Housekishou Richard-shi no Nazo Kantei

I don't usually write reviews but I have to make an exception for this one. It's been a long time since I've watched an anime that has such a soothing, aesthetic vibe to it; the last one was probably Tsurune. As far as slice of life goes, it really doesn't get more true to the genre than this. The art and animation is as soothing and calming as the music - the ED is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard lately, and I haven't skipped either the OP or the ED even once. The voice acting is perfectly done, but then I wouldn'treally expect anything less of seiyuus like Uchida Yuuma and Sakurai Takahiro. The story is the highlight of the anime, according to me, and I was really intrigued by Richard's past till the unraveling and final reveal. Seigi's character is easier to understand though, and he is kind of like the perfect foil to Richard's personality. Another thing that I can't help mentioning is how the topic of sexuality is treated - it is approached with the kind of normalcy that you don't really see much in anime. There is no internalized/externalized homophobia, no one freaks out when the topic is brought up; it is refreshing to see this kind of treatment for a topic that is always either brushed off to the side and never brought up or dealt with very badly. This anime is one of the most wholesome shows I've watched in a very long time. If you're into slice of life with a side of mystery and drama, then this anime is for you.

// spoiler- less review // Houseki- shou richard shi talks about a foreigner with beautiful European features ( Richard Ranashinha De Vulpian ) who visited japan and unfortunately got hit on by bunch of drunkards, and his hero who saved him from the bunch, he was the ally of justice as everyone called him ( Nakata Seigi ). The foreigner thanked him and gave his card as they parted. Seigi soonly learned that this handsome gentleman 'Richard' is a jeweller, so he consulted him in a certain matter and ended up working in his jewellery store as a part- time job. Those two encountered various peopleand helped them in their lives. It is the type of anime you would watch after a long anime who needed a lot of thinking, it's a light-hearted anime that will definitely relax you. It was the episodic type where you can easily pick up with and understand. Surely original. I loved how each episode had a moral, and on top of that it was educational, as it displayed tons of information about gems and jewelries. The art is just so spirit-lifting, it heals your soul. It brightens my day seeing their faces, totally not exaggerating. I love this style of art with the cheerful colors. The ending and the opening are gold, they make my day and I can't skip them, like never ever! Especially that they were sung by great Japaneses groups such as Da- ice for the ending!! Each character had its own unique characteristics, I could say they are polar opposites, but that's what makes them a powerful duo, they aren't perfect, they had their struggles that helped them reach where they are standing now. Their back stories, past and childhood added a spice to the anime, as it gave a background on who we are watching. Even supporting characters were unique as they passionately supported the MCs I definitely recomend houseki- shou richard shi as a light anime to relax, it's heart-warming with simplified explanations about gems, if you are interested~

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” It's a sad, sad justice that not very often, we get niche shows like this that break the monotony of seasonal shows, providing stories and insights through objects (in this case, gemstones and their representation on human personality and behaviour), and having character interactions play out the drama in its mysterious shroud whilst keeping the slice-of-life elements intact. These elements when combined together doesn't seem promising, but this show made it all good. 2018's Holmes of Kyoto did that with the various "case files" and things of value, and this premise is no different here. “Justice, like beauty, isin the eye of the beholder. Some see an innocent victim. Others will see evil incarnate getting exactly what's deserved.” The first thing you'll start to notice from this show is the strong bishounen (and BL but not much) aspects on the characters, and although love (and like) can be uncertain, it certainty makes for one very interesting pairing. For context, Nakata Seigi is the typical bishounen trait of a good-natured guy, being aloof and caring for anyone he sees, and speaking of his name (Seigi, which means justice in the katakana naming convention), he'll not shun at bringing the truth to light, even in his naivety. On the other hand, Richard Ranashinha de Vulpian (just refer to this British bishounen as Richard), more than just being a jewelry appraiser, is like Sherlock Holmes in the sense of figuring out episodic situations that make and break people depending on the gemstone-of-the-week visual cues. Despite the atrocity that is his family's prestigious and high-life mechanics that got the worse of him in his young days growing up, he's learning contentment through Seigi and compliments him as and when he does fit. These two people are the yin and yang of each other: One having to accommodate for the other's actions, going to great lengths for each other so that they don't drift apart like a turbulent relationship. Despite that, both Seigi and Richard, no matter how rocky their relationship can get at times, it's mostly learning to compromise in the appropriate sense and leading the way forward. “The value is always in the eye of the beholder. What is worthless to one person may be very important to someone else.” The theme of this show being the gemstones and its acquaint relationship with the people who dons it is quite the spectacle. Learning how people's lives function by the gemstone they have (e.g. Seigi with his deceased grandmother's Pink Sapphire in Episode 1) and learning of their struggles and hardships that surround the toxicity of even the brightest and strongest gems is very relatable and humane, it gives people the reason of their sufferings as is. More than attempting a recourse at life going at it, with the gemstones as a sign of their price to pay for various deeds, the understanding ripens through the shedding of human behaviours. And I've gotta say it feels wholesome with the relaxed, Iyashikei feeling. “Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.” Shuka's animation was quite good to say the least, though far from the usual spectacles of Natsume Yuujinchou, and it shows a very good and clean, healthy dose of production. Much care has been taken to this show with the beautiful artwork and visuals (not to mention the gorgeous eye-catching gemstones). The same can be said for the OP/ED which also emits the exact same feelings of shows that are worth the time of relaxation, and both songs are low-key good as well, far from impressive but still good nonetheless. “The quality of beauty lies on how beholder values an object.” Overall, while this show isn't the typical "underrated" stuff, I can only say that if you love Iyashikei shows like Yuru Camp to exhibit the relaxed and emotional feels whilst keeping the realistic humane stuff possible, then this show is right up your alley. Sure, this show isn't gonna be everyone's favourite, but try it if you can, it's worth the shot examining your very own life akin to gemstones (the same way as horoscopes tend to be).

This was almost painful to watch. While the premise of the series was actually kind of interesting, the story and characters were handled very poorly and the series was overall a great disappointment. Plot: I feel like its a bit of a reach to say this show is a “Mystery” when most of the mysteries they encountered felt like family therapy sessions and were solved by the characters just speaking together. After a while the plot suddenly takes on a more dramatic route involving crazy family drama and a bunch of very stereotypical “I’ll disappear from your life forever and its better this way” lines, butin the end that doesn’t even matter as throughout the whole series, no one’s actions ever have any consequences. Characters: The character writing overall seemed very stereotypical, especially the whole “hero of justice” thing...seriously? Both the main characters felt very bland and uninteresting and as a result of this almost inhuman. The relationship “development” between the two was especially dreadful to watch and felt as if the entire script was written separately by two people with no communication between eachother one of which wanted them to be a couple and the other one just wrote them as friends, many lines contradict eachother, and their relationship seems extremely unbalanced and awkward. At this point i don’t even know if this should be considered queerbaiting or just bad writing. I’d also like to mention the main character’s girl-friend. For a brief moment i got quite excited that there was a character in the series with aro/ace traits, but apparently not, she just needs to “not give up on relationships and find the right man”. (I’d comment more on that entire scene but i am not sure how to do that without spoilers) Art and sound: The artstyle was pretty decent i guess...? There was nothing really wrong with it and the colour palettes weren’t unpleasant to look at. The soundtrack was extremely boring and there was nothing very memorable about it but i would rather say that’s a matter of taste. Overall i think this was a waste of time so unless you specifically enjoy mineralogy or stories about family drama or really like the characters i wouldn’t recommend.

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