Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace

Here’s the thing about detective fiction. When you go into a series with mystery as part of its genre, the least you should expect are cases, then suspense, culprit(s), clues, and the resolution. Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace takes the typical ideas of a mystery and attempts to transform the show into a blockbuster thriller. The key word here I refer to use is “attempt”. Otherwise, this series is what came out as a disorganized mess with a colorful script that started out with life but ended up as wreckage. First, we should understand a bit of the background info about the original series. The 11-episodeadaptation is based on an author known as Edogawa Rampo. As a celebrated author in Japan, the main focus of the series concentrates on some of his published works from over 50 years ago. Back then, he was known for breathing life into the mystery genre in Japan with inspiration based on famous detective known to many as Sherlock Holmes. But don’t think this show as near as smart as it should be. Sherlock Holmes didn’t invent criminal justice. He perfected it. Now enough about Sherlock Holmes. This show does concentrate on mystery and suspense alongside peculiar cases at works. The first few episodes establishes a rather bizarre case involved a schoolteacher being murdered in a crude fashion. The main male protagonist Yoshino Kobayashi becomes a suspect because of his close proximity of the murder and because he is a key witness. He also becomes an assistant of Akechi as they work on the case. This is where the mystery aspect of the show comes in. The first two episodes establishes Kobayashi as a capable investigator. Although not on the same level as Akechi, he is able to deduce with clever thinking that a culprit framed him for murder. Through careful analysis, he is able to clear his name. And by doing so, the audience gets a clear view of his potential as the assistant. On the other hand, Akechi is on another level of skill. He claims to work on strange cases out of “fun” but the government has actually issued a license for him to investigate in abnormal activities. Here’s the thing about the show though. It’s both a simple and complicated series. On the simple side, Game of Laplace appeals to the cases as some of them have fairly obvious red herring and resolutions. And if you can call a few of those resolutions, it sometimes comes out as fairly rushed and lacks concrete interest despite a thrilling buildup. A few of the cases does have recurring themes and symbolism that is memorable on terms of content. The complicated part is more of the characters. By complicated, there’s a few ways to look at it. First, it’s more of whether we should know them better. At first glance, there’s a good amount of interest that should be invested into the main characters in particular Akechi. His intellectual mind is legitimate and someone that we don’t see too often. His intention to take down a primary source of antagonists known as the Twenty Faces in the show is a keen interest that is explored often. On the other hand, there’s Kobayashi, an androgynous boy who is hard to take seriously. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t focus much at all on characterization for either of the two main leads. It does however, compare the two on a background basis because of their ideals and perception of the world around them. There’s more necessary focus on the cases and because of content, we also get a bit of that on the supporting characters. To say the least, most of the other characters are far less interesting. Examples include Kobayashi’s best friend Hashiba with mostly a minor role throughout the show and an implied crush on him. Or there’s Hanabishi who dresses like she is going to a cosplay party, the Black Lizard with an obsession on Akechi, or the Shadow-Man whom is dubbed as the ‘master of disguise’. Is it just me or do all these characters have something in common? All of them are downright strange. And because the show is so insistent on focusing mystery, it neglects most of them with a lack of characterization. Despite this, I guess the show could appeal to certain type of audiences. Anyone interested in suspense that’s laced with imagery, symbolism, and metaphors can find this show to be quite appealing. I’ll also have to admit that despite some of the comedic values added in the show, it retains its seriousness throughout almost each episode. Body horror is also a prominent aspect from the very first episode that runs all the way through the show. It’s not just symbolic but also literally frightening if taken on a realistic approach. Some of the plot twists of the cases are also gruesome with disastrous consequences that results from human sins. Additionally, the show offers some insight on various studies such as chaos theory and algorithms. To say the least, Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace is well crafted when it gets serious and not off track. But often or not, it doesn’t fulfill its full potential. The artwork invests itself with a unique fashion although nothing outlandishly mind blowing. They essentially capture the mystery elements and thankfully accomplishes that. The most noticeable part is the obstruction of the character faces with the use of shadow silhouettes. By doing so, it creates a suspenseful atmosphere that appeals to the themes of identity. On the other hand, character designs are more or less worth praising. Kobayashi is designed to look like a trap and the show itself seems to be aware of this as it pokes fun of his looks. There’s also a bit of fan service when it comes with characters like Black Lizard along with her sadism. Still, the show does maintain a distinctive way of delivering its art style. The amount of symbolism the show possesses in the form of butterflies and other background makes it enough to attract interest. A stronger point in the show is the soundtrack. The OP and ED theme song are not just visually appealing but also very well decorated with clever cinematics. The OST has the style of what makes a mystery show especially when episodes reaches its climax point. This is further accompanied by the eerie feel and coordination when demonstrated by its suspenseful angles. Finally, we have the character voice mannerisms. Criticism can be easily approached again with characters like Kobayashi, who doesn’t really sound like a detective prodigy. On the other hand, I will say that Akechi has a voice that sounds like the mind of strategist. Furthermore, some episodes is able portray the emotional appeal with more sensible themes. So what does this series in the end equate to? It’s more of an average mystery show that has some promise but mostly doesn’t live up to itself. What seemed clever and well-structured in the beginning quickly becomes stale. The storytelling is unbalanced despite all the interesting themes each episode that ultimately becomes half of entertaining as it is. And to top it off, only a few of the characters are memorable and probably only by their names. I will say that the unique style of some of the artwork and symbolism strikes as intriguing. And when connected with the soundtrack, the show can be a blockbuster thriller. Each episode’s title tries to lure the audience in but in the end, Game of Laplace plays out as a not so much fun.

