Why in the world am I always blogging about anime where the name of the series is impossibly difficult to remember? I always have to resort to the silly ctrl-C button in order to remember the name. Silly rants aside, Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo -Ryoko’s Case File- (a long mouthful) is one of the few series in the season that does not have gratuitous fanservice like Ultraviolet 044. Yes, I get pretty vindictive when I watch bad anime, and I actually become rather grouchy that I wasted my time on such things.

I will leave my co-bloggers who are in love with fanservice to discuss about Sekirei (which is quite good actually) and all the other shows that have been released with quick succession. Leave me for the dirty work. This anime with a supremely long name is about a police inspector named Yakushiji Ryoko, an elite Tokyo University graduate. She has everything a woman needs, intelligence, looks and athleticism.

Of course, with such a great combination of talents, she is also haughty and bullies her poor assistant inspector Izumi Junichoro. The two of them specializes in cases that has a mystical edge to them, those that cannot be solved by science. With a mystery genre, it will definitely seek to give you a surprise or a thrill. Does it deliver?

Episode summary

A man woke up after having a recurring nightmare of a blond lady shooting herself in the gun. That man was Izumi Junichoro, an assistant police inspector, who assists a beautiful but egoistic superior in Ryoko. As he arrived, he was dragged by Ryoko to shop. Her excuse to carry out shopping during office hours was that she cannot order him during non-office hours. She needed him to carry her shopping bags. On their way to the shopping complex, they were caught in a traffic jam.

A man suddenly landed on their car and started to rot before it turned into a brownish corpse, devoid of any blood or life. Ryoko wondered about this incident and it turned out that the man simply ate some bread bought at a bakery. A suspicious man looked over at the corner of the street, and Ryoko gave chase.

She eventually lost him in a house, where the district custom officer appeared to hinder their investigation. After a heated argument and some traded insults, the officer left them be. The custom officer used to be a high rank police officer, but quit amidst some rumors after his attempted plot to force his subordinates to suicide in order to cover his crime.

After that, the two of them continued on their shopping for a bikini. In their discussion, Ryoko mentioned a case that was similar to this situation, and wondered if there would be more victims. After that event, there were six more victims. They speculated that the poison might come from the imported raw ingredients that were made to produce the food. Ryoko realized that it might cause some problems with international relations, and swore to find out.

With her newly bought bikini, she went on a swim (for no reason whatsoever). They also met up with a doctor working in a Mortuary and it reaffirmed their suspicions. Ryoko then guessed that it was probably a plot by the customs officer, since all food had to pass through them. Junichoro thought that she was intuitive, but it turned out that she simply wanted to embarrass that man and beat him flat (vindictive woman).

It turned out that the customs would have a party then, and Ryoko decided to sneak in. Her old foe, Yukiko Muromachi, also arrived to antagonize her. Their feud started since their university years and continued since. It turned out that Muromachi is investigating the case as well. They then went to a bar to relax. Junichoro was distracted away from Ryoko, and he realized that the bartender was trying to poison Ryoko. However, Ryoko already realized and lured the bartender to reveal her new colors.

Thoughts

Average graphics, average plot, average animation company and an average level of initial interest. The word average is perhaps fitting for such an anime. However, average is definitely not an accurate word for my impression of this show. Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo starts out pretty well with a nice mystery case. Well, technically, it’s not mystery since we already know our culprit. Thriller might be a better description.

Things can be average, but put them together in a coherent way can make it wonderful. Football players should know that a star player can make a difference, but one person does not make a team. A club with eleven brilliant players but no teamwork is always more likely to lose to a team of eleven average players. This runs true with this series.

There is nothing that seems to be sparkling in terms of the individual characteristics of the series, but every single bit seems to fit in the puzzle. The graphics is definitely slight above average but is fitting for a mystery series. There are some loopholes in the story and the music is decent if not crazily spectacular. There is definitely unexplainable fanservice: why in the world does Ryoko need to go shopping for a bikini and swim after seeing a corpse right in front of her?

I think one of the more striking features of this anime is the extremely strong and confident female lead. I always have a weakness for female leads that have the vibe of “I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!” feel, and this is just another lead that I have a soft spot. Junichoro also breaks the stereotype of being a total pushover by kicking some serious ass with his fighting abilities. Now, that’s what I call a true gentleman.

Should you watch this

So, as usual for first episodes, what is the verdict? Should you watch it? I will say that anyone who has a liking for slightly serious anime with some mystery/thriller element should come on board easily. If you can forgive some of the slightly nonsensical times that makes absolutely no sense at all (I am still in shock over the shopping for a bikini scene), this might be a rough gem in the making. I will be following this series for a few more episodes before giving my verdict on this.

Browse Timeline

• « Macross Frontier 13: Kyun Kyun Watashi no Sheryl wa Pilot (Also who is that VF-171 Pilot?)
• » Code Geass R2, Episode 13- The Assassin From The Past

Comments (5)

Add a Comment