DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyNazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de

REVIEWS

• 

  HeartbreakRebel

  53/100
  Captain Stupid, Miss Oblivious, and An Actual Detective

  My Review of "The Dinner Table Detective"!

  

  ---

  Get this wannabe bum “professional detective” out of my face!

  ____Story____

  This anime follows the jobs of two detectives, Reiko Houshou and Kyouichirou Kazamatsuri, and one clever butler, Kageyama. Reiko and Kazamatsuri often end up struggling with murder mysteries they discover. However, Reiko’s butler’s amazing deductive skills are able to assist Reiko with her job, leading to a constant cycle of Reiko’s butler helping her after dinner.

  ____Characters____

  Kyouichirou Kazamatsuri is a very, and I mean VERY dumb detective. His entire personality revolves around being the son of a CEO and stealing others ideas. Reiko Houshou isn’t as dumb as Kazamatsuri, but her intelligence is definitely hindered by his stupidity. Kageyama is a reserved, but clever butler who can solve murder mysteries very quickly.

  ____The Good____

  Kageyama carried this show SO MUCH. The quality of the story is somewhat saved due to his intelligence. When I would lose brain cells from Kazamatsuri, Kageyama would be there to help them grow back. That OP and especially that ED is so good. I did skip the OP a few times, but the ED has such a vibe and the animation accompanying it looks so beautiful and matches the aesthetic the ED goes for. It's definitely going on my playlist.

  ____The Bad____

  I’m going to be completely honest, these mysteries were presented kinda badly. There were a lot of really obvious clues in these cases that even a little kid could find. Also, this anime really exaggerates the stupidity of the TWO DETECTIVES who are supposed to solve the mystery. It’s so annoying. They might have tried to dumb down the protagonists to make the mysteries last longer, but in exchange, they’ve not only dumbed down the mysteries, but also made the protagonists look way worse than they probably should’ve if that was the case.

  ____The Downright Ugly____

  I really, REALLY hated Kazamatsuri. He was not at all funny to me and rather obnoxious. His stupidity came out more annoying than hilarious and it really took away from the actual anime. Honestly, I’m so confused on how he became an actual detective in the first place. His whole entire “That’s what I was thinking!” gimmick was nowhere close to funny for me. Thank goodness this show had Kageyama. Otherwise, this anime would’ve been mostly garbage in my opinion.

  ____Is It Worth The Watch?____

  Nah, this ain’t it. It’s not the best mystery, it’s a decent drama, but it’s definitely not a good comedy anime. The potential was there, but Kazamatsuri really ruined most of the anime for me. I hated every second he was on the show. He’s just an unlikeable MC.

  Thank you for taking the time to read my review. I hope this helped you with your decision on whether to watch this anime or not! If you already have watched it, I hope that you can agree with me with some of the points I made. If you enjoyed this review, I would greatly appreciate a follow too! ^^

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• 

  mrRobertman

  55/100
  A potentially fun premise, but with a repetitive execution

  A potentially fun premise, but with a repetitive execution

  The Dinner Table Detective is a detective mystery show that follows three main characters: the two detectives Reiko Houshou and Kyouichirou Kazamatsuri, and Houshou's butler Kageyama. The basic idea is that Kazamatsuri is very flashy and not a particularly good detective, Houshou is more competent but still can't seem to solve this mysteries on her own, and Kageyama is the actually smart detective who has to explain everything to Houshou.

  The biggest problem with the show is that every case is solved pretty much the same way: Houshou and Kazamatsuri investigate the case and have a few ideas, but get stumped. The Houshou returns home and explains the case to her butler, who then proceeds to call her stupid and basically solves it all right then and there (or at least, Kageyama puts Houshou on the right track so she knows what she needs to investigate further and be able to solve it). It's a kinda fun idea, but it ends up being pretty damn repetitive when every case ends up this way. The idea of a super brilliant detective is not an original idea to this show - basically all detective stories do this in some form (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Columbo, etc) - but the presentation of these other stories usually lend to a more interesting story and mystery. Those other stories have the detective actually part of the investigation, so we typically see parts of the solution during the investigation. Even in the case of Poirot with his classic reveal with everyone in the same room, the structure of those still lead to a more interesting mystery. The problem with this show, is that because Kageyama is not directly involved, it always leads to watching Houshou and Kazamatsuri being stumped, then watching Kageyama just explain the solution to Houshou. I find it just ends up losing out on something to make it interesting.

