Akechi’s on the scene and the whole Sherlock angle is very well played.
What They Say:
As the police inspect a murder scene, the famous detective Akechi happens to be at the right place, right time to help. Or is she?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a very strong episode in the previous week that really wowed me and reminded me why this series can have some moments of utter beauty and brilliance, I steeled myself a bit for this one as I knew it wasn’t likely to manage the same level. Thankfully, it does attempt to do things similar in a way by having a visual style that’s a bit separate from the norm and a lot of what we got earlier in the series. The softer backgrounds and the almost watercolor approach to coloring it in general definitely helps to flesh out the show in a distinctive way.
The episode this time brings us into the realm of Akechi, yet another from the past other world who has landed here and taken on the role of a detective. Along with Kibayashi, the two are pretty well known and they’re drawn to a case in the countryside where a young woman has been discovered murdered, left naked and her head cut off. The investigation leads them to the residence of the young woman, Ayako, where we get to meet her two sisters, Meiko and Machiko. That presents its own whole set of issues as it gets complicated for Akechi as she has to figure out the various connections going on here and why anyone would want Ayako dead. And even if they have the motive, whether they have the means or not.
The odd part of the puzzle is someone that Akechi sees in the woods that she learns is named Morilanty, a man who specializes in criminology and is eager in his own way to investigate. Visually, he’s fun because of the cloak and the overall head mask he wears that makes him almost a blank slate. The episode goes through some fun bits of exploration as it deals with it and we get the amusing personalities of the two girls. Bit by bit, more and more things come out about the relations within the family and outside as Akechi continues her investigation. While the story itself doesn’t engage me highly, having burned out a bit on murder mysteries in general, it’s a very well done and atmospheric piece overall that plays to some neat notes, especially as it progresses and has a bit of fun with itself.
In Summary:
Sengoku Collection doesn’t do for me this time around what the previous episode did, but it does have a lot of fun and works its style very well in an appealing way. The detective aspect of it is well played and the characters get some very smart and enjoyable moments, even if I don’t care for the mystery itself. It does have a welcome twist towards the end, which we won’t spoil, but it does something that really makes you watch closely and want to re-watch the episode just to see if you can get all the clues right. It also sets things up well enough for the next episode as well. With the continually appealing animation and character designs, I’d watch this show just for the visuals if I had to, but there are some very good stories to be had here as well thankfully.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
