Relatively Spoiler Free

Kamen Rider- I'm sure the name rings a bell. Known for its action-packed fight scenes and cool costume and monster designs, it has been popular for many years and has many TV shows and movies. One of them happens to be Kamen Rider W (also known as Kamen Rider Double. Pretty clever once you get the context) which is the prequel for Fuuto Tantei that is the subject of this review. For anyone who hasn't watched Kamen Rider W before, you can still watch Fuuto Tantei if you really want to but you'll be slightly confused and miss out on the character development. I'd strongly recommend you watch W before starting this anime for the background knowledge.

Now with the information section out of the way, let's get on with the actual review.

The Story
Basic background information for those who haven't watched W:

Fuuto Tantei takes place in the city of Fuuto where our protagonist and detective, Hidari Shoutarou takes on various cases from clients with the help of his team. In this world, there exists devices called Gaia Memories that can provide superhuman abilities to users when inserted into their bodies also allowing them to transform and mask their identities. Shoutarou and his partner Phillip use their memory powers for good to stop the dopants, those who use theirs for evil.

The deuteragonist, Phillip can access the "Gaia Library," a collection of all known information in the wold and keywords can be used to narrow down search results for their investigations. He can also fight alongside Shoutarou by providing the Gaia Memory for Kamen Rider Double's right side. This leaves his own body limp as his consciousness becomes one with Shoutarou's and vice versa. This is where the "Double" comes from and I think it's a wonderful mechanic that focuses on teamwork on a whole new level. Shoutarou and Phillip have separate memories with different properties that can be mixed and matched for the best combat outcomes.

The first segment of the anime sets the tone for the entire series. We are introduced to the tritagonist named Tokime who appears as a mysterious woman suspected of the thefts and murders going around Fuuto City. Shoutarou is hired by a client to track down Tokime and retrieve the bag she stole from him and while chasing her, Shoutarou finds himself in an alternate dimension of Fuuto City which he coins "Shadow Fuuto". Shoutarou is determined to find out and stop the dopant responsible for the murders.

In the second segment, Shoutarou is tasked with protecting an idol from a dopant that has been sending her death threats.

The third segment is set in a secluded mountain where a bizarre "wife finding" ritual happens where a rich man must select a bride from a list of candidates. However, every night, a candidate is murdered by a dopant. Shoutarou and Phillip has to figure out who the dopant is and defeat them. This is also the point where our protagonists come face to face with the main antagonist who has been observing them unbeknownst to them.

The fourth and final segment is the climax. The client this time is a little girl who asks our protagonists to help find her mechanic grandfather who didn't return after he left to deliver a certain part to a rather suspicious client. Tokime gets dragged into Shadow Fuuto by one of the antagonist's lackeys. This segment predominantly takes place in Shadow Fuuto.

The cases are very Kamen Rider-esque. While I initially felt like the motive for the second segment's dopant was very weak, I realized that many people do have dumb reasons to hate someone like that irl as well. The identity of the dopants throughout the anime weren't apparent which is always great for detective shows. I liked feeling "ooh!" when Shoutarou or Phillip explained exactly what or why something happened after uncovering the truth. I would've liked more cases but there's only this much you can fit inside a 12 episode anime. Also, Tokime's design seems like an effort to attract a larger audience through her waifuness for the lack of a better word. There are many random fan service moments like closeup shots of her body, her taking baths in fountains (...seriously?) or her clothes ripping after a dopant attack. Furthermore, she didn't have that much involvement in the actual plot at this point in time. I kind of wished there were scopes to have some time off from the main plot to explore the characters themselves a bit more. But like I said, this is not possible in a 12 episode anime.

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The Characters The characters are portrayed exactly how they were in W. Shoutarou has a strong sense of justice and a passion to protect the city of Fuuto and its people. He insists on calling himself a hard boiled detective and appears to be somewhat of a poser which earned him the nickname "half boiled". He has a kind and caring personality. He also quickly becomes very attached to Tokime in this anime for the fact that she doesn't have the "look" of a killer (and because she's attractive). On the other hand, Phillip leans more towards logic. He's highly intelligent and having access to the Gaia Library, he can read about anything and often spends his time trying to understand various topics of interest. He tends to have tunnel vision when he's interested in something and obsessively researches the topic. Due to his special abilities, Akiko says he seemed 'above human' but has now come a long way, feeling more empathetic towards others. The new character, Tokime is blunt and isn't hesitant to argue if needed. She dislikes being useless and tries her best to help out. I expected more character development from Tokime since she's a new character in the series unlike the rest who have had ample time to grow. She ends up trusting the Kamen Riders and becoming more determined to help them but that's the extent of it till now.

The dynamic between the main characters is nice. Shoutaro is definitely smitten with Tokime and Tokime is fond of him as well. Phillip initially disapproved of Shoutaro acting alone on Tokime's case because he was worried for him, leading to a minor argument. They have a strong bond and their interactions are so wholesome. Though the two partners made up, Phillip still felt negatively about Tokime. To him, she had an overbearing personality and was hard to communicate with. He later reveals that he felt jealous of her. And when I came to know the reason I was like awww ;--;

Minor characters like clients were fleshed out just enough to make the story work as is the case for anime like this one. There just isn't enough room to do more. As for the main antagonist and his lackeys, almost nothing is revealed and we have no idea what their motives are. The main antagonist has a terrible hairstyle (why, why did they have to give him THAT hairstyle) but otherwise seems charming. The lackeys have decent character designs but personality-wise, there isn't anything notable except that they are very loyal to their leader.

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Production Value The budget for this anime was pretty high I'd say. The art looks great, the animation is smooth and the CGI parts look good. The transformations are flashy and dramatic like they should be and just hype you up. The first henshin scene was phenomenal!
#####A quick henshin scene from the opening The opening and ending themes are very catchy and nicely planned. If I'm not wrong, the background music during the fights is from W and it's such a nice touch. I also appreciate the fact that the characters look very close to how they do in W minus the fact that Phillip has green hair here. But he looks nice and that's what matters.

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Enjoyment After watching it I was like "Omg, I need to watch Kamen Rider W right now!" because I hadn't watched that one before. Rewatch value might depend on whether or not your brain has wiped away all memory of this anime. This is the type of anime that you enjoy more if you watch it like you're watching it for the first time.

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In a nutshell, if you like Kamen Rider or just Tokusatsu shows in general, you'll like this. If superhero stuff aren't your thing, you can watch the first three episodes to see if this is for you.