  A recurring plot point is that Houshou actually comes from a rich family, but she doesn't want it to be seen as someone who got her position as a detective with the help of her family's connections. This is why she typically has the "plain" look when shes working (with the pony tail and glasses) and also avoids being seen with her butler when on the job. It's can lead to some funny parts, including one case that involves one of her neighbours where she wants to avoid them recognizing her. Though I find that this premise can't really sustain itself for the length of the show and ends up not really meaning a whole lot other than Houshou having a different look at work than when she's at home.

  The show also doesn't have any sort of over-arching plot. Not that the show needs it at all, but that could be something that could add something actually interesting to it. To make a comparison to a show that's not anime: the 2024 BBC show Ludwig handles this quite well where the main story has the over-arching plot of David Mitchell's character is trying to find his twin brother, while still having each episode having a different murder case to be solved. Of course, there is nothing wrong with an episodic show (I love those too), it's just that I would expect an episodic show to do something interesting with having different stories.

  Now of course, there is still some fun things with the characters. We get Kazamatsuri who always acts extremely pompous because his family owns a successful car company. And Kageyama who always finds various different ways to call Houshou stupid.

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• 

  patkarunungan

  40/100
  A somewhat decent detective anime marred by an insufferable tw/t

  

  Having enjoyed Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective, this seems to be yet another female detective anime. Without knowing anything about the already released 2011 jdorama, I assumed based on the key visual that 'The Dinner Table Detective' is about a smart, classy lady detective. I anticipated that if Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective was good, this anime might be even better. I was disappointed.

  ---

  § Overview

  

  Houshou Reiko is an upper-class heiress who chose to work as a detective. She is an okay but mediocre detective. In fact, she is the butt of jokes of the real genius behind this show, her butler Kageyama, who is clearly the titular character and by coincidence bears the surname of the genius setter in Haikyuu!!

  She hides her identity from her incompetent superior, Kazamatsuri Kyouichirou, who is the heir of a motor business.

  

  ---

  § Notes

  The art style itself is a bit jarring because it is not the usual style employed by many anime today. It's a bit of a throwback to some of the styles used in the 90s. It feels more like watching a graphic novel move than a regular anime.

  If Ameku uses standard art style filled with great art direction, 'The Dinner Table Detective' has a similar æsthetic to that used in Trillion Game — liking this look is an acquired taste.

  

  ---

  The mysteries are a bit easier to guess or, at the very least, not impossible to guess, unlike in the mysteries in Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective, where the solution actually requires knowledge of medicine.

  ---

  In some episodes, the mystery ends in the middle of the episode, and a new one starts, but only in some cases does the mystery end by the time an episode actually ends.

  There are pros and cons. If the mystery ends mid-episode, the new episode might hook the viewer who would have otherwise dropped the anime and continue to the next episode. This is a clever use of the Zeigarnik Effect. In brief, this is the nagging feeling of having an interrupted or incomplete task. People tend to remember the incomplete tasks more than the completed tasks.

  On the other hand, the format feels jarring. When a mystery ends and completes the episode, it gives you a sense of emotional payoff. That's the format that good mysteries like Detective Conan, Ameku: Doctor Detective, and 'Professor Chuuzenji's Lectures on Monsters' usually use.

  Whilst my personal judgement of this format is that it's jarring, I reckon it really depends on whether you find this format better than the traditional formats. Some might even enjoy both formats.

  ---

  As hinted earlier, Reiko's boss, Kyouichirou, is an insufferable tw/t. I can't stand him. The way he acts is the stereotypical nouveau riche, always flaunting his wristwatch and always bragging about his wealth and his travels. This he does, thinking that Reiko is an average girl who gets easily impressed by wealth.

  

  In other words, his flamboyance degrades what would otherwise be a decent anime. He is not funny at all. He is the reason I am only giving this a 4 out of 10. Without him, I might give this a 5 or even a 6.

  ---

  Narratively, his function is similar to Mr Mori from Detective Conan. He raises hypotheses that are often wrong. In some sense, he may be a stand-in for the viewers who might have hypothesised something similar.

  

  Like I said, I don't like him. I believe he is put there to also add humour, which I recognise might land with other people, but not me. It's just a matter of taste, as a friend of mine likes him and this show. If the tone is a little bit more serious, it is sufficient that Reiko poses such wrong theories in the presence of Kageyama, who, in turn, will correct her.

  ---

  

  Speaking of which, I mentioned earlier that their dynamic is one of a fool and the real genius. Reiko is the butt of jokes. Some might complain that this is misogyny, but this anime makes fun of both Reiko and Kyouichirou, so there is gender equality. Regardless of whether you feel that this is misogyny or not, this is the part where it is somewhat funny.

