Odd Taxi pulled up with little fanfare, unknown staff, and a bizarre name. Thirteen weeks later, I sit here shocked at how much I enjoyed this ride. Exceeding expectations and not falling prey to any of my worries, Odd Taxi was a tightly written – with a few head-scratching elements – cleanly executed, multimedia mystery/drama/romance/heist. What did they do right? What were my (very) few complaints? Read on!

A word on my grading criteria. For me, each show has 50 points to earn and 50 points to lose. Points are earned by going above and beyond the norm – showing me something I hadn’t seen or making me feel something unexpected. Something that makes me applaud.

Points are lost when I feel a component of the show was below average or less than acceptable in terms of animation, storyline, etc. Something that takes away from the show as a whole.

The Good

The positives!

Characters	+25%	Odd Taxi was going to live and die on its characters, and live it did.  This show actually had a rather large cast for 12 episodes – but every character connected with the viewer.  By the end of the show, I looked at the series banner with the full cast and I knew every one.
Animals	+10%	Bear with me (haha, pun). Instead of being furry bait (looking at you Beastars), Odd Taxi actually used their anthropomorphic characters brilliantly. In the last act, you may see the human characters but you also see exactly why Odokawa saw them how he did. And they are all exactly as memorable to us as they were to him.
Expect the Unexpected	+15%	Everyone wants shows to “take more risks.” What’s left unsaid is “only if it works out.” Plenty of shows end like Guilty Crown – very few end like Odd Taxi. Switching up the entire narration halfway with a tirade on gacha games from a completely unknown character?! Of course! Oh, was this a murder mystery? Well now it’s a heist. Even the meta elements (the real life twitter and the audio drama) all conspired to show us that Odd Taxi was made with love and an OCD attention to detail. And that ending *chef’s kiss*

The Good: +50%

The Neutral

What parts of Odd Taxi were neither good enough to win points, but not bad enough to be penalized?

Medical Conditions	+0	The doctor was neutral to me. He served his role, but his character didn’t develop or show anything particularly interesting. I think he’s the main reason I didn’t care about Odokawa’s condition. However, he was fine and there were certainly plenty of other characters to carry the show, so I really don’t have any complaints.
Pacing	+0	This is a one and done season – no problem with that.  I think there were moments (mostly around the first 3 episodes) where the story languished a little, but it was more than made up for in the second half and the finale.

Neutral: +0

The Bad

What did Odd Taxi do poorly to lose points?

Shirakawa	-1%	I know, I know – how can you hate the life-saving capoeira?  If there was any flaw in the plot, it’s Shirakawa.  With uncanny, life-saving timing and an unexplained romantic interest in our hero, Shirakawa seemed too convenient.  The reason this isn’t a larger deduction is because she was still a dynamic, interesting character who felt “real” enough to earn her own place in the story.
“Homosapiens”	-3%	Again – why so much attention on them?  Not that their characters were bad or uninteresting, just that they had nothing to do with any of the major plots.  Every connection they had (relationship with Rui or being co-workers with Imai) felt forced.

Bad: -4%

Final Thoughts

Odd Taxi is a gem.  I might even say, if there was an anime of the decade competition held today, it would probably be my pick.  I can be impressed by excellent animation, but honestly – throw enough animators at it, and something good will happen.  Tight writing and great characters, while staying within budget?  That’s special.  This show just had so many bright points – the dynamics between brothers, Dobu the honorable thug, the dangers of social media.  True art is multi-faceted and layered, and Odokawa the onion walrus has plenty of layers.  It’s been a great ride.  Until next time!

Total: 96/100 (Masterpiece)