Blossay #1: Anime Review: Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro: An Anime Review

For my first blossay, I chose to do a review on the anime Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, also known as Demon Detective Nougami Neuro or Neuro: Supernatural Detective.  Originally a supernatural/horror/murder mystery manga (http://www.mangareader.net/640/majin-tantei-nougami-neuro.html) written by Yuusei Matsui, the series was adapted into an anime directed by Hiroshi Koujina. The 25 episode series differed slightly from the original 23 volume manga as it began to outpace its production however, both productions focus on the adventures of Nougami Neuro and Yako Katsuragi. Neuro, a demon from hell who feeds on mysteries, comes to earth seeking sustenance after having consumed all the mysteries from the underworld. Forcing forming a partnership with Yako, a high school student turned detective after the murder of her father, the two solve mysteries together with the promise that Neuro will one day help Yako unravel the mystery behind her father’s death. While Neuro is the brains and information gatherer behind figuring out the mysteries, Yako’s role is that of a puppet serving as the lead detective while Neuro does all the work and gives her the credit after eating the mystery. In each episode/series of episodes, an individual mystery is investigated by the team.

It's a team dynamic, right?

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (MTNN) is a thrilling and playfully thought provoking anime with tons of comedy stemming from interactions between characters. Fueled by Neuro’s ruthless sadistic tendencies, the comedic violence that occurs is both entertaining and hilarious. While there is no real ‘plot’ or ‘final goal’ to this series, the character development is amazing to watch, and interactions involving Neuro are always sure to floor you either from laughter or amazement.

Because no anime would be complete without needless and realistically impossible to survive violence.

In my personal opinion, I enjoyed the manga a bit more than the anime (big surprise) for a few reasons. While the art in the anime stayed fairly true to that in the original manga series, I feel the expressions were better represented in the comic book versions. I also took to the final plot in the manga a bit more than the one in the anime, but was still thoroughly satisfied with the anime. It was very enjoyable to see the interactions between characters animated and in color. Another awesome point was the dynamic between the two male and female characters that was able to exist without the presence of romance, as in many anime and manga. The relationship between Neuro and Yako was purely platonic, and was extremely enjoyable that way. There was no need for anything more than that, which is typically very hard to pull off in my eyes. But onto the actual anime...

Episode 1: (http://www.gogoanime.com/majin-tantei-nougami-neuro-episode-1)

                When the Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro series begins with the first episode, Yako and Neuro’s relationship has already been established as well as Yako’s reputation as a well-known detective. The episode begins with Yako eating at a restaurant with one of her high school friends. It is here we discover Yako’s obsession with food as well as her fame in the detective field as reporters and curious by-standers look on. Yako’s meal is interrupted by a summons from Neuro, who she has already met and been working with for some time, who needs her at a meeting with a client looking to solve a mystery.

The client is the head chef at a well renowned restaurant, Shiroto Supreme, who has recently been receiving anonymous threat letters directed towards his cooking and restaurant. Shiroto, the head chef, is explaining the situation to Neuro, Yako, and police detectives Sasazuka Eishi and Ishigaki Jun when there is a crash and scream from the kitchen. When everyone ran to the scene, Shiroto’s top chef was found dead on the floor.

While the two detectives go on speculating the possibilities of the nature of the murder, Neuro begins some investigating of his own as Yako is allowed to sample some of the food at Shiroto Supreme. Even as a lover of food, she decides that she finds no enjoyment in Shiroto’s cooking, enraging him. In his anger, he fires all the detectives and retreats to his private kitchen, vowing to concoct the best dish ever. Using his demonic power (777 Tools of the Underworld), Neuro investigates the contents of Shiroto’s cooking and declares to Yako that he has figured out the mystery.

Of course it was, Neuro.

Teaming up again with the two detectives, Neuro and Yako approach Shiroto explaining they have discovered who the murderer was. [Spoiler alert] The murderer was, in fact, Shiroto. Neuro then explains the process of how the act was sneakily pulled off, adding simply at the end of the long spiel ‘is what my master says,’ referring to Yako. What’s more, is Shirito’s so-called ‘ultimate dish’ is actually a cocktail of enhancement drugs, allowing the user to shoot up steroids virtually undetected. But then what happens next is what makes MTNN a little unique.

