(L) Ranpo Kitan - Game of Laplace

[Stark700]

Originally Posted by Dop

Well I really enjoyed it, and it doesn't come far behind Gatchaman Crowds Insight in my 'favourite shows of the season' list. So maybe I'm the target audience. I like shows which aren't afraid to be barking.

Yes, this is what I was kinda expected now. I think the show is more suitable for a specific target audience to enjoy it.

For me, it wasn't though.
I mean, I think it had a good start or at least one that kept me interested but over time lost the steam.

I also felt the final two episodes were really rushed and lacked concrete development. I never really thought Namikoshi and Twenty Faces were memorable in the end or any of the main characters. The artistic visuals were nice though and I thought the ED theme song was one of the prettiest I've heard for this Fall Season.

[Dop]

I'd agree it suffered from "Noitamina Eleventh Episode Syndrome" where just one more episode would have given the finale more time to breathe, and had room for a better aftermath than just a bunch of quotes over the end credits.

I think there's a few eleven episode Noitamina shows that have suffered from that.

[AntonKutovoi]

So in the end show suddenly decided to become a Ninja Slayer, huh?
Ranpo Kitan was incredebly stupid and pretencious, but at least it it managed to be unintenionally funny - like the fact that Revolutionary Boy Namikoshi is taken seriously, despite being complete chuuni drama queen. So I guess it was not a complete waste of my time.

[ChampDream]

I have too agree the show felt rushed at the end.
I have to say I enjoy it more in the beginning than in the end, I have to say that the ending is one of my favorites of this season. If only Hashiba had said he likes Kobayashi, like seriously you obviously like him more than a friend.

[Master_Yoma]

Thing got really dark at the end of this

7/10 Kobayashi was just so cute

[Kismet-chan]

I finished it, and... Ugh. Namikoshi is one of the biggest idiots I've seen in a while. I barely get what he was trying to achieve and it was all done in such a ridiculous fashion. Geez. The last 2-3 episodes as a whole came off to me as rushed, obnoxious, pointless and stupid. Which is saying a lot when you look at the already-not-great track record of the rest of show.

At the end of the day, I have zero idea of what this show was trying to do or say. I don't think the creators even knew, honestly. I guess this was just another one of those "junk food series" for me.

More than anything, I feel disappointed over what could have been. While some probably think part of the pretentiousness could be blamed on the visual style and symbolism, they were probably the best thing this show had to offer in my mind. Take the visuals and slap them on a good plot with good characters, and this could've been pretty enjoyable (for the right reasons).

Side Note: Was there ever any significance to the cuts on the homeroom teacher's wrists, other than to say "hey, this lady seems happy-go-lucky but her life was shitty at some point"? Or is it some reference to something/someone in Ranpo's novels?

[Yamada II]

Well, that felt kinda incomplete. Akechi couldn't stop the Twenty Faces thing. In the end, Namikoshi won. Evil triumphed. The message this was trying to put forward was that things are nekoed up big time and there's nothing you can do about it. Deal with it. Or you could take the law in your own hands and kill all the criminals the courts aren't punishing, because that's certainly the best course of action. That's what they're trying to say with this ending.

This was a pretty weird anime. The comedy was good throughout. Random and stupid and weird. It solved the mysteries in half assed ways, like they didn't care about the mysteries and cases. Or maybe that was the point from the start. The Twenty Faces thing was interesting and they went for the "good guys don't win" ending. I'm not completely sure what to think about this. It didn't end up being what I expected it to be. It wasn't that bad. Was a fun ride with a lot of pointless things here and there.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by Kismet-chan

At the end of the day, I have zero idea of what this show was trying to do or say. I don't think the creators even knew, honestly. I guess this was just another one of those "junk food series" for me.

To be honest, I think the creators knew what they were trying to do: a commentary on the broader issues behind some of the current malaises in Japanese society. Because of my own work, I've made it a point to listen to NHK news podcasts for the last 18 months or so, and there have been a number of pretty horrible crimes in recent years: schoolchildren killing their friends because they 'wanted to try killing someone'; a lot of publicity about deaths due to bullying etc. The current case involves two junior-high kids who were killed in Takatsuki City, near Osaka - the man who's been arrested apparently served time for abducting children using the same methods in the past (though he'd let them go, in contrast to this new crime). Whenever these cases hit the news, there's an outburst of horror, followed by commentary over how the law and the rest of society failed to protect the victims. And then it dies down and is largely forgotten until the next incident - people just go back to their own lives, because it does not involve them.

