The new anime series continues to unfold, as fans browse the new offerings from Japan’s various anime studios to find the shows they’ll keep watching. There are “only” 39 new series airing this season, not counting ongoing shows like Tokyo Revengers of the outstanding Fumetsu no Anata e, and neverending series like One Piece, making this a relatively light season. One show I’m enjoying is The Detective is Already Dead, aka Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru or TanMoshi. Keep reading to hear my opinion of the series!
The Story of ‘The Detective is Already Dead’
Kimihiko is a boy with a strange talent for encountering crimes or other problematic situations, which he calls his “trouble magnet.” One day he’s flying in an airplane when the cabin attendant asks something strange: “Is there a detective on board the plane?” It turns out there is: a mysterious white-haired girl sitting in the seat next to him who just happens to be a mei-tantei (a “famous detective”).
Her name is Siesta, and she immediately ropes poor Kimihiko into being her assistant so she can stop the member of the evil organization SPES who has hijacked the plane. Happily she possesses “seven tools” which are supernatural powers that allow her to unlock any door or fly through their air when needed, and a magic gun that shoots bullets made from her own blood.
After this first encounter, Siesta does what any anime heroine would do: she moves into Kimihiko’s apartment so they can live together and solve crimes together, doing battle with the evil SPEC organization. Not bad work, if you can get it.
But Is the Detective Already Dead?
The Checkov’s Gun of the show is presented to us before we even start watching: we know that Siesta is doomed to die from the title, and that the first part of the story is being told to us in flashback form. A year after Siesta’s death, Kimihiko returns to being a normal high school student. Little does he know a girl named Nagisa is going to ask him to take on a new case. And by the way, Nagisa had a certain operation a year ago…
Four Reasons to Watch TanMoshi
First, the show is gorgeous. It might have been animation studio ENGI pouring their heart into the first episode (which was double-length) to make sure the audience emotionally connects with Siesta before her death. Any time this much money is spent on beautiful animation, I feel compelled to support the show and its creators.
Second, I love a good mystery. How often has a show made you lean forward and wonder openly how the story was going to resolve the big question posed at the beginning?
Cute waifus and great voice acting. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been watching anime late at night with headphones on, but Siesta’s voice (provided by fairly unknown voice actress Saki Miyashita, whose biggest role so far was Kanata from Harukana Receive) is a joy to listen to every time she talks.
It’s great escapism! I love the story starts out while Kimihiko is still in middle school. What kind of middle schooler goes around the world with a famous detective solving mysteries and taking down evil organizations? It’s better than any chunibyo fantasy I could have conceived of at the time.
Thanks for reading this post about The Detective is Already Dead. Will you be giving the show a chance, or move on to something else? Tell us in the comments below, or give us feedback on Twitter!
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