Reiko Hosho may look like a beautiful socialite, the
daughter of a world famous business group.
But beneath that façade, Reiko is a investigator working for the city
police department and she’s determined to keep her true self a secret so she
doesn’t get treated any differently. But
that’s tough when her partner is a super self obsessed heir and her butler is a
no nonsense, often blunt mystery with a penchant for solving cases on his own.
I guess I’ve been on a bit of a cute Detective kick on
FIF this back half of the Season.
There
was Maomao (who’s still the gold standard of female Sherlock Homles types
imho).
Then there was the disturbingly
similar to Haruhi Suzumiya Ameku M.D.
The Dinner Table Detective’s Reiko Hosho falls in the middle of those
two and I’ll explain why when I get into the First Impression properly.
Anyway, this popped up on my Amazon
recommendations and I’m a sucker for a cute brunette in a red dress.
Plus if she specializes in high profile,
upper class murder cases, that’s pretty unique right?
Too bad The Dinner Table Detective only seems
to have aesthetic going for it cause under the good looks hides a slew of
problems that wouldn’t take a detective to figure out why it wouldn’t work.
So Reiko.
I like
that she’s trying to keep her high society lifestyle under wraps from the
police, to try and not be given an preferential treatment cause of her
family.
They even clarify that the
bosses in the department are aware of Reiko’s true linieage, hence why her
coworkers are clueless.
Ok, good setup
and unique for a detective story.
The
problem: Episode 1 shows Reiko is incredibly incompetent when it comes to her
job.
I don’t know if she’s still a
rookie but there’s no evidence that she has what it takes to be an investigator
other than she doesnt want to follow in the family business.
Reiko is stunned and flabbergasted at every
turn and there’s no signs she puts anything together by herself.
If this is supposed to be the main character,
her looking super gorgeous in a red dress and arguably even hotter in a police
pants suit is all she has going for her.
What’s worse is that Reiko only solves her first case
thanks to the mysterious butler, Kageyama, who shows up out of nowhere to be
her new man servant.
His analytical
skills and eye for detail are exactly the kind of qualities Reiko should be
exhibiting.
He even says at one point he
wanted to be a cop when he was younger but now he’s a butler.
I know it’s supposed to be the big laugh of the
first case but when Kageyama basically calls Reiko a moron for not figuring out
the case, to quote Marvel’s Falcon/Captain America, “He’s out of line…but he’s
got a point.”
He’s clearly the Sherlock
to Reiko’s Watson in this relationship.
And don’t get me started on Reiko’s Senpai who’s name I didn’t commit to
memory.
Reiko might not seem good at her
job (yet) but at least it doesn’t feel like she bribed her way onto the Police
Force light this white suit sporting douche who’s too full of himself to do any
proper deducing.
So yeah, this might be a decent looking show with nice
animation and cute character designs, but overall I might give The Dinner Table
Detective a pass.
Even if this is
supposed to be played for laughs, the first episode and a half (which cover the
first case) feel like they’re picking on poor Reiko rather than giving her the
qualities necessary for her to stand on a level just under Maomao (but way
above Meku, who’s just a Suzumiya level egotistical jerk).
Which is a shame because this premise and
setup for Reiko has potential.
I just
wish the show would let her be the brilliant detective I want to see her be
rather than just let her support staff do all the work and leave her looking
inept and kind of pointless.
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