Premier: October 7, 2010
Episodes: 12
Animation Studio: J.C. Staff
Couldn't find a topic for this so here it is.
Summary:
Based off the Japanese PSP game of the same name, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes follow 4 students at Holmes Detective Academy: Sherlock, Cordelia, Herc, and Nero. Together they are known as the famous Milky Holmes and are out to stop the Phantom Thief Arsene. However, on one night, they suddenly lose their magical powers, known as "Toys."
Opinion/Review:
So I must say, that after hearing the (troll) hype from 2ch as well as many others, this show is actually quite a surprise. Not a gem but definitely entertaining moreso than anticipated. The show initially seems like a cutesy little show with spoiled protagonists. This really occurs for about the first half of the series.
However, if you're able to get around all of that, it becomes a straight up slapstick comedy as the four girls try to get their toys back. Of course, 95% of the time they are easily distracted or simply plain psychotic (lol Cordelia). In addition, Arsene's group also brings laughs to the table, especially coming from Twenty.
The animation is quite solid, and it seems J.C. Staff really put a lot more time into this show than I gave them credit for. I guess even when it's a random show J.C. Staff can still show off their stuff, though Uraboku was a completely different story last season. The character designs are very nice seeing as it's the same person who drew the art for the Da Capo manga series.
The music is catchy for this show and faylan doing the ED theme is definitely a plus. With the exception of Cordelia's seiyuu, the main seiyuus are all new to the industry, which is always a big welcome. I enjoyed most of them except Nero's, which may end up bothering me in the future as she will be voicing Sakura in Time Paladin Sakura set to air in January (WHY IS YUKARI TAMURA BEING REPLACED?). The rest of the soundtrack in the show is not particularly special however.
Character development? You expected some? As stated before this was a straight up gag comedy that didn't show its true colors until the latter half in the series when Henriette took things to a new level in an attempt to help Milky Holmes regain their lost toys.
Enjoyment? I can't really say I enjoyed it since I could name a number of other shows I've enjoyed more this season, but I will say it's definitely better than say Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector and perhaps Fortune Arterial, which I have yet to start but have heard terrible things about.
Overall, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes is unique in its own right. It's funny and cute and leaves room for a sequel, which knowing J.C. Staff, may very well happen. The director is Makoto Moriwaki, who is also directing the ongoing Hime-chen! series and has previously directed the entire Onegai My Melody franchise. Surprisingly Moriwaki has also provided the storyboard to Gintama as well as many old soccer anime including Captain Tsubasa and Fight! Kickers. Again, however, the problem with this series is its incredibly slow start. Almost half the series needs to be watched before any "significant progress" is made in the show.
Preliminary Score: 5/10
Final Score: 6/10