ExemplarCayman

“Because this is… child’s play, after all.” Bishounen Tanteidan is an anime adapted from a mystery novel series by Nisio Isin, directed by Akiyuki Shinbou and animated by Studio Shaft. It’s literally Bakemonogatari. The end. Thank you for reading my Bishounen Tanteidan review. That’s everything that I’d need to say if we were living in an ideal world. We’re not living in an ideal world. We’re living in a world full of liars. In this particular case, full of liars that lie about liking something that they can't even begin to understand. Here’s a completely hypothetical example: if a person that doesn’t know how to read says thatthey like a certain book - that isn’t necessarily a lie. After all, the book might have some beautifully drawn illustrations of sexy girls, and “the pictures make my pp hard so I like it” is reasoning as rational as any. If the same illiterate person says that they dislike a different edition of the same book featuring beautifully drawn illustrations of sexy boys instead - that also isn’t a lie. “The pictures make my pp confused so I dislike it” is also reasoning as rational as any. But if that illiterate person then says that they are a big fan of the author who wrote those books, and they think that Book A has good writing, but a completely different Book A has bad writing - they’re a lying hypocrite. They can’t be a fan of a writer, being illiterate and all. Don’t listen to their lies. Now, leaving the world of hypotheticals: Bishounen Tanteidan is objectively the same exact show as Bakemonogatari when it comes to things such as character writing, dialogue writing, psychological themes, comedy, artwork, animation quality, visual direction, and sound direction. Their differences are entirely superficial - one features a cast of pretty anime girls in high school, other features a cast of pretty anime boys in middle school. To a fan of Nisio Isin, Akiyuki Shinbou, and Studio Shaft such as myself that liked Bakemonogatari for all the things above - these differences might as well be different hair colors. To a fan of Watanabe Akio (Bakemonogatari’s character designer responsible for that show’s extremely fappable anime waifus, as well as for 99% of its commercial success), these differences are a deal-breaker. Not a problem, if only some Watanabe Akio fans weren’t lying hypocrites that pretend to be NisiOisiN/Shaft’s fans. Don’t listen to their lies. Now, here’s why I can’t recommend Bishounen Tanteidan anime to anyone who isn’t a Shaft/NisiOisiN fan. The Monogatari Series is a novel series that is completely unadaptable. That’s what Nisio Isin himself thought - and he was right. Even though Shaft’s adaptation both has a ton of artistic merit and is commercially successful (thanks, Watanabe Akio), it fails as an adaptation of the actual novels. What makes the novels unadaptable is: 1) A metric ton of comedic banter that seemingly doesn’t advance the plot, but is irreplaceable as a tool for developing characters and establishing their relationship dynamics - the anime had to omit most of that due to the runtime limitations. 2) A metric ton of internal monologues that would amount to a guy staring at a wall and talking to himself in a visual medium - the anime team had to jump through hoops to make those moments look visually interesting, and they did a commendable job - but they also had to omit most of those due to the runtime limitations. 3) The novel series is incredibly long, with 28 volumes as of now, and it has an incredibly drawn-out myth arc (a myth arc is like a story arc, but for the entire series). Many fans of Monogatari will say that their favorite installment in the entire franchise is the so-called Second Season - and for a very good reason. The Second Season is the point where you can finally begin to make sense of what the entire story is really about when viewed as a single cohesive work of fiction, not just a collection of loosely connected individual arcs. The first episode of the Second Season is the 31st episode of the entire franchise - that’s an entire 2-cour anime + 4 OVAs you have to watch before you can even begin to understand what are you watching. And there is a reason why “it gets good after XX episodes” is a meme - because it never gets good. That’s just not how anime works. The fact those first 30 episodes are popular at all is an anomaly and has nothing to do with their artistic merits (thanks, Watanabe Akio). By the way, this drawn-out style is not a fluke, that’s how Nisio Isin writes all of his series. E.g. Medaka Box is a 200-chapter-long manga that only starts making sense around Chapter 50, and is effectively a single “novel” that can’t be adequately judged on a per-chapter or per-story-arc basis. What I’m getting at, the Bishounen Tanteidan novel series is unadaptable for all the exact same reasons. In many aspects, its anime has it even worse than Monogatari’s one. The Monogatari TV anime adapts its first five volumes (Kizu aside) in 30 episodes, Bishounen Tanteidan adapts its first five volumes in only 12. Based on one volume I’ve read (adapted as the first three episodes), Shaft had to cut virtually ALL the scenes that do not directly advance the plot. For example, they omitted the running gag of Mayumi repeatedly spitting out Bossman’s food because of how unbearably tasty it is - and him going through the five stages of grief in reaction. They’ve omitted another running gag of Bare Legs-kun trying to constantly peek under Mayumi’s skirt - and her doing her best reenactment of the “it’s like she was looking at walking garbage” meme in reaction. These character interactions are supposed to keep the audience entertained until the real meat of the story kicks in, and they’re supposed to make the audience empathize with the cast. But since the anime was forced to omit those in favor of telling its salad dressings of detective mysteries, for the first 9 episodes it appears to be a show about nothing. And the mysteries feel as if they have no stakes to them because there can be no stakes if the audience was not given enough reasons to care about what happens to the characters. For a [real] Shaft fan the show still works as an art project - its opening dance animation is the best sakuga produced by the industry since Violet Evergarden, every keyframe belongs on an art gallery wall, and Sakamoto Maya’s (Mayumi/Shinobu’s VA) performance is as stellar as ever. For a [real] Nisio Isin fan the show still works as a source of more of his prose, plus they come equipped with the knowledge that stuff will happen eventually. But it doesn’t work as a novel adaptation and it doesn’t work as a stand-alone anime for a hypothetical viewer that doesn’t know who all these people are. This adaptation simply can't stand on its own legs without being supported by the reputation of its makers. You do finally start to get glimpses of this series’ myth arc in the last 3 episodes, that is, the adaptation of the fifth volume. Turns out, Bishounen Tanteidan is a story about childhood, or rather, about growing up and dealing with that exact moment in one’s life where a child becomes a young adult, which in Japanese consciousness is conveniently marked by the transition from either elementary school to middle school or from middle school to high school. For the first 9 episodes, the cast of larger-than-life hyperbolic children engages in what, as the line used for the epigraph points out, is really nothing more than child's play. And then the games end, and they have to face reality - the reality of the adult world. I’m looking forward to more novels getting translated so that I can actually experience this story. In summary, if you want to see a title that deals with the themes of a child becoming an adult that works in the anime medium, watch FLCL. If you are new to Shinbou’s aesthetics and Nisio Isin’s prose - I suggest you put this one aside, watch/read 20-30 works made by those creators, and return to the Bishounen Tanteidan anime afterward. Otherwise, 10/10 for “Bakemonogatari [with less fap material].”

