Holmes of Kyoto

Invoking the name of Sherlock Holmes sets a lot of expectations for a series. It sets the expectations that your series is going to be a mystery series, where the way the mysteries will be solved will be through the detective using deductive reasoning and through keen powers of observation – and also that the detective will have an audience-perspective sidekick who is intelligent and perceptive, but not as much as the detective. Holmes of Kyoto is, occasionally, that. However, just as much of the time, it’s a relationship drama, and not necessarily a well-executed relationship drama. The show follows Aoi Mashiro, a college student attending university in Kyoto in order to get away from her drama she ran into in her High School life. While in town, where she’s trying to get one of her late grandfather’s antiques appraised, at the antique store she goes to she ends up meeting the son of the owner – Kyotaka Yagashira – known as “Holmes” both based on the kanji that make up his name and for his keen powers of observation. After becoming intrigued with him, and him with her appreciation of antiques, Aoi ends up working at the shop part time as an apprentice appraiser as well. Now, when I read the premise of this series, it really caught my interest. I like mysteries, and one of my favorite mystery series (aside from Sherlock Holmes itself) is Johnathan Gash’s Lovejoy series. The Lovejoy series not only presents interesting mysteries based around the antique world but also gets into some interesting and educational commentary about caring for and appreciating antiques. I had hoped for something somewhat similar – after all, when you get a manga or anime that prominently features a topic as a part of the plot (fermentation in Moyashimon, making anime in Shirobako or video games in New Game) then the work will end up going into a dive into that field, educating the viewer somewhat on the topic This show gets into neither of those. On the antique side, we don’t go into the fine detail of antique appreciation and various works of art – no close-ups on the pottery to show the fine detail that makes this work so appreciated beyond its age. We just see the works sitting on a table at a distance, and are told about them in a single line of dialog. Never showing and barely telling. On the mystery side, only a handful of real mysteries come up in the show, and only a couple of times do things get serious – and one of those occasions on the last episode – it does so through the threat of sexual assault on Aoi, which is tonally inconsistent with the rest of the work. While Kyotaka does get a Moriarty-esque rival, the forger Enshou, he only shows up for about 3-4 episodes over the course of the series, and the plot arc of their conflict is not concluded by the end of the series. Indeed, nothing is really concluded. Yes, mysteries are solved within the episode that they are introduced, but the other plots – the burgeoning romance between Aoi and Kyotaka, the rivalry between Enshou and Kyotaka – advance but never really reach a stopping place. Indeed, the romance between Aoi and Kyotaka reaches a point where Aoi has admitted to herself that she’s in love with Kyotaka, but doesn’t progress from there. Had the series received a second season, I’d cut the show more slack for this ending. Indeed, if the novels the show was based on had some sort of English release, I could reasonably refer you to those to get some sort of progression to the story. However, none of those options are available. Consequently, unless at some point in the future the series gets a second season, or the novels are brought to the states, I recommend skipping it.

And that's it? There's no resolution, not even with the protagonist's rival, and the romantic scenes go nowhere. I imagine these conclusions come later in the light novel, and the anime ended after the first few volumes, but I still feel like I wasted my time watching this anime. The romantic and jealousy scenes couldn't be more cliché, and saving the girl from being harassed by a creepy guy (who should be in jail for forgery and now harassing a woman) is a textbook cliché. This anime isn't bad, it's just boring and predictable, so it doesn't leave any lasting impression, not even a negative one.

This episode also has a mystery to solve. And instead of going to the police like a normal person would, the victims decide to go to the town's "detective" because he's so good and all that. And instead of doing what normal people do and getting out of a compromising situation—because without a warrant they're not obligated to reveal anything, confess to a crime, or cooperate with the investigation—the characters here are there to facilitate the plot, so they act like the suspects they're supposed to be. And the protagonists have more romantic scenes. The end.

In this episode, the protagonists make some progress in their relationship, and the central theme becomes clear: they must express their feelings if they want to avoid future confusion and regrets. This is ultimately illustrated by a heartbreaking separation where the husband abandons his wife for the most ridiculous reason imaginable. I want this anime to end soon.

Arrest him? He's right there, the forger, arrest him. Oh, and now we have a "Look at me, Noah" kind of scene. And well... why are all the attendees, including the organizers, just staring like cardboard cutouts? What was the point of creating a mystery if the villain was just going to unravel it in a few minutes? I miss when they talked about Kyoto; at least that was educational.

The only noteworthy thing about this episode is the evolution of Holmes and Aoi as a couple, which I don't like because they're an adult and a minor, so I didn't enjoy that aspect either. There's a mystery to solve involving Holmes's ex-girlfriend, with whom he has a slightly healthier relationship, which I found pleasant. However, in real life, the resolution of this case would be much more bitter than it actually was in this episode. I've always wondered if it's true that in Japan girls line up to go into a store just because there are handsome men there; at least on this side of the world, that doesn't happen because it's ridiculous.

The Moriarty of this story strikes again! And he's still as ridiculous as the first time we met him. The only positive thing about this episode is establishing that Aoi has a talent for appraising antiques. And that's about it. The stepbrother's relationship with Holmes is worrying. The face-off with the villain is ridiculous because instead of catching him and taking him to the police for his scams, the script dictates that he's free to continue his schemes so our protagonist can look super cool solving the mysteries.Frankly, I'm not enjoying this anime at all. It's normal to see the puppet strings when it's being pulled, but if the puppet's movements don't distract you from seeing the strings, then the show isn't good. In short, I can see all the tropes and mechanisms of this script to keep it going, because the story isn't interesting enough to distract me from their existence.