That's not to say that I think the creators were particularly successful at it. But I will probably read some interviews and then follow up on any commentary it gets in Japan, to see if what I wrote above is indeed what they were trying to do...

[Iby]

How many developed characters this show even had? I mean the real characters, not plot devices. I can count 2 at best, and only one of them is one of the main characters (and I'm not really sure about him).

[Izumo]

This show is just one of the biggest disappointments of the season, there was no character development, the studio literally abuse of the gay element with Kobayashi and Hashima relationship, every single time they have the option to make the episode really good they just threw that option out of the window and replace it with bad jokes.

Even if we use a comedy level of understanding this is pretty bad, so sad to know how the studio destroyed the idea of Edogawa's novels here even if the story have a huge potential. 3/10 "garbage of the season" just because there was only one good episode.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by karice67

To be honest, I think the creators knew what they were trying to do: a commentary on the broader issues behind some of the current malaises in Japanese society. Because of my own work, I've made it a point to listen to NHK news podcasts for the last 18 months or so, and there have been a number of pretty horrible crimes in recent years: schoolchildren killing their friends because they 'wanted to try killing someone'; a lot of publicity about deaths due to bullying etc. The current case involves two junior-high kids who were killed in Takatsuki City, near Osaka - the man who's been arrested apparently served time for abducting children using the same methods in the past (though he'd let them go, in contrast to this new crime). Whenever these cases hit the news, there's an outburst of horror, followed by commentary over how the law and the rest of society failed to protect the victims. And then it dies down and is largely forgotten until the next incident - people just go back to their own lives, because it does not involve them.

That's not to say that I think the creators were particularly successful at it. But I will probably read some interviews and then follow up on any commentary it gets in Japan, to see if what I wrote above is indeed what they were trying to do...

It's probably what they were trying to do, they were clearly going for a social commentary angle, more pronouncedly in the first half, and then in a somewhat more roundabout way in the latter half. This is what I meant by the show failing to be as intelligent and mature as it thought it was.

Social commentary is fine, but this show seems to have a middle school kid's understanding of the issues it tries to tackle, and the same juvenile level of expression. Evil is externalized in the form of characters who are disgusting inside and out; there's no real complexity, no attempt at trying to peek into the really strange and complicated thing that is the human mind, or human society, never mind law and justice and the complexities thereof. Ranpo Kitan tries to tackle existing issues with society, law, etc. but presents them in such a banally simplistic, cartoonishly exaggerated manner, complete with all the clichés and common tropes, that instead of commentary or even satire it becomes just plain eyeroll-inducing.

Kobayashi had a lot of potential as a character, with his detachment, failure to connect, his ennui and what he found as a "cure" for it. He was really interesting in some points in the story, and he could've been set on a very interesting road; but in the end they pulled all punches with him. Such a waste.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Ranpo Kitan tries to tackle existing issues with society, law, etc. but presents them in such a banally simplistic, cartoonishly exaggerated manner, complete with all the clichés and common tropes, that instead of commentary or even satire it becomes just plain eyeroll-inducing.

Kobayashi had a lot of potential as a character, with his detachment, failure to connect, his ennui and what he found as a "cure" for it. He was really interesting in some points in the story, and he could've been set on a very interesting road; but in the end they pulled all punches with him. Such a waste.

I personally don't think Ranpo Kitan was trying to tackle all the issues you suggest it was, but rather just the one point of how the average person is just disconnected from it all, completely uninterested. Which is precisely the impression I've gotten about Japanese society (based on personal experience). Even Akechi and Hashiba only cared because it involved someone that meant something to them, though perhaps that was part of the point.

That said, I do agree with you that Kobayashi was, in a sense, wasted. They tried to represent that he learned to care more about society by the end of the show, but I just didn't buy it. Despite the tears when he apparently realised why Hashiba saved him, it felt rather fake, especially given his final lines...

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by karice67

I personally don't think Ranpo Kitan was trying to tackle all the issues you suggest it was, but rather just the one point of how the average person is just disconnected from it all, completely uninterested. Which is precisely the impression I've gotten about Japanese society (based on personal experience). Even Akechi and Hashiba only cared because it involved someone that meant something to them, though perhaps that was part of the point.

