When you opened this review, a few questions might have passed through your mind. “What anime is this?” for the curious fellers innocently scrolling through the Home page. What’s this anime about? What makes this good? What makes this bad? What drove the writer to creating this review? Well my dudes and dudettes,
Each episode, or “case file” I should say, follows a similar format as the first one.
A client comes in with a jewel to be appraised but there’s something very.. hmm.. mysterious about them wink wink. (These “mysteries” however often stem from the client’s personal situation and are only loosely related to the jewel itself.) Everytime the client comes in we get more information about their mysterious situation. Often we see the client in public and talk more about their mysterious situation. Throughout the episode more people related to the situation appear and talk about the situation. Sometimes we even get advice from our friends as we talk about the situation.
In the end, everybody sits down, has a cup of tea, a nice desert, and, you guessed it, fucking talks about the situation till we finally understand what the fuck is going on.
Now despite how I worded that, I do not say this with malice. In fact that is the beauty of this anime. It does not strive to be more than it is. It does not appear to be more than it is. The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is just, is.
It’s simplicity in fact, does not make it boring. This anime is charming in its own way and that's purely carried by the characters it portrays. Even beyond our main protagonists, each client and case that comes in is intriguing on its own. Their stories often deal with emotions and troubles in character relationships. They come with fun times but often insight heavy self-reflection. In the end these clients are given closure, but they don’t leave stagnant, but often with motivations that lead to action. That once off screen you know they're actually doing things to better themselves.
Almost every character has enough story and motivation to literally be their own main character and I find that interesting.It doesn’t hurt that we also get some cool facts about gems along the way.
And let’s not forget our main protagonists. While Seigi and Richard both have different personalities, they build off each other very well. You see them learn and often depend on each other, giving the other support when needed. Even when they get into hijinks and situations they have this compatibility that allows them to work well together and further strengthen their relationship. They’re half mentor/student, half bromance relationship is interesting and one of the driving forces of this anime is seeing how it develops.
However, this anime, like many, does have its own flaws. I found the setting to be lacking and the story at times can have a weird flow. But it's not enough to hinder the overall enjoyment.
Pointedly, there really isn't a lot of... action that happens. Like I said earlier, a lot of this show is just people sitting down and talking. But I feel that what they do talk about makes up for it.
In conclusion, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is what I like to call, a chill watch. Not enough emotional investment or consequence to keep you on your toes, but not too simple or boring that you're practically falling asleep. Something you can take your time watching. Sit down, maybe with a cup of tea, and just enjoy.