Why do you watch anime? Why are there scuff marks on the heel of your left shoe? Are dark elves deeply misunderstood? I have none of those answers, but I can deduce from the cynical look in your eye that Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary is the perfect cure for your isekai-jaded brain.
Nothing gets past Jougorou Kobato (voiced by Shuuichirou Umeda). The greasy potato stains on your hoodie are all the evidence he needs to piece together your afternoon of indulgent french fry snacking. But his super-sleuth brain gets him into trouble. As a mastermind wanting to lay low, he befriended mild-mannered Osanai Yuki (Hina Youmiya, who played Minami in Oshi no Ko). Together, they vowed to be average citizens who cause no ripples. So, it’s an elementary deduction, my dear Watson, that there will be ripples in their future.
Shoshimin Is Slow Burn, So You Can Learn
How to Become Ordinary’s slow pace will bore some viewers, but every scene and shot is meaningful. I beg you, stick with it. Those pauses are there to let you think. Even the blue filter is doing work. Shoshimin is interactive TV, not your usual cozy mystery, with a double bluff concealing the true culprit.
There are other differences from the Jessica Fletcher style cozies. Shoshimin’s story develops through each episode, unpacking a narrative rich with Japanese culture. Yes, you need to register a bicycle in Japan. Yes, you’ll be in trouble for carrying a passenger on your bike. And yes, the school counselor will give you a hard time if your pedal-powered ride is stolen. Japan does life differently. Japan also does cozies differently.
What If Sherlock Holmes Just Wanted to Park His Brain?
Kobato doesn’t like “different.” He’d be happy watching Yuki eat a strawberry tart. Or anything completely uninteresting and unnoticeable. But Kobato’s Sherlock Holmes impersonation makes him the nail that sticks up. He can deduce your pin number from your shoe size, but he can’t turn off his asshole aura.
The comparison to Baker Street’s resident dick (detective) doesn’t end with Kobato’s dickish (annoying) know-it-all nature. And Sherlock Holmes is a dick (in the ass hat sense). It’s just that few narrators read Sherlock’s lines with the right level of sarcasm. Likewise, Shuuichirou Umeda’s reading of Kobato’s lines will let Kobato’s barbs fly under your radar if you’re not paying attention. But the model is the same as Holmes; the insults are never toward the audience, who are in on the joke.
With Kobato’s detective-switch jammer to “on,” we can enjoy Japan-flavored cozy mysteries and Yuki rage-eating cakes. Bring on the cake Viking (Japanese dessert buffet)! The big question we should all be asking is if Kobato’s plan for early retirement from super-sleuthing will consume Yuki’s happiness, cakes and all.
Who Should Watch Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary?
Step aside, Nancy Drew. How to Become Ordinary is better than a round of Clue, even without sinister murders to hook the audience. Instead, Shoshimin relies on a uniquely Japanese setting to tell a mystery with different stakes. That’s refreshing.
The anime is based on Honobu Yonezawa’s Shoshimin mystery novel series. There are currently five volumes in print and a manga adaptation. Mamoru Kanbe directed the anime adaptation, which Toshiya Ono wrote. Takahiro Obata created Shoshimin’s music. Studio Lapin Track produced the anime.
Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese with multiple subtitle options. Shoshimin is PG-13. The series gets a 5 Chibi Megumi rating. The slow pace and animation detail intrigued me before Shoshimin delivered a strawberry tart gut punch right to the feels. And now I’m wearing out the edge of my seat, expecting disaster.
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