You may be right, although at least in the first half I think they were definitely heavily focusing on a lot of the issues I mentioned. As for society's indifference, I don't know, if they were really trying to do that then I think they failed. (And personally I don't think Kobayashi works as a symbol of the "average person".)

Kobayashi in general is an especially sour point for me, because he could've been so much more.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

You may be right, although at least in the first half I think they were definitely heavily focusing on a lot of the issues I mentioned.

I understand what you mean: the various crimes in the first half of the series could arguably have been used to explore some of those issues.

The main reason I argue that it was never their aim to do so, however, is that there is no way a single episode (or two) could have done them justice. Even Death Parade did not successfully accomplish that (I know how controversial this last statement is, but I stand by it: there is no way one or two 22 minute episodes can ever explore all the facets of some of those issues, and I found this to be true even of the DP episodes that went into similar issues).

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

As for society's indifference, I don't know, if they were really trying to do that then I think they failed. (And personally I don't think Kobayashi works as a symbol of the "average person".)

Kobayashi in general is an especially sour point for me, because he could've been so much more.

I agree that they failed in really addressing the point about society's indifference, for various reasons I haven't really explored for myself (I'm already spending more time thinking about this series that I intended to...hm..)

But I don't think Kobayashi was meant to be a symbol of the average, indifferent person, but rather as someone who could have been either a victim or a criminal. His 'indifference' and disinterest in life strikes me as the kind that might turn into 'oh, I'd like to try killing someone', i.e. like one of the real life cases I mentioned above.

The other type of indifference is something that I think they were trying to get viewers to think about not through a specific character per se, but through the crowd reactions and news commentary in the show. I think they probably wanted (Japanese) viewers to think about what they themselves seek out or pay attention to in their own media consumption.

[haguruma]

For me the biggest problem with Ranpo Kitan was how indecisive it stayed about what it actually wanted to be. It was like a cat chasing after a laser pointer, aimlessly jumping wherever it saw something that it could tackle, thus never really building up on anything more substantial.
It was throwing a lot of interesting ideas into the ring, but as soon as something seemed to get to the core of an issue the writers decided to do complete content and tonal shift. This happened both between and within episodes and it made it really hard for me to ever feel really captured by anything that was happening.

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

You may be right, although at least in the first half I think they were definitely heavily focusing on a lot of the issues I mentioned. As for society's indifference, I don't know, if they were really trying to do that then I think they failed. (And personally I don't think Kobayashi works as a symbol of the "average person".)

I have to agree that I don't see this anime in any way commenting on social indifference. Yes, it was a plot element here and there, but it was equally cast aside as its comments on law, police competency, vigilantism, gender, sexual violence, etc. before it could develop any actual depth.

To be about social indifference, characters still cared too much, even if on a very superficial level. Hell, the CBS drama Under the Dome made better social commentary about indifference and violence than Ranpo Kitan

And that is what makes this such a dissappointment for me.
Ranpo was very much a social commentator and many of his stories were very apt satire of his immediate social enviroment and/or events happening within Japan. His critical thinking was one of the reasons why censorship went down on many of his works during the war and why he basically stopped writing anything resembling social criticism.
To have an anime not only pay homage, but be considered a commemoratory production of his death, I expect a little bit more than this juvenile attempt at social commentary.

[shmaster]

On the topic of social indifference. In the end, did anyone outside Kagami actually "cared" in this show?
Namikoshi only wants Akechi's attention.
Akechi only cares about saving Namikoshi.
Hashiba has almost nothing but Kobayshi in his mind.
Kobayashi is Kobayashi.

They all only cared about something personal. The social phenomenon that followed is just a byproduct. And none of them really cared about the screwed up results in lead.
If this what the show has become, I'd rather have them focus solely on individual character's problems rather than tackle on social issues.

[Draco Spirit]

A interesting show, through the writing handled the issues of vigilantism and social isolation rather clumsy. The characters were fun and the humour weird if rather funny. The biggest praise however must go to the art team. I haven't seen such a boldly different style in Anime for a long time, and it often did a lot of the heavy lifting in scene and mood setting, along with helping out with characterisation.

The art alone is A+... but sadly the rest of the show isn't quiet that good, so I'm giving it a B overall.

[Biohazardous]

I too liked the start over the end.