Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: TBA
Source: Light Novel
Story Summary: It’s all fun and games until you enter your second year of middle school, or so goes the deal that Mayumi made with her parents once-upon-a-time. Ten years ago on a family trip Mayumi saw the most beautiful star she’d ever seen, and it inspired her to want to become an astronaut. But she’s been chasing that dream since then and her parents want her to drop it. Now she’s only got a day left to figure out what it was she saw in the sky before she’s forced to forget about it. She encounters a beautiful boy who takes her to visit the mysterious “Pretty Boy Detective Club,” a legendary underground school organization that happens to be populated by some of the most popular (and beautiful) boys in school. They offer to help Mayumi find her lost star by literally recreating the circumstances of its discovery, and in the process convince her of the power of beauty.
Impressions: Ah, Shaft and Nisioisin, together again. I have to admit that it’s been a minute since I’ve thought about this creative partnership, because for the most part I’ve purposely avoided it. I once, long ago, praised Bakemonogatari for its cleverness and snappy dialog, but revisiting it within this past year was a good reminder why I never watched beyond that first season – it’s got a creepy underage sexualization problem that seems to bother me and me alone, so better to just leave it alone rather than make a big deal about it and get harassed, you know? That aside, I’ve always thought the author’s style of writing was clever and fun to experience, at least as far as it feels and sounds in translation between languages and media, so I’d like to say I’m open-minded to what this series has to offer. And what it has for us is a mixed bag to be sure, but I think overall I kind of dig it.
The episode begins by stating that the “Pretty Boy Detective Club” only has three rules – 1. Be pretty, 2. Be a boy, and 3. Be a detective. It seems almost a bit too on-the-nose, but that’s where I think this episode, and by extension this series, might be pulling our legs a little bit. The “pretty” that club leader Manabu speaks of seems to have components beyond just aesthetics; “boy” appears to be more than just gender, but perhaps a youthful and fresh perspective on life; and “detective” seems to imply a curiosity toward life and a desire to help others. Conceptually simple but perhaps more complicated in practice. I get the impression that this visually-beautiful reverse-harem story is probably many things, but simplistic and straightforward are definitely not it.
It’s difficult to get a handle on what the show is trying to sell us, though; It took me a couple of tries to watch this episode, and not because of any lack of desire to see it through. While part of my struggles might be because I’ve had a lot of things on my mind lately, I think the other big reason is that it just takes a lot of energy to parse the dialog this episode dishes out while also paying attention to its sparkling visuals and it’s difficult to tell whether the work will be worth it in the end. I want to believe this gorgeously-produced series with beautiful characters will have more than just pleasing aesthetics on offer. If its production has any relation to its messaging than I expect more from each. But it makes my brain tired and I know I’ll have to be in the correct frame of mind to want to find out any more.
Pros: This is truly a gorgeous show. Shaft tends to rely a little too much on CG for my tastes; they’ve gone hard lately on CG backgrounds and unfortunately whatever technology they’re using doesn’t seem to be top-tier, but this episode overall looks great. There’s some cool mixed-media action while Mayumi recalls her family trip, and watching it reminded me of some of the artistic high points of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei and Madoka (and yes, even Monogatari). I think they truly have a handle on the type of experimental animation that looks really good in contexts that a broad swath of anime fans will enjoy, and that’s worth probably more than what people give the studio credit for.
I also like the character designs a lot. They look almost otherworldly to me; they aren’t the kind of designs that would work in every show, but there’s an element of fantasy to this one that makes them fit.
And, at least in my opinion, this episode is pretty funny. It’s a type of humor I like – having my expectations be shown as patently false in quirky and well-timed ways. It’s difficult to explain and I’m not doing it well here, but to me it beats most slapstick and characters yelling loudly at one-another for no reason.
Cons: Some of the characters look a bit… young, and it worries me a bit. Hyouta in particular, the blonde boy with the shorts and the legs, is framed in a way that makes me kind of uncomfortable. To be honest I have no idea who the intended audience is for this series or whether it will skew in an unsavory direction, but it’s something I’ll have to keep my eye on going forward.
Content Warnings: A character slipping and falling off a high place, which could be read as mimicking an attempted suicide. A lot of focus on a young character’s bare legs in shorts.
Would I Watch More? – I’ve been very curious about this one, and once I got a handle on the first episode it made me want to follow at least the first story arc to see how things roll out. It has a very distinct look that I appreciate and I’m looking forward to seeing more.