_This review contains SPOILERS for Shoushimin Series_
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Shoushimin Series is a slice-of-life anime with mystery aspects, much like the beloved show Hyouka by KyoAni. In fact, to no one's surprise, a man by the name of Honobu Yonezawa is the author for both. Not that I'm aiming to compare them. Unfortunately, the series was constantly being overshadowed by popular romcoms like Makeine and Roshidere, making it difficult for viewers to come across its charms. That's why I'm going to be writing this review in hope that more people may witness the appeal of an underappreciated comfort show.

Dazzling aspects

The first time I watched it, my mind was focused solely on the overwhelming animation and quality. Lapin Track (which I had never heard of before) had completely succeeded in giving the show a cinematic feel through the fluid animation revolving around the main cast, the appropriate lighting, and the mystical atmosphere. But the most important and noticeable part about the whole thing was the directing and visual story-telling. Not only was the production value amazing, but the creator had clearly taken inspiration from the much known Monogatari Series when it came to the directing. The scenery shift depending on the context of the dialogue and the limited focus on background characters (only the characters in the background, not the details as a whole) was proof of that.

For me, personally, the second episode cemented Shoushimin as peak comfort anime. Here's when the mystery element slides in. After waiting a week for the next breathtaking 23 minutes, we got a full episode solely dedicated to figuring out the mystery behind how the protagonist Jougorou Kobato's friend Kengo conjured up three hot chocolate cups without using a fourth one for the milk. A simply mystery that's a segment of everyday life, but still manages to somehow make you interested in the truth. You can decide on your own whether you want to rack your brain and figure the problem out. You don't have to. That's why it's both a good mystery genre and a top-tier comfort show.

Slice-of-opps, slices-of-mysteries

That's not all. Just when you're all cozy in bed, drinking hot milk and watching your favourite seasonal slice of life anime, you find out that Yuki Osanai is actually terrifying as shit. See, aside from the cute little mysteries and the glorious sweets that Osanai dangles in front of the viewers (much like L from Death Note), the premise of the whole series is about the two protagonists, Kobato and Osanai, learning to be 'ordinary'. By that I mean blending in with other peers and appearing as common teenagers who embrace their youth. Osanai is figuratively a wolf. She's someone who never lets anything slide. She beats down her opps through any means necessary for revenge. Kobato is a fox. He's a clever and sly creature who nose-dives deep into others' problems. They're not normal and that's why embracing 'shoushimin' is very crucial to their objective and promise.

If you need an understanding, I can provide an example. This covers the final arc of the 10 episode stretch. While our boy Kobato was busy stealing 'charlottes' from Osanai and solving muffin mysteries, Osanai had been constructing a carefully laid-out plan to send her opps to jail. Naturally, Kobato being the nosy detective that he is, couldn't resist the temptation to look for Osanai after she was kidnapped for ransom. Instead of depending on the police, he traced the opps' roots down and found her being jumped. Everyone was worried about Osanai, including the audience, but guess what? She got jumped on purpose and had the ransom call set up, just to bump up her enemies' sentences.

Though it may initially seem like a cute romance anime, especially with Osanai's mannerisms and voice acting (Hina Youmiya) and all, Shoushimin Series is far from ordinary. There's a certain degree of complexity to the main characters and the comfortable mysteries combined with the slight darkness below the surface make for a pretty time when you come home from school or work. There's more to it than just cream puffs and cakes, but there's also more mysteries like the one with the hot chocolate. Give it a go!

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