The title Detective These Days Are Crazy! says it all, since the series parodies the detective genre and its most famous representative.
So if you want to see a serious crime hunt, forget about this anime and don't bother reading this review, because if there's one thing this anime isn't, it's serious!
In every episode, there is at least one “WTF am I watching right now” moment. It starts with the opening and doesn't end until the ending. I don't know why, but it's been a long time since I've watched an anime from the first to the last second without skipping anything. The music, the animations, everything fascinated me in a weird way.
The plot centers on Keiichirō Nagumo, a private detective who was very successful in his youth but has since aged poorly physically. In the first episode, he meets high school student Mashiro. Her dream is to become a detective herself after school, and she is willing to give it her all to achieve this goal. Consequently, she promptly becomes Nagumo's new assistant, whether he likes it or not.
At this point, I would like to briefly emphasize that despite his slapstick moments, Nagumo takes his cases seriously and solves them with detective instincts and keen powers of observation. Although he is unsuccessful as a professional private detective, this is not due to his abilities. He is actually very talented and competent in his role as a private detective.
The series is episodic in nature. The individual episodes are usually divided into smaller cases. New and minor characters appear regularly throughout the series. A few were even hidden as Easter eggs in the last episode. However, there is no overarching plot, apart from the constant threat of termination by the landlord.
The series mainly carries itself through its situational comedy. When Nagumo is overwhelmed by technology and the world of the 21st century, or Mashiro exaggerates with her superhuman powers. As befits a parody, clichés are taken to the extreme and tropes of the genre are dragged through the mud.
There are, of course, references to other series as well. Episode 4, “Murder at the Mansion of Screams” is clearly a parody of Detective Conan and bears many similarities to its two-part episode “Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case”, pointing out the weaknesses of our beloved, shrunken detective.
So if you feel like switching off your brain and exercising your laugh muscles, the series Detectives these Days are crazy! is definitely my insider tip for you. I can highly recommend this anime. It's best to watch it with friends so you can shake your heads together at the nonsense.
16 out of 18 users liked this review