Detective Anime


Episode 56

Detective Anime

This week the gang gets together to talk all things mystery with the wide genre of detective anime.  Sam talks through the history of detective fiction in Japan and the decidedly Sci-Fi flavour that tends to accompany these kinds of stories in Japanese storytelling.  Sam and Charlie then go over some old ground with a couple of classic shows from our earliest episodes in Death Note and Psycho pass (we figured we've improved a bit since we first spoke about those shows in our early days). Graeme talks through Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and how influential it was on modern detective/Sci-Fi animanga.  We also learn about the third highest selling manga of all time in Detective Conan, which turned out to be a huge blind spot in all our knowledge. 

FEATURING

Sam

Charlie

Graeme

ANIME REFERENCES

Death Note

Light Yagami is a genius high school student who is about to learn about life through a book of death. When a bored shinigami, a God of Death, named Ryuk drops a black notepad called a Death Note, Light receives power over life and death with the stroke of a pen. Determined to use this dark gift for the best, Light sets out to rid the world of evil… namely, the people he believes to be evil. Should anyone hold such power? The consequences of Light’s actions will set the world ablaze. (Source: Viz Media)

Psycho Pass

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work. Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.

Bungo Stray Dogs

Stalked by a beastly white tiger, Atsushi Nakajima has no idea that the menace lives inside him—a power that catches the attention of the Armed Detective Agency. Using inhuman abilities to combat crime, this team takes Atsushi under the wing of their most eccentric member, Dazai. Together, they tear through mafia-muddled mysteries while enemies keep an eye on the tiger’s lofty bounty. (Source: Funimation)

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

In the not so distant future, mankind has advanced to a state where complete body transplants from flesh to machine is possible. This allows for great increases in both physical and cybernetic prowess and blurring the lines between the two worlds. However, criminals can also make full use of such technology, leading to new and sometimes, very dangerous crimes. In response to such innovative new methods, the Japanese Government has established Section 9, an independently operating police unit which deals with such highly sensitive crimes. Led by Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi, Section 9 deals with such crimes over the entire social spectrum, usually with success. However, when faced with a new A level hacker nicknamed “The Laughing Man”, the team is thrown into a dangerous cat and mouse game, following the hacker’s trail as it leaves its mark on Japan. (Source: MyAnimeList)

Case Closed

Kudo Shinichi is a seventeen year-old high school detective whom people call the "Modern Sherlock Holmes." However, one night after a date with his childhood sweetheart, Ran, Shinichi witnessed an illegal trade and, caught off his guard, was knocked unconscious and fed a drug that was supposed to kill him... but he woke up and found himself shrunken to a seven year-old. In order to track down the men who did this to him, Shinichi hid his identity and lived with Ran, whose father happened to be a hopeless detective, and with that came a series of murders and mysteries that he must solve. (Source: Anime News Network) Note: - Includes Keisatsu Gakkou-hen - Wild Police Story in episodes 1029, 1038, 1042, 1061 - Episodes 11, 52, 76, 118, 162, 184, 208, 342, 356, 449, 452, 487, 488, 489, 490, 515, 516, 521, 522, 651, 734, 804, 805, 927, 928 aired with a runtime of ~50 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode. - Episodes 96, 129, 174, 219, 263, 304, 383, 479 aired with a runtime of ~90 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode. - Episode 345, 425 aired with a runtime of ~115 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode.

ID: INVADED

Welcome to Kura, an organization that investigates crime using the Mizuhanome system which senses the drive to kill. Sakaido is a brilliant detective and pilot of the Mizuhanome. To solve a case, he enters the world of the killer's unconscious mind: the id well. In the shadows of brutal and puzzling cases lurks John Walker, the Serial Killer Creator. Where will Sakaido's pursuit lead? (Source: Funimation)

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