A potentially fun premise, but with a repetitive execution

The Dinner Table Detective is a detective mystery show that follows three main characters: the two detectives Reiko Houshou and Kyouichirou Kazamatsuri, and Houshou's butler Kageyama. The basic idea is that Kazamatsuri is very flashy and not a particularly good detective, Houshou is more competent but still can't seem to solve this mysteries on her own, and Kageyama is the actually smart detective who has to explain everything to Houshou.

The biggest problem with the show is that every case is solved pretty much the same way: Houshou and Kazamatsuri investigate the case and have a few ideas, but get stumped. The Houshou returns home and explains the case to her butler, who then proceeds to call her stupid and basically solves it all right then and there (or at least, Kageyama puts Houshou on the right track so she knows what she needs to investigate further and be able to solve it). It's a kinda fun idea, but it ends up being pretty damn repetitive when every case ends up this way. The idea of a super brilliant detective is not an original idea to this show - basically all detective stories do this in some form (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Columbo, etc) - but the presentation of these other stories usually lend to a more interesting story and mystery. Those other stories have the detective actually part of the investigation, so we typically see parts of the solution during the investigation. Even in the case of Poirot with his classic reveal with everyone in the same room, the structure of those still lead to a more interesting mystery. The problem with this show, is that because Kageyama is not directly involved, it always leads to watching Houshou and Kazamatsuri being stumped, then watching Kageyama just explain the solution to Houshou. I find it just ends up losing out on something to make it interesting.

A recurring plot point is that Houshou actually comes from a rich family, but she doesn't want it to be seen as someone who got her position as a detective with the help of her family's connections. This is why she typically has the "plain" look when shes working (with the pony tail and glasses) and also avoids being seen with her butler when on the job. It's can lead to some funny parts, including one case that involves one of her neighbours where she wants to avoid them recognizing her. Though I find that this premise can't really sustain itself for the length of the show and ends up not really meaning a whole lot other than Houshou having a different look at work than when she's at home.

The show also doesn't have any sort of over-arching plot. Not that the show needs it at all, but that could be something that could add something actually interesting to it. To make a comparison to a show that's not anime: the 2024 BBC show Ludwig handles this quite well where the main story has the over-arching plot of David Mitchell's character is trying to find his twin brother, while still having each episode having a different murder case to be solved. Of course, there is nothing wrong with an episodic show (I love those too), it's just that I would expect an episodic show to do something interesting with having different stories.

Now of course, there is still some fun things with the characters. We get Kazamatsuri who always acts extremely pompous because his family owns a successful car company. And Kageyama who always finds various different ways to call Houshou stupid.