Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

5 words to describe this anime: Piercing, Pleasant, Strong, Beautiful, and Inspiring. The Story: It was simply fantastic. Watching one episode makes you want to watch the next, and the next, and so on. Just when things seem predictable, it ends up twisting a smidge. But, each episode either repeats the same routine, or is a continuation of the previous episode. Since this series has only 13 episodes, you don't grow tired of it. Like I mentioned before, there are twists, and it'll keep you hooked till the very end. Score: 10 The Art: The art was perfect. It has a balance to it. The important scenes wereput some effort into, while the less imporant scenes were put less effort into. The important scenes were simply emphasized---which was good. It sorts out which parts were needed to be remembered and which were not needed to be. Simple. Score: 10 The Sound: The sound of the cars stopping, speeding up, and halting while going at a high speed---all were dynamic. [Footsteps, someone running up behind you, a gun being pulled out, the sound of a taser----amazing.] Score: 10 The Characters: Each character had their own purpose, personality, and something that made them unique, still fitting the mood. Many characters were relatable. For example, Yakumo----he doesn't really open up much, independent, and at most times, mysterious. You probably have a friend like that. This anime has a few morals, figured out by almost every character. Score: 10 The Enjoyment: I finished this anime in 1 day. It was gripping. Curse my curiosity!! But, I enjoyed every bit of it, still maintaining full focus throughout the estimate of 6-7 hours of watching this unforgettable anime series. I felt like I was a ghost following along the "gang". Score: 10 Overall: 10 I loved Shinrei Tantei Yakumo. Distant and Distinct characters are the best, because when they unravel, it's certainly undescribable. ♥

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo is a shoujo series based on a series of light novels by Kaminaga Manabu. It's had two manga adaptations, the second of which is still going. In 2010 it got an anime adaptation from Bee Train. Not long ago we looked at their work with Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom and I've also looked at Murder Princess. So, they're two for two so far. Of course, this is the first thing I've reviewed from them where they weren't co-producing. Still, let's see if they can make it three for three and give me something good to close out the month. Story: Ozawa Harukahas a problem. After she and some friends went inside a forbidden building, one has committed suicide and another is in hospital, possessed by spirits. Haruka seeks out the help of Saitou Yakumo, a supposedly psychic boy at her University. Yakumo agrees saying that he can see spirits and might be able to persuade them to leave her friend. Over the course of that investigation, Haruka discovers that Yakumo can, indeed, see ghosts and that his left eye is actually red. From there, the two keep finding themselves involved in more mysteries involving spirits. Meanwhile, a shadow is closing in on them that's intimately connected with Yakumo's past. Can the two of them stay alive and find the truth? Let's start by discussing the weaknesses of the series. In this case, the big one is the mysteries themselves. Most of them have answers that are made really obvious to the audience through the use of really unsubtle hints or, in some cases, by the series actively showing you who's responsible. Which just leaves you to see how the characters are going to figure them out and makes the investigation portions a bit lacklustre. There's also the romance betwixt Haruka and Yakumo. While it does have some good moments here and there, it's also pretty static. Haruka develops an obvious crush on Yakumo really quickly and then the two of them hang out a lot, in spite of his seeming disinterest. From there, it moves at a really slow pace. There are some hints that he also has feelings for her, especially towards the end, but nothing gets done with it and, ultimately, it comes across as more of an excuse to keep her in the story than a serious attempt at writing romance. There are a couple moments that are a bit nonsensical too. For example, there's a scene where Haruka is in a car and its driver can't move. Rather than climbing over him to hit the brake, she just settles for steering. There aren't many moments like that, but the ones they have are really head-scratching. Let's move on to the positive factors of the series. The first is that the world is built really well and there are defined rules for what ghosts can and can't do. It's not one of those vague things where it bends and shifts based on plot convenience. The series is paced really well and it is interesting to see how the characters solve the mysteries even if the audience has already been handed the answer. The series is also good about showing the plot elements that it's going to use in the climax early on while using those elements in a way that it feels very unique and is actually compelling. Tension is used effectively in the series and its portrayals of sexual assault are respectfully done. They're told through description rather than actually shown but they have a lot of weight to them and they're actually relevant to the story instead of being thrown in. Characters: The characters are well written. They have a good level of complexity and they do come across as actual people. Crazy people, in some cases, but not in an exaggerated or forced way. There are some really compelling dynamics in the series as well both friendly and antagonistic. On the down side, I will say that the way that Detective Gotou's character ultimately develops is a bit contrived. Art: Taken as a whole, the character designs and animation are quite good. The backgrounds are nicely detailed as well and the supernatural effects are visually interesting. The biggest fault with the artwork is that, like they did in Phantom, Bee Train mistakes putting their animation at an odd angle for intensity. Showing someone slanted diagonally isn't more intense nor does it make the scene more dynamic, it's just annoying. Sound: This series has a strong cast. Ono Daisuke gives a strong performance in the leading role. Fujimura Ayumi does well as Haruka. Takase Akimitsu makes quite a villain. Touchi Hiroki is good and, I really have to give credit to Koshimizu Ami, the voice of the young deaf girl, Nao. She does an amazing job conveying the thoughts and emotions of a character who communicates entirely in grunts without a single line of actual dialogue. I knew she was a good actress from hearing her performances as Claes in Gunslinger Girl, Alita in Murder Princess and Holo the wise wolf, but this was a really difficult role and she aces it beyond what I would have expected. The music isn't as strong as the cast. It's all right but nothing that really grabs you. Ho-yay: There isn't any. The closest it gets is that there's a period where Gotou thinks his partner, Ishii, might be romantically attracted to him. This causes things to be awkward for a while as Gotou freaks out. I can't fault the series for lack of realism, since there are plenty of blokes who freak out about the idea that another bloke might be into them, but it's a pretty stupid reaction. Just tell him you aren't interested if he confesses. Chances are very high that he'll understand and accept it. It's not like you have to give him a good long snog just because he expresses interest. Final Thoughts: Shinrei Tantei Yakumo is a solid series. It certainly has some issues that detract from it, but in spite of those it has a compelling narrative, strong characters, a great cast and good artwork. Overall, I rate this one a 7/10. It is a good series. Next week, I'll take a look at the final instalment of the Kara no Kyoukai films. Have a happy Halloween in the interim.

