Magic Kaito 1412

There's a perpetual, particular mindset that one must have in order to appreciate and enjoy magic. It's something innocent. It's something that makes you appreciate the awe and wonder presented in the moment; a beautiful deception. A part of you will want to know the answer, constantly hunting for the secret. But another part of you doesn't mind. It's something that you want to know the answer to, but know you shouldn't. That's because you know the answer doesn't matter. You want to be fooled. Magic Kaito 1412 is a rather simplistic show, despite magic being its core element. It's an episodic series and, as such,doesn't require much of an obligation to follow intently. Like all episodic series, some episodes will also be better than others. However, this layout works impeccably well for this particular show; I couldn't imagine it being done differently. For the most part, Magic Kaito is broken down into heists that usually span one episode, with the occasional part-two. In each episode Kaito dons the persona of the Kaito Kid, an unconventional, gentlemanly thief, who steals rare jewelry and returns it shortly afterwards. He often performs his heists in a flashy manner, which often becomes something like a free, public magic show. Periodically, characters from Detective Conan make appearances (Shinichi/Conan really being the only relevant figure, of course), which is entertaining in its own right. Due to the episodic nature of the series, many of the characters who appear in Magic Kaito are not recurring. The only characters who appear in every episode are Kaito and Aoko, who have been friends, and neighbors, since childhood. The dynamic between Kaito and Aoko is very light-hearted and exactly what you would expect from close friends. Their relationship, for the most part, seems fun and realistic, yet also quite childish and pure. They tease one another, but also know when to support each other as well. They share quite a few sweet, romantic moments in the series, which was a more refreshing type of intimacy that you rarely see in many shows nowadays. It's not overbearing, nor is it the main focus, but it offers a warm, cozy feeling nonetheless. Unfortunately, character development is not a strong point of Magic Kaito. There isn't much growth or change in any of the characters, so what you see is what you're going to get from episode one onwards. In addition, many of the characters in the series give off the impression of being fairly dumb, to be quite frank. But, I suppose there's a certain pitiful charm to their stupidity that slowly becomes endearing. The art, animation, and sound are easily the weakest points of Magic Kaito, though that is something that's to be completely expected. This is not a show with high production values and it never gave off any impressions of being one. It doesn't have the best visual appeal, nor is the soundtrack anything special. However, production values don't mean everything. Magic Kaito takes a more humble approach to a very pleasant series and it works well enough. In spite of its exceedingly lacking popularity, Magic Kaito 1412 was a very delightful, lively watch. The heart of all magic tricks and illusions lies within the enjoyment of the people watching, a point that is well pointed out in this series. In that regard, Magic Kaito 1412 succeeds.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I bring you the illusions that sparkle at night"- Kid the Phantom Thief. If you are already a fan of Kid the Phantom Thief or Detective Conan, you should enjoy this series. If you are unfamiliar with either of those names, you can still watch this series and enjoy it. Having information about the characters will definitely inform your viewing experience, but it is not needed. Story: 7 This series is episodic in nature, which each story focusing on Kid the Phantom Thief attempting to steal some jewel or valuable object, which brings him into conflict with the police, other thieves, royalty, teen detectives, anda certain child detective. The engaging part of the story is learning the explanation behind the magic tricks performed in the series (most of which are pretty clever). Many scenarios require a great suspension of disbelief, and the stories can be formulaic at times, but still very enjoyable. Art: 8 The animation quality is great, recreating the unique art-style from the manga. There are plenty of night shots with beautiful lighting and lots of flowing capes. Sound: 8 The background music is great, there are a couple really great tracks that range from jazz to techno beats. The OPs and EPs are great tunes and get you excited for the series. The Japanese dub has great voice acting, especially from the main character. Character: 7 I've heard complaints the characters are stereotypical. I can see how characters fit into typical shonen character roles, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. Kaito is a stubborn and prideful guy who has a good heart and Aoko is a sweet girl who just can't seem to be honest with him about her feelings, but she can give him the what for when needed! Enjoyment: 9 The idea of having a secret identity is a story-line I enjoy watching and the mission Kaito gives himself at the start of the series provides strong motivation to his actions. Having not watched any Detective Conan prior to viewing this, I was apprehensive about watching a spin off series from a long running show . Magic Kaito proved to be very entertaining and a good adventure series, and the episodes with Conan are some of the best ones! Seeing the magic tricks explained and seeing mysteries solved kept me interested in watching more. Kid the Phantom Thief is so charismatic that you can't help but cheer for him!