Kamacho_Bronze

Before I begin my review, I believe there is a thing or two about Bishounen Tanteidan that needs to be cleared up before actual scoring the show on its own merits, as it feels other reviews seem to miss these aspects. Bishounen Tanteidan is inherently, unrealistic. The middle schoolers act like 20s bohemian adults. They go toe to toe with kidnappers, a possibly supernatural murderer, an esoteric artistic weirdo, a first grader who acts like an adult princess trying to save her dynasty through marriage, and somehow, a middle school casino racket done for very....dangerous purposes and reasons. Realism is completely lacking in this show. And thatswhat it is supposed to be. The middle school setting of the story, is a way for nisioisin to focus on topics relating to growth and childhood, and using extreme situations to examine them. To put it simply, its intentionally ridiculous, but to the normal point of requiring suspension of disbelief. The middle school setting and age of the characters, is an aesthetic allowing Nisioisin to explore and admittedly have fun with situations of growing up, such as discarding your dream, your change in personal philosophy, and your habits. Basically, if you can suspend your disbelief for something like fantasy or science fiction, you should suspend disbelief here because this is similarly an aesthetic, just not one we are really used to, and if ever seen, usually done unintentionally(like western YA novels having kids talk like 30 year olds...is mostly unintentional bad writing. Nisio's trying for that here though). Saying all that, the first arc is stupid. Too unrealistic even for suspension of disbelief. Almost dropped the show because of it. Thankfully, I didnt. Although Im not saying this show is a masterpiece or even great, its just a fairly enjoyable and fun show. Witty dialogues, charming philosophical conversations, great visuals. The pretty boys are all one note for the most part, with Mayumi being the only one with real complexity. Most of the time, or pretty much all the time, the mysteries are kind of no big deal, and you are left wondering as to why they are thinking so much about this(im talking about the esoteric artist weirdo arc). But it is through these frivolous adventures, that the show is trying to show us something important. Child's play and wonder. Even in small, even ridiculous things, there can be a sense of excitement, mystery and wonder. Sometimes its not even about solving the mystery, but just making something beautiful and having fun in the process. Its not a classic show. I doubt this is one of Nisio's stronger works either(Ive only seen Monogatari and Katanagatari at the time of this review). But its a fairly fun seasonal show, and if you like shaft or nisio, you should watch it. Also, while I do give it an 8, if MAL allowed for .5 ratings, Id give it a 7.5. Definition of good and fun, but nothing too special.