Welcome back to the second installment of this review series after a mon- wow it’s been over a month, huh? Well, hiatuses and all. Not like you’ve been following this series since it’s literally the second one I‘ve made…
So, now my new review of Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (aka Supernatural/Demon Detective), probably the most underrated, unknown, and UNIQUE shounen I’ve ever found by far. None of my friends who know very obscure anime even know this. The only reason I found out about this show was from the J Stars Victory Vs shounen crossover game. Thus, I'm very glad to say that this is a very good anime for being so unknown.
Putting things into perspective, the show is 25 episodes long and was made by studio Madhouse in 2007-08, who is currently doing One Punch Man. It is directed by Hiroshi Koujina, who directed the 2011 adaptation of Hunter X Hunter. It’s animated by the same staff that animated Death Note and written by Yuusei Matsui, the same creator who wrote the recently popular Assassination Classroom.
Before I begin the reviewing process I’ll give the basic synopsis. The show revolves around a demon named Neuro who comes to the human world. This is not any ordinary shounen demon, however. He is a demon detective who literally eats the essence/aura of mysteries after successfully solving them. The reason he came to the demon world is because he already ate all of the mysteries in the demon world and is still hungry for more. He utilizes 777 tools of the demon world, each as unique in design and use as the last… of course, he doesn’t get to use all 777 since the show’s only 25 episodes.
He finds mystery revolving around a girl named Yako Katsuragi, a high school girl whose father was recently killed in a very mysterious case. This case, however, was closed due to its improbability and labeled by the police department as suicide. Some of the series will spend time to reflect these events in flashbacks as the characters develop and learn more. Neuro uses Yato as his connection to the human world, acting as Yako’s assistant and making her the famous “High School Girl Detective” even though in reality Neuro is doing all of the work to satisfy his appetite.
Speaking of appetites, Yako’s is… huge, to the point where she is also known as the "glutton detective." She eats so much and finds so much joy in eating that it even puts other shounen characters like Goku and Luffy to shame, easily eating an entire all-you-can-eat buffet before the guest could even show up. Also, Neuro, being a demon and all, could care less about human life and thus treats his “underlings” with sadistic force, usually dragging Yako around and twisting her neck in comedic fashion.
Another main-ish, mostly supporting, character introduced is Neuro’s “servant #2,” Godai. Godai is a former “finance dealer” of the underworld who did all of the dirty work (not hell but rather the human underworld… you know, the mafia) and acts as the tough yet soft-on-the-inside-in-comedic-ways connection to the underworld to access information quickly.
Now, a show revolving around mystery and detective work must certainly deliver those concepts, right? Well, the mysteries are not on the same level of Detective Conan or Sherlock Holmes, if that’s what you expected. Still, the mysteries are very entertaining and the villains, though somewhat predictable at the “great reveal,” are all very unique characters in their own right. A minor spoiler if you don’t mind, for example: the villain of the first episode is a master chef hoping to make the perfect soup by filling it with great stuff… like heroin, steroids, and other dandy drugs (sarcasm). He then injects it into himself to become… the Hulk, pretty much.
Speaking of episodes, if you’re afraid that this is strictly episodic as a series, it’s not. It is episodic for the first third of the series but then really picks up on the plot when the main villains of the series are introduced. As the series get less episodic, the fights also get much more intense. Another fairly minor spoiler yet important plot point for those foolish brave enough: The more Neuro spends time with humans, the less bulletproof and the less powerful he becomes until he begins bleeding from things that he would normally deflect with ease. Due to this, things get very interesting very quickly.
The animation is pretty good, resembling Death Note in some styles. The facial expressions are done well, normally, though sometimes animation quality may go down a tad bit, though not noticeable at all IMO, unless you studied it as closely as it did. The dialogue is good and the character development is really good. The action scenes are great when they get going. The plot isn’t super dramatic or in depth but it’s still a very fun and well-crafted story.
...The opening is amazing.
All in all, this series is definitely worth a watch. It’s a really unknown and underrated gem that I really think more people should know about. Considering it’s a shounen, it’s very unique in concept. It’s also only 25 episodes, the middle ground for anime, which means it’s not a huge committment to finish like a super long one like One Piece or Naruto/Shippuden.
I give Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro 66 out of 777 tools of the demon world (... about 8.5/10, for those who don’t want to calculate it).
Stay classy... you know, like classroom? High School Detective? Assassination Classroom? Sorry. Guess I'll just expel myself from the situation before I get suspended by discontent... heheh.
Log in to comment