the way they are portrayed by each other, each interpersonal relationship is unique in its own right, for example the way Mayumi refers each of the members with special names such as "Delinquent-kun", "Bare legs-kun", etc. Such character interaction helps enrich what's considered to be the most important point in all of Nisioisin's narratives, the dialogues.
Not to be underestimated though, is the team involved in the art, which was able to perfectly transmit the work made on the manga by Suzuka Oda and translate it to a style very familiar in Shafts productions: the scuffed face expressions, the slow-mo captures and switch in artstyle for dramatic or comic effect. Shaft is well known for such characteristics that made shows like Monogatari and Nisekoi so unique. It was being highly discussed as to what was the future of this studio, upon the massive wave of talents leaving, but if such pieces continue to be created, I believe their future looks very bright
Another art sector that amazed me throughout the entire narrative was the soundtrack, with tracks by Masatomo Oota and Kousuke Moribe. The tracks filled me with joy and highly resembled other works from the same studio. Which was great, because Monogatari, [I'm sorry for using Monogatari as an example so often] for example, has my favorite OST of all times. Bishounen Tanteidan has tracks that complement the narrative and are the main element that make Bishounen Tanteidan so elegant in its worldbuilding.
With all that said though, what are the downsides?
Though not highlighted in the segments above, the story itself isn't really impressive per se, the story is mostly a catalyst to the other elements the piece has to offer, which is to a certain extent disappointing. Of course, even if the story were to be better, it would probably get ofuscated by its characters and screenplay. But from an analytical standpoint, those elements do lack and are pretty much all that's holding this piece from reaching greatness, you can, indeed, resume the story in the fact that it's just an elementary schoolers child's play.
Conclusion:
Regardless of it not being presented with a great story, all of its other elements are perfect in its harmony and good enough to make you fall in love with the show regardless of its lack of a clear progression. The art, screenplay, soundtrack, characters and narrative all merge to what's, from my point of view, Shaft getting back in form, and another great piece from Nisioisin. I completely recommend this anime to anyone, and everyone with some free time to fall in love for something new.
