Introduction:
Money isn't everything, but it's impossible to live without it. At one point probably everyone was thinking about how it would be to have an unlimited amount of money, and ways they would spend it. Without having to worry about inflation it could be an amazing experience, couldn’t it? Well, "Fugou Keiji" shows us how living like that would be like, not exactly from a point of an average citizen, but a detective. Is it possible to solve cases only using money?
Story:
Story starts when our main character (Haru Katou) gets a phone call with a help request. After arriving to help with the security of a big event, everything gets complicated, because Haru finds out about an ongoing pursuit of a person that plans to assassinate a guest of the event. Rushing in with help he meets the newly hired detective from the same department (Kanbe Daisuke). Detectives from their first meeting already cannot get along, because of their crucial differentiates, namely approach to work. Kanbe having an unlimited amount of money solves every problem using the balance of his bank account and futuristic technology, while Haru without having the pleasure of being able to pay for everything there is in the world, believes that money isn't everything and takes his work seriously. After the event Haru is forced to become Kanbe’s mentor and this duet starts solving cases together while at the same time figuring out the truth behind their past.
"Fugou Keiji" at first sight seems to be a title without any bit of innovation. Besides the power of unlimited money that one of the main characters has, nothing stands out of normality, and actually it would be it, but the anime keeps our curiosity flowing thanks to connecting the absurd together with comedy and drama. Cases which seem really serious and require excessive precautions change at a 180 degree angle because of next carefree idea of Daisuke surprising the viewer.
Even though, episodes at the beginning each contain a different case and it looks like they do not lead us anywhere storywise, the last thread about the Kanbe family and Haru's past changed this anime diametrically. It wasn't that bad at all, but pacing sometimes could lead to getting lost in all the details. Anime was pelting us with newer and newer informations quickly, and it seemed chaotic. The ending, although it does not leave us unsatisfied, could have simply been done better.
Characters:
Both main characters definitely got my biggest attention. A duet of opposites: Haru and Daisuke was really thoughtful, watching their breakthroughs, argues and even irreplaceable cooperation was exciting as you simply couldn't take your eyes off them. They were written perfectly, their reasons are not trivial, they complement each other in a great way, and their personalities fit to the genre of a crime story.
Comedy here very often plays its role in the interactions between the characters, and not only the main cast. Daisuke, combining his absurd ideas with seriousness, while irritating Haru, he allowed us to forget about the drama for a moment and put a smile on the viewers face. In turn Haru, who always takes his work seriously and always sees his affairs through is an irreplaceable character here, no matter from which side you look at it. A character who also deserves a few words is Suzue, Sweet, overprotective, but also dangerous and reckless at times, Daisuke's sister. When you see her on the screen, you can almost always be sure that it will not be very serious.
Speaking of supporting characters, except for Daisuke's sister and ex-partner, Ryou I didn't care about any of them. Antagonists, even if they didn't interest me from any side, I have to say that their motives and past were well presented. Side characters practically did not contribute anything, which is a pity, because they had more potential to be better.
Graphic design:
Titles of CloverWorks studio were always a pleasure to eye for me, and here it's not different. "Fugou Keiji" has an distinguished, unusual, careful and eye-catching line. Especially the color palette put me in a great mood. Each of the characters have their own unique features, which makes them easy to recognize, and even their color selection is on point. The backgrounds look simple but not sparse, you can see the refinement, and I didn't notice any deviation from the norm here. Unfortunately the quality of the animation decreased a bit in the last episodes, which made the quality of the last thread even lower.
Sound design:
The soundtrack is, in short, perfect. Catchy opening greatly introduces us to the next shot of action, giving us even greater expectations, and the ending perfectly closes the episode, creating unimaginable atmosphere. I have no objections to the sound effects and background music. Overall, everything fit here perfectly and created an unforgettable experience.
The voice actors as well as the music were selected flawlessly. Especially I liked the voices of the main characters, and honestly I cannot imagine a better choice of voices for these characters. With side characters it's similar, even if seiyuu didn't have much opportunity to demonstrate their skills, they certainly did do a good job.
Summary:
It can easily be said that "Fugou Keiji" is not a missed shot. Every aspect had something special, even if their full potential hasn’t been reached. It is definitely a nice title that can appeal to anyone, even those who have never watched anything from the crime fiction genre. I recommend to take a look at this eleven-episode title.
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