Shiroto, now crazed and enraged (again) that he has been found out, begins to ruthlessly take this mix of super drugs until he becomes a kind of hulk-like, drugged up hot mess of angry lunatic, and dives at Neuro. Shrouded by a cloud of steam, Neuro devours the mystery that surrounds Shiroto and leaves him as a shriveled husk of his hulk power, a frail old man. The incident is treated as a side effect of taking all the drugs, and Shiroto is taken into custody without further questioning.

At the very end of the first episode, we are given a peek at how Neuro and Yako first met as well as some of  Yako’s personal life regarding the murder of her father.

Unlike the manga, the chronology of the anime is mixed up and totally not linear. The order of events in the manga goes thusly: Yako’s father is murdered à Yako meets Neuro à Neuro begins to solve cases with Yako àYako becomes famous. In the anime, the background information is divulged after the latest events: Yako is famous à Yako has been working with Neuro to solve cases àYako and Neuro met àYako’s father was murdered. So in the end, the information and circumstances are both the same, but the way the information is introduced is different. This can be confusing to some people who have read the manga and then the anime because the first episode doesn’t seem like the first episode since all the relationships have already been established. To a new watcher, this setup is probably fine and actually makes for a nice little piece of mystery surrounding our main characters for a while.

Artwork:

                The artwork was nicely done, staying fairly true to the original manga style character wise and adding some lovely background art similar to that seen in “Legend of the White Snake”. Important close ups of the character’s faces were beautifully detailed while comical depictions of the characters were purposefully less detailed and goofy. The entire series had a very cartoonish look and feel, making it much more lighthearted than Patlabor 2 or Ghost in the Shell. The characters were all very ‘anime style’ with large eyes, odd body proportions, and unnatural hair. One thing I really enjoyed about Patlabor 2 and Ghost in the Shell was definitely the realistic artwork that matched the dark, heavy, but important messages that they sent and allowed watchers to really take it seriously and not get distracted by cartoony art. While MTNN did have some important messages to send, overall the artwork/animation toned down anything serious.

He'll haunt you in your dreams, but hey, at least the art looks great

Or you could just remember him as this sadistic clown. Your choice.

Soundtrack:

                For someone who pays explicit attention to the soundtrack and puts a lot of weight into the quality of the anime based on it, I really wasn’t ‘wowed’ by the soundtrack at all. It was just background sound to me, and although it did set the scene and the mood, it was done in the most minimal way possible. I also have to take into account the fact that this is a mystery/horror anime and not an intense action with that bass down low like in Macross, Ghost in the Shell, or Patlabor 2, but I did feel there was plenty of times the soundtrack could have been better. It had almost a ‘James Bond’ feel without the splendor of guns and Bond’s suave character.

Characters:

                One of the most redeeming and engaging qualities of MTNN is definitely the characters. Not only was each character unique and beautifully crafted, but the development of each character (namely Yako) was very smoothly done and extremely addicting to watch unfold. At the beginning of the series, Yako was almost completely a doll and tool to Neuro.  Often, Neuro refereed to Yako as ‘louse’, ‘wood louse’, ‘slug’, and finally ‘top slug’. As the series progressed though, Yako began making discoveries of her own and making bolder attempts at solving mysteries. In the end, Yako’s relationship with Neuro became that of playful companionship rather than the slave and master trap at the beginning, and Neuro began to see Yako as more than just a tool and more of someone standing closer to the same level as him and more deserving of respect. [Spoiler alert] After Neuro returns to the underworld, Yako continues on as a successful detective and carries Neuro’s teaching with her, keeping up with bettering herself and searching for mysteries to solve. She is able to be independent from him and live her life in a purposeful way as a result of their companionship, however short.

Ship it all you want, kiddies, it's not canon.

                Overall, I really enjoyed this anime for its comedy and character development. I think if the story was trying to convey some sort of message to the audience it would definitely be to think outside the box and work to improve yourself and your skills with the help of others. I would recommend this anime to someone who loves to laugh, enjoys a bit of mystery, and watching characters develop over time.

((All images and gifs were found off Google and Tumblr))