It's completely normal and perfectly fine for older men to date much younger women! That's the first part of this episode. The second part is a minor crime that has to be solved with the magical power of the antique appraiser's eyes. I'm sorry, but it's ridiculous. The villain's plan would have completely failed if someone had looked back at the most valuable object in the entire collection before leaving the room. The villain, in the end, like a true Scooby-Doo character, reveals everything and apologizes easily because he's so sorry, but not before having a card duel??? Because clearly that made perfect sense.

In this episode, we have another mystery to solve, where Holmes displays his supposed detective skills. These skills, rather than seeming like genuine observation and investigation abilities, appear to be more like random guessing and being right simply because the plot dictates he's correct. This anime definitely tries too hard to sell him as a detective, but it doesn't provide the necessary evidence to make us believe he can actually notice so many details just by observing his surroundings. The villain's motivations are incredibly silly and empty, and the way they let him go is ridiculous. It's also absurd how he reveals his entire plan once cornered, like some kind of Scooby-Doo villain. This anime should ditch the poorly executed mysteries and just focus on being a Kyoto tourism brochure, which is the only thing it does well.

This episode is definitely much better written, as it doesn't try to establish Holmes as a top-notch detective solving convenient cases. This time, there are domestic problems, with intricate mysteries that are nonetheless contingent on the circumstances. The poems fit well with two literature enthusiasts, and the pottery not only adds dimensions to the conflict but also provides cultural context. On the other hand, we have Aoi suffering from having terrible ex-friends and ex-boyfriend, a problem that's easy to relate to. The resolution is satisfying, although I'm quite bothered by having to witness the development of a romance between a minor and a university student. Obviously, it's clear from the beginning that this is going to happen, but it's still morally wrong, and therefore, I'm unable to enjoy the blossoming of this romance.

The truth is, I'm suffering a bit watching this anime because it's really boring me. The most noteworthy aspect of the episode is the art dedicated to the backgrounds and portraying Kyoto's culture; it's beautiful. However, it only serves to highlight how poorly done the animation and character designs are. The misaligned eyes on the protagonists' faces are particularly distracting and pull us out of the beauty of their surroundings. This episode is a simple mystery, and you need to abstract yourself from why someone possessed scrolls that specifically explained their relationship with their family if you don't want to break the immersion. The characters certainly don't contribute much personality beyond providing clues to help solve the mystery, except for one who seems to be joining the cast. If that's the case, I'll be very grateful, because neither Aoi nor Holmes have any personality beyond their representative tropes: the innocent apprentice and the mysterious detective.

I honestly think calling Yagashira Holmes is unnecessary; I don't think it's necessary to give a detective-like air to a guy who's merely observant. Besides, his deductions are correct because of the plot; the clues aren't strong enough to reach a conclusive resolution, but they work because he must be right. The story is quite bland, and it was obvious who the culprit was. Honestly, the only enjoyable thing was learning a bit about Kyoto culture; however, when they use static chibi characters for explanations, it feels like they put very little effort into it. Let me tell you something: just because it's a cozy mystery doesn't mean it should be sloppy in its execution.

Okay, I'm going to be very honest about this. I had high expectations for this anime, but after watching it, I realize it has too many common anime pitfalls that I can overlook when the plot is good, but in this case, the story isn't interesting enough for me to ignore the flaws. The guy they call Holmes shows off his great deductive abilities, but he never explains how he arrives at the answer, which ends up feeling like magic; the guy just knows everything for no reason. On another note, it's always bothered me that the protagonists in these stories are high school girls, when it would be less disruptive to certain dynamics if the girls were adults or college students. By the way, we have two adult men flirting with a minor. I'm not going to ignore that. Furthermore, what was the protagonist trying to sell to do what? It's one thing for her to be an innocent child, but in this case, she's downright stupid.

It almost became a bloody valentine. The mystery was the most interesting so far and Holmes' method of questioning is actually interesting, but the reveal of the mystery is based purely on speculation without any hard evidence. There isn't even a talk about alibi and mostly motive and character relationship. This episode only has shock factor.

The mystery on today's episode is great in not just exploring the background of Holmes' family life, all the while allowing Aoi and Holmes to get closer than ever.

Whenever Akihito, Aoi, and Holmes are together; they get the best dynamic out of the friend group. But then Moria had to come and spice things up even more and he did such good job goading Holmes in this episode and actually felt the mind games. Him and Holmes made such a toxic duo. The contrast between lighthearted trio and intense duo makes the episode that much better than the rest.

To be honest, it was a pretty underwhelming finale. There was no real conclusion to either Holmes' rivalry with Enshou or his romance with Aoi. Even the final case felt lackluster and didn't have the impact you'd expect from a season finale. I know the source material is still ongoing, but even with that in mind, I can only judge what the anime delivered. It clearly doesn't feel like it was made with a continuation in mind. The animation also kept getting worse as the series went on. Overall, it's not a bad anime, just a rather boring one. Most of the cases are fairly mundane. That's not necessarily a flaw, but I personally prefer grander or more intense mysteries like in episode 11. At least Aoi is adorable, and the romance was enjoyable enough to keep me watching.

This is actually the most interesting case in the entire series. While most of the previous episodes focused on fairly mundane antique-related cases, this one feels much more like a classic detective story. It was nice to see Holmes actually investigate the case instead of simply pulling the answer out of nowhere. Unfortunately, the mystery is quite predictable, and the off-model animation is still an issue.

It's such a good romantic tension this episode that is follow up with a blast from the past. Rikyu has done so good at being a cockblock so I enjoyed his presence more. Though I hope his character get to be explored more in the future, I am satisfied with the gags at the moment. I love the complexity between Aoi and Holmes is properly explored in this.

Unfortunately, this episode feels really slow. It seems to focus on further developing the relationship between Holmes and Aoi. The animation is also pretty rough, with several shots having noticeably off proportions. The mystery itself is interesting, using a ghost story as a cover, but the payoff is just okay.