Name: A deep exploration of the human condition to the back drop of an exciting and incredibly well written mystery.
Item: ODDTAXI
Rating: 100
Author: bjrdman

Waifra

A deep exploration of the human condition to the back drop of an exciting and incredibly well written mystery. · Waifora

We all have dreams, aspirations and goals. Some want to be successful comedians, some want to get married, some want to move to the city and be a nurse, some want to be famous, some want to be idols, some want to get rich, some want that limited edition eraser that’ll help them stand out in class and some simply just want to be a taxi driver. Does any of that really matter though? What are we willing to sacrifice to achieve these goals? Will we really be happier, or improve our lives by attaining these goals? These are just a few of the questions Odd Taxi sets out to answer.

Hiroshi Odokawa is a taxi driver in Tokyo who has a few friends, but mostly keeps to himself. He’s good at remembering faces, and since he drives a taxi he knows a lot of people in Tokyo. After a girl he had driven goes missing, he ends up tied up in the case when a policeman takes his dashcam data and threatens him. While Odokawa is certainly the main character, so many other characters get developed deeply with backstories and motivations that Odd Taxi becomes more about people, relationships and motivations set to the background of Odokawa’s investigation of the mystery. Every character’s story ends up weaving its way into the main plot in a way that’s emotional and exciting. There’s arguably no real bad guy, and each character, even the yakuza, are developed enough where you can sympathize with their position. The world exists in all shades of gray, and this show demonstrates that with its characters and story.

(Minor spoilers, I just go in depth on one of the characters to show what I mean when I say "deep cast")

Spoiler, click to view

One of my favorite characters in the show is Eiji Kakihana. Kakihana didn’t go to college, and after highschool spent most of his time working low paying janitorial and construction jobs. He’s close friends with Odokawa since they both frequent the same bar. He wishes his life were easier, that he was rich and had a girlfriend, so he lies about his income on a dating app in order to attract dates. He wears suits to their dates, and takes her to fancy restaurants to keep up the ruse. He’s tragically fooling himself through the entire relationship as well, talking of “chemistry” and “true love” when his date, Shiho Ichimura, just sits on her phone the entire time when they’re hanging out and is only interested when Kakihana talks of money. He’s so disillusioned and far away from the life he wants to live, that he’ll do anything to live in his fantasy for a few hours. You can’t help but cringe at the decisions he makes on screen, but at the same time it’s impossible not to sympathize with his midlife-crisis.

And that’s just one of the characters. His date, Shiho, is just as deep and exciting a character who has her own motivations and reasons for going out with Kakihana.

The show is so tight, expressing thoughts on fame, social media, trauma, isolation and dignity in thirteen episodes. If you ever think, oh, it’s the 7th episode it’ll probably repeat some points and have some filler content, it literally slaps you with three new characters and a whole half of the story you haven’t been introduced to yet. It never gets boring, and will keep you interested every second of every episode. Better yet it’s all set to the score of lofi hip-hop that knows when to be sentimental and when to be exciting.

The most interesting part of the show is how truly reflective it is of the world, even though everyone in the show's an animal. Maybe in some ways we chase our desires like animals more than we'd like to admit.