The Detective Is Already Dead – 09 – Foregone Conclusion

We’ve now arrived back at that scene on the boat where Siesta, Kimihiko, and Char—who is still not really a character—are headed to Secret Evil SPES Island. It’s as clear as it is by the name of the anime that this will be Siesta’s last mission, especially since Char keeps telling Kimi he’s going to regret not hugging Siesta or having her pat his head.

Kimi and Char go off on their own armed only with guns against an enemy they know to be superpowered. Seems kinda dumb! But then the entire excursion into the deeply unimpressive SPES HQ is a bit of a waste of time, unless you got anything at all out of the deadpan monologue of SPES’ space plant uber-boss. I was just waiting for Kimi to go back to Siesta. When he does, she’s only playing dead…at least at this point.

It’s a trick as cheap as much of the animation, framing, and general direction of the final showdown between Hel and Siesta/Kimi. Giant vines pop out of the ground, but they’re mostly a series of still shots. Our heroes move awkwardly and stiffly across the barren, boring battlefield. Hel reveals that she’s a personality created by Alicia to deal with all the torture, or something.

Then the giant stupid monster comes out of nowhere and tries to eat Kimi, only for Siesta to dive into harm’s way, push Kimi aside, and get killed. Yet even this is so oddly and sloppily presented that finally witnessing how the Detective who was Already Dead dies elicited no more than a shrug, and a bit of a yawn.

As if there weren’t enough clichés in this episode, it ends with Kimi waking up in his bed, presumably in the present when he’s rolling with Nagisa…but who knows? It’s a bit frustrating to think that all these episodes that took place with Siesta, and indeed made up the bulk of this cour, were just one long flashback that undermined the show’s premise. Sure, the Detective is Already Dead…but we’re spending most of the time with her still alive. Now that she’s gone, I’m not sure I care where this show goes next…

Dropped: Holmes of Kyoto

Leaving aside the fact that I don’t think Aoi is using the word “nasty” properly (Holmes has occasionally been impish, but never outright disgusting or offensive as the word “nasty” implies), watching the latest episode on a Full HD TV cemented my opinion that this show is just too crappy-looking to keep watching.

Its status as my “Comfort Food Show” of the Summer is undermined both by its appalling production values and the presence of a “baddie of the week” with convoluted motivations. An ideal CFS is either easy on the eyes, is light on conflict or stakes, or both. Holmes is none of the above, and so we bid it, and him, adieu.

Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil – 12 (Fin)

We were a bit weary that this last episode would be another nightmare of poor animation and cut corners, but thankfully there was enough gas in the tank for a respectable-looking finale. We even get a shot of Cecil talking next to a reflective sculpture; a nice effect. Ironically, while this was a far better episode in terms of production values, we thought the previous episode had a better story.

That’s because the resolution to the Makusu trial left us a bit cold. We will say that it hardly made sense for him to suddenly cooperate with Cecil after carefully planning the ritual only to fail to summon Lucifer, so it makes sense that come trial time, he double-crosses his counsel and even accuses her of murdering Shizumu. It’s the word of the former Chief Justice against an excitable teenager with a history of getting into magical trouble, and he spins a good yarn for the court.

While his betrayal made sense and we were on the whole glad to see the last episode return to its legal procedural roots, we found the trial itself a bit clumsy and random. Part of that was the fact the prosecution seems more on Makusu’s side than his defense. But Cecil suddenly pulling Grimoire 365 out of the talisman Shizumu returned to her, combined with the surprise trump witness (why didn’t Makusu make sure he was dead?); those were were plot conveniences that gave Cecil victory without actually having to do any sleuthing, hence the leaving us cold.

We will say, however, that on the whole, the series didn’t leave us cold. We really enjoyed watching Cecil befriend her colorful colleagues, defend lots of people who tried to kill her. She didn’t so much uncover the conspiracy as Makusu made numerous tactical errors, most important the fact that Tento Moyo was already Lucifer’s vessel…we think. So while the show stumbled with its ending, placing it just below Witch Craft Works on the Big Board, it was still a refreshing dark horse we’re not sorry we looked into.

Cumulative Average Rating: 6.917
MAL Score: 6.45

Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil – 11

The whole purpose of anime, and most other audiovisual media, is to show as well as tell what is going on. This episode told us quite a bit, much of which could have been very interesting, but unfortunately it also happened to be one of the single worst-animated episodes of anime we’ve ever reviewed.

It doesn’t even seem accurate to call it badly-animated, since a very large portion wasn’t animated at all. This episode simply felt unfinished, which made it extremely difficult to get invested in what was ostensibly going on. It was like trying to read this review without vowels.

Mind you, we haven’t been insensitive to the fact that WizBar in general is not a show that has ever prided itself on flawless presentation. It could also be that a lot of the production budget was spent both on the first episode and on CGI effects such as the Metamoloids. Frankly, if that was the case, it wasn’t worth it. I would have preferred more balance in the visuals. But the show had still always managed to muddle through, with the story pulling enough weight to forgive the shortcomings.

But this…this was something else. The shark was officially jumped. There were far too many static close-ups, establishing shots, lines of dialogue and actions by people we never see, and agonizingly long stills. Some potentially powerful and/or poignant moments were thoroughly ruined by the lack of visual information. On many occasions throughout the fiasco, we sympathized with those involved with the show who weren’t responsible for bungling the budget, as they were let down as much as we were, if not more so.

All that aside (and it’s pretty damn hard to move it aside!) a lot happened this week. Shimuzu raided Butterfly and eventually captured Cecil. Makusu had his little ritual, and we find out that Lucifer had already awakened and taken human form, that of Tento Moyo. She merges with Cecil, who grows fangs and a tail (which bursting through her underwear…yeah, they animated that), but Shimuzu Does The Right Thing in the eleventh hour by dying to protect Cecil.

Cecil and Makusu have one big confusing Metamoloid battle that ends in the upper atmosphere. But when their mechas dissolve, Cecil sprouts wings and saves Makusu’s life, only for him to request she defend him at his impending trial. That’s actually a nice twist that brings everything back to Magic Law, something we always found more interesting than Magic Conspiracies. So yeah, a lot happened! I just wish we could have, you know, seen all of it, instead of just a few scant parts of it.