Anime Review: Detectives These Days Are Crazy!
A few decades ago, Keiichirou Nagumo was a famous teen detective, solving bizarre murders and impossible thefts on a weekly basis. In addition to being a master of instant deduction, he was also extremely athletic and quite handsome. But as time went on, the cases began to dry up, his body began feeling the cumulative effect of all the abuse he’d put it through (including picking up smoking and drinking), and his looks aged badly. Now Nagumo barely scrapes by on finding lost pets and gathering evidence for divorces.
One day, a new person appears in his office. She’s fresh teenage schoolgirl Mashiro Nakanishi, who found an old flyer advertising Nagumo’s services. She wants to be a detective herself, and has trained hard, so wants to become his assistant. Since she’s um, not very bright, Nagumo is initially reluctant, but Mashiro is freakishly strong and fast, and is able to hold an astounding amount of gear concealed in her clothing. She’s more helpful than it seems at first, and Nagumo becomes slightly less reluctant.
Now if this odd pair could just find a paying case!
This 2025 anime is based on the seinen manga Mattaku Saikin no Tantei Tokitara. It’s a parody of the detective mystery genre, as evidenced by the fact our protagonists almost never get the kind of case you’d expect to be seeing. There is one instance where the detectives start being involved in one of those “multiple suspects gather in a remote location and then start dying in bizarre ways one by one” storylines, but it gets derailed before the would-be murderer can even get started.
Much of the humor is running gags. Nagumo is actually only in his late thirties, but looks two decades older, and has an assortment of “old man” medical issues. He’s hopelessly out of touch with what the young people are into. Mashiro comically misunderstands instructions, spouts random philosophy in English, and has her face contort into different art styles.
They’re soon joined by a quirky supporting cast. Taro Nezu, a low-ranking ex-Yakuza who becomes their errand boy; Cerberus the cat; Yuu Asanaro, the current hot teen detective; Hana “Maki” Kazamaki, Yuu’s long-suffering assistant; Azuha Hoshino, the secret agent/mad scientist who lives below the detective agency; Soya Mimasaka, former rival teen detective to Nagumo but now has a steady job as a police detective and is happily married with a child; Fuu Mimasaka, Mimasaka’s preteen daughter, who’s an aspiring phantom thief; and the Big Four Creepy Old Dudes, who are actually pretty solid citizens despite being perverted in public.
Not every gag hits, but there are a lot of them. On the other hand, there’s not really any depth here. It’s just a gag series, and doesn’t manage any heart-tugging moments. There’s no underlying plot arc or particular character growth. If you’re looking for more than a fun time, this is not the series for you.
Content notes: slapstick violence, mention of death. Smoking and alcohol use, the latter to the point of abuse. A bit of male audience-oriented fanservice, and peekaboo female nudity. Male partial nudity is played for laughs. Fetishes are treated as “creepy.” Body fluid humor. Older teenagers should be fine.
This series is not for everyone; try a couple of episodes and see how it works for you. Recommended for fans of defective detective humor.