This series is great, but it might be best for people who are new to the fandom (which I might warn you, that you won't be able to exit) to watch the alternative version "Magic Kaito" first. You see, Magic Kaito is twelve episodes and contains less spoilers of the main series "Detective Conan" (aka. Meitantei Conan/Case Closed). This series still gives you the same amount of fun, and especially for people who are already fond of DC (Detective Conan). This is only a warning, as in some episodes of MK 1412 you get to see cases which appear in DC, just from Kaito's view. Thatwill end in spoilers in DC, as the episodes are mostly about how to solve the notes, tricks and codes from Shinichi (DC's mc) point of view. Both MK and MK 1412 are great animeseries, but in my opinion you will probably have more fun watching MK first if you're only curios about the series, then watch DC, and after you have seen enough episodes you can go on to MK 1412. Some of the stuff in MK and MK 1412 are the same though, as it is the same story, but with some other art and details. Now, onto MK 1412; The series is great, and a lot of fun. I would say that it totally is comedy, and some action. You also get the mystery part through this series. The MC, Kuroba Kaito, is a funny character, alongside his friends. We follow him through the story as Kaito and Kaito Kid. As earlier mentioned we also get to see scenes from DC from Kaito's view, which are hilariously funny, as he goes from "mysterious-handsome-gentleman-phantom-thief" to "Kuroba-Kaito". I really don't want to spoil too much, it's just great, so just give it a shot! If you end up liking MK and MK 1412, you can always watch DC, where Kaito Kid appear every now and then. He also appear in some of the DC movies (which are really good, in my opinion).

Batman:Japan is a relaunch of the classic superhero movie but with a Japanese Bruce Wayne joining the world of crime instead of fighting it in order to find his father's killer. All jokes aside, as someone who loved the 2010 version I just had to pick this up. Although a lot of the episodes are the same with some extremely minor details changed, it does include contents from a couple of the Kaitou Kid specials from the Conan anime which is nice because it gives Kaito fans a way to enjoy a comprehensive collection of all of our favourite phantom thief's adventures without having tosift through 700 episodes of Conan. From an aesthetic perspective, the show looks quite good. The characters look more crisp than the OVA version and the colours are more vibrant. However, it's hard to say if 1412 is strictly better than the OVA version in terms of art because the OVA had a bit of an old school charm to it. Also some of the CGI looks really out of place in 1412. The soundtrack of this show is honestly amazing. All of the opening and ending these can be contenders for the top 5 opening and endings themes of the season. The BGM ranges from some sappy jazz to quick beat rhythm that makes you want to move along with the action. Now the problem with Kaito is that the story is quite repetitive. It's akin to the monster of the week shounen but with thefts. Though some of the ways Kaito solves his problems can be considered as bigger asspulls than No Game No Life, a lot of the more thought out ones, especially the ones involving Conan, are quite intriguing and will make you go "aha" afterwards. To me, the most important aspect of the show are the characters. Honestly speaking, the main characters Kaito and Aoko are quite stagnant and set in their tropes. However, there's no rule stating that stagnant characters cannot be loveable characters. Though Kaito can sometimes make you cringe with his white knighting neckbeard fedora M'lady act, he and Aoko both have a sort of charisma that makes you love them. They are especially adorable during the romance episodes albeit being a bit cheesy. I would definitely recommend this anime to people looking to watch something lighthearted and have some fun. And I would definitely recommend it to Conan fans who haven't checked out the OVA version yet as this is the ultimate fanservice.

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