Short Synopsis: Chiko now lives away from her aunt, in a mansion along with Tome. Haruka visits her and forms the “Detective Girls”.
Highlights: A rather silly episode…
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I’ll withhold judgment for the detective girls-arc of this series for now. Seriously, I have no idea what to think of it or what to expect, knowing the rest of this series. I really need to see the next episode to form a valid opinion for this series. The fact remains that this series has had plenty of light moments, which make you fool that this series is just goofing off, while they’re in fact just building up.
In this episode, Haruka and Chiko don’t really go and look for cases, but instead they get visited by a number of burglars. The process of catching these burglars was rather silly, especially since Haruka had act and claim her moment of glory (which involved her and Tome, crashing down some stone stair on a bike), but the few moments where this episode was serious were really good. Akine’s back-story gets completed, and it turns out that he lost his sister back in the war, and Chiko resembles his sister a lot. He also finally leaves Chiko’s aunt (which may have been a bad thing, as she’s probably going to hire someone tougher), and we still don’t know what these burglars were doing inside Chiko’s house. They were not normal burglars, because they still tried to attack Chiko, even after they were found.
Most of the humour in this episode was rather corny, but I do admit that I laughed at Haruka’s fantasies of the glamorous future missions of the Detective Girls (with Chiko as the invincible warrior, Tome as a seductress and herself as the fearless leader). The messy animation during the fight scenes also looked really good, and it surprised me. Bones isn’t really a studio that often experiments with its animation (in fact, I can’t remember having seen any experimental animation from them apart from this series).
I think the “burglars” were actually kidnappers sent by the aunt and her lawyer. I believe the two spoke of their back-up plan after they had sent the detective away on his mission.
But I hope we don’t get too many minor caper episodes with this amazing mixture of serious events and second-rate humor. I felt as if both Satou Rina and Hirano Aya were a bit off this episode. Satou-san was too fake-genki, and Hirano-san too young. But I expect they were both directed to use these voices.
Hirano’s young/uncertain voice represents her lack of experience with having actual friends, I guess. She is more confident when it comes to beating up on ruffians than in the normal society of a 13-year-old.
I wonder if Bones can keep the quality level in story telling and plot,and action,as high as was done through 1 to 14.Now that the series will careen and do a 180 away from the manga
I have a bad feeling about the rest of it.
It is right now my fave of the year,but it may drop like a rock into the gutter soon.Episode 14 was the first ep in the siries where I guessed TF’s actions to a T.Sad.
The newly added sound effects in the OP were a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE HORRIBLE idea.Whoever @ Bones thought it a good idea to add in,should be taken out and shot.This show had one of the best OPS this year,nevermind this season alone.
So much so,I bought the cd.And Volume one of the dvd.
Now this trash !?!!!? I hate Sound Effects in OPS/EDS,but this just seems like change for the sake of change.