This series had so much potential.. The plot, the characters everything at first was very intriguing. But i dont know it never reached its full potential, and throughout the show it seemed like there was a key ingredient missing. I felt like the characters were really undeveloped in some ways. Overall the story plot was good, but I felt like it couldve been so much more. At best, this is the kind of series is something you would watch when you wanna kill time.

'Shinrei Tantei Yakumo' ('Psychic Detective Yakumo') is about Yakumo, an university student and private detective, who has a red left eye that lets him see ghosts and spirits. The premise and atmosphere of this show is very similar to 'Ghost Hunt', just that the good guys have no offensive super powers, and the ghosts and spirits are directly harmless. The basic format of the show begins with Haruka asking Yakumo to investigate on a case, he takes a look at the scene, ask for help from allies (police detectives, journalist, priest etc), and puts the spirits at ease after a showdown. At the same time, thereis another parallel story of a group of villains watching Yakumo's move and plotting a evil scheme. The introduction was done very well, the characters seemed very interesting, but it seemed to be downhill from there instead of picking up in pace and intensity. One thing I liked about the story was that it focuses on human beings despite being a show about ghosts. Instead of senseless showcase of super powers, Yakumo and company actually trace back the problems like a real detective, and also focuses on the issue of discrimination he faces for being different. The problem was that none of the cases were particularly interesting nor memorable, and the showdowns are rather anticlimatic. Even the main and final case was severely underdeveloped, as we still don't know the reason "red eyed man" became a spirit, why he had the ghost-seeing red eyes, or his relationship with Yakumo and his mother other than the obvious. Painfully slow pacing certainly did not help. Of course, we're left with an open ending that explains nothing, and starved for another season. Yakumo was an interesting character though, with a complex and painful past that's gradually revealed to us as we follow the cases he was assigned by Haruka. I particularly liked how his antisocial personality was explained by his past and ghost-seeing eye that enabled him to see things others can't. Unfortunately, Haruka existed mostly to set up the case and an attempt to add a little romance to the story. Their chemistry was rather poor, and she rarely play any significant role in solving the cases or development of the protagonist. She was also portrayed as an extremely dumb girl just to demonstrate how smart Yakumo is compared to an ordinary person. Art style was very generic, but the backgrounds had a nice atmosphere. The characters seemed disturbingly flat though. I can't quite put my finger to why it is so, but if I had to guess, it was either awkward shading or lack of detail despite realistic design. The presentation was also very boring, standard still camera or slowly moving screens. BGM was rather good for this series. Sets the creepy mood well, and some sound really touching or melancholic. Unfortunately, the story was nowhere near engaging, and could not take advantage of the music. It also lacked variety, as if every scary scenes had the same song, one for touching scenes, and another mysterious theme. No complaints for voicing, everyone sound they should and performed average or better in my opinion. OP is rather original with the song that sets the mysterious mood for the show, ED was rather ordinary. I hate to use this word to describe a series, but there's no other way... dull. 'Shinrei Tantei Yakumo' had a strong introduction and all the ingredients to make it a great show, but it just didn't live up to its potential. There's no eye candy since action was very limited, the story lacked suspense despite being a mystery, and the presentation was boring. It turned out to be yet another bland forgettable mystery anime.

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