“There is no such thing as a completely locked room File 2”
What They Say:
Rich heiress Reiko Hosho lives a double life as a novice detective, fighting crime under Inspector Kazamatsuri, also from a wealthy family. After work, Reiko sheds her pantsuit to don a lovely dress for dinner each day. Difficult cases force her to confide in her butler Kageyama, who proceeds to savagely ridicule her inability to solve mysteries, all while brilliantly unraveling each case himself.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the novel of the same name, this anime adaptation is one that’s definitely an interesting one, with how it drops you into things, and you have to claw your way to understanding. But it does so in style, which makes it engaging. The show is directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara, who has directed works from Paradise Kiss to Ace of Diamond as well as Chi’s Sweet Home. Mariko Kunisawa handled the series composition for this and has been crafting a lot of things fans like, including Ascendence of a Bookworm for all the seasons so far, as well as working on a lot of Orphen. Madhouse handling the animation production is a huge win, especially their outdoor backgrounds, but just the look of the designs, expressions, and the way the camera moves is fantastic.
The apparent locked-room murder of a painter in the last episode set up the mystery and it was an interesting one to set all the pieces fall into place. I’ll admit that the murders are technically the weak part of most shows, but I enjoy watching as our leads work to figure it out, and when we get an interesting cast of suspects to work with. The supporting cast for this one hasn’t been as interesting but it’s been fun to watch as Kazamatsuri seems to be more on the ball with the solve, and Kageyama provides some key insights as you’d expect for Reiko. It’s such a delight to see artwork as a key piece of how this murder actually took place, but also the humor that’s mixed into it as well. But it leads to one of the more creatively colored action sequences as they explore the hidden space behind it, and get to the actual killer, which is just another reminder of how fantastic this show is when it comes to its animation and design work.
The minor re-enactment and resolution as the truth is laid out is fun enough, but I think that these 1.5-episode stories are hurting it overall with the week gap between it all, since you’re only getting a portion of the finale. The tonal shift to the next storyline, and some of the simple character material between them, is certainly fun as we get brighter days, a bit more silliness, and just the way Reiko gets loud when around Kageyama since she can be more her real self. The latest murder, however, is someone who comes across as a low-rent version of Kazamatsuri that’s found after a bad interaction at a party. As the way the series operates, we get the first details of how the body was found amid some amusing jokes about the suit he’s wearing, which both Kazamatsuri and the guy who discovered the body wear as well, as we learn that the victim is a journalist. It’s a fairly standard startup and goes with the “odd” drowning on land piece as well, which we’ve seen in far too many murder mysteries. Where the show excels is in discovering the details and seeing our leads work together on this continues to be a delight.
In Summary:
As much as I enjoy this in so many respects, it’s one that just suffers from its structure with what it’s doing and I can imagine it working so much better as a binge than weekly viewing. The closure of the painter murder storyline is pretty solid with some neat little twists that aren’t completely obvious at first, especially in an animated show, and it has one of the best action sequences I’ve seen in ages in it. The start of the next case has some good stuff to it even as it works with familiar ideas but does it with such style that I really enjoy it even going through he basics of identifying the body and all that comes with it. The show is just such a standout in this regard.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Prime Video