A damn shame, i didn't had a lot of hype about it but i was hoping that it would end up good. It failed. Ranpo Kitan is an anime to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Edogawa Ranpo. He's pretty much of the godfather of mystery series. If he was alive, i'm not sure if he would be happy about this adaptation of his works with the modern twist of these days. For the story, i'll not talk about it you can just read the synopsis. However, what i can say is that the mysteries around the cases aren't really good. They are casesthat could have been interesting but it goes so fast and they don't even show you a clue, they just throw the answer like that. ''Hey, we never showed you that girl or these clue but it doesnt matter, that's what happened deal with it.'' Where's the fun in this ? Dammit Makoto Uezu and Seiji Kishi stop touching mysteries and stuff. Stay with comedies. Please. The art is good. It's not ugly but it's not ''holy sh- it's beautiful'' too ! However, we can see that they try to be original with the presentation and some of them are really appreciated like the people who only were silhouettes representing people that Kobayashi doesn't care at all and only the people that he finds interesting is seen normally. Just background characters for him. Sometimes, they try too hard with the symbolisms that it just gets boring. The sound is ok. The OP and ED were some of the best in this season. ( I listen to them a lot in my car, no joke.) The OST is also nice, but there one song in particular that plays almost every episodes. Is the song bad ? No. But it gets annoying, a little bit like the song ''Don't loose your way'' in kill la kill. The characters are ... most of the time forgetable. With the exception of one : Kobayashi. A boy who got us all confused, thinking that it was a girl. Kobayashi is bizarre and wants some action in his life... thats pretty much it. The protagonist pretty much gets in trouble, help sometimes Akechi and gets our ding confused. The other characters aren't worth mentioning with Hashiba who might be gay for Kobayashi (we will never know), the detective super-duper intelligent and anti-social Akechi and Minami the medical examiner aka one of the worst character this season. Popping out randomly, trying to be funny. The Shadow-man was good tho. Weird and sometimes creepy but he was definitly the most interesting one. Overall, i was hoping that it gets better. The first episode people were sceptical and i was thinking: ''Oh c'mon people it's just the first episode. Give it some times.'' The more it was going, the more i was thinking that ... yeah, that's not good at all. 4/10, don't waste your time with it. Well, there's only 11 episodes so you can try if you want but don't get your hopes up.

Now is the time, once again, for me to have an opinion in the minority here. I see plenty of scathing reviews for Ranpo Kitan. But I'm giving this show a positive review. I really liked this show. I imagine that the problem most people thought that this show was pretentious, silly, all style, no substance, no profundity. And truthfully, I agree with all those except for the last two. It is very true that this show is one of the most stylistic animes I have ever seen. I have never seen a show like this. It reminds me of Chicago, but this is that stylein the form of a mystery theatre instead of a stage play. And it is brilliant. It's bright, it's colorful, it's dark, it's powerful. This is something that truly sets this show apart. It helped with the drama and it helped with the comedy. Then there is the fact that this show has the single best soundtrack of any show I have ever seen. I'm not just talking about the opening and closing themes. Anybody who has seen this show knows about that one song. I call it "Another Sky", and it is one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful songs ever. I will but the OST when it comes out just for that one song. So, what about the story and characters? I personally think that the story was brilliant. Twenty Faces is one of the best symbolic villains ever. This show can be boring, generic, and silly at times. But this show has been home to some of the best moments I've seen in an anime. Ranpo Kitan is a lot of things. It's silly, it's dark, it's strange, it's generic. But before it is any of those things it is a great art piece. Is it perfect? No. But this show made me really feel and really think. I think it was a wonderful experience.

In the first 3 episode, I started to think that this series was interesting. But in the last 3 episodes, it all goes wrong..., in almost every aspects. I will first discuss the story, the anime was identified as the mystery genre with no other genres. I should say that at first, the story promising many things. As we know, in mystery series, there's only one item that been offered to us. And the answer is 'the mystery' itself, but if we identified all of the available cases in Game of Laplace, there's not much mystery in it. It just a blank question that readyto be answered at any time and any place. The bad thing is the anime unable to present intense mystery settings to the screen. Which a fatal error to the story plus the enjoyment. Imagine this, "Have you had any idea if we watch a detective or a mystery movie without any mysteries within it?". The mysteries revealed with unclear reasons and many plot holes. Good thing this is just 11 episodes. Another annoying thing is the character. I didn't even know why there's always psychopath that do the killings. The main cast could be told as one of the most typical, uninteresting, and ridiculous cast I've ever seen. You must know that the director is having a brain wreck. Instead offering a great mystery, they offering a yaoi fan service. Really? YAOI?! In mystery genre?! They exacerbated the situation with many other annoying and bizarre cast which I didn't want to describe one by one because it's just too.......ridiculous. The animation and sound settings it's fair enough to make me watch this until the last second. Thanks to that two aspects, my headaches starts again. Comic Relief, Ridiculous Cast, Unfulfilled Individual Element, and many other bad things make this anime got worse and worse. All of that wrapped up in just 11 episodes.Trust me, if you have any idea about watching this, I suggest you too forgot this for an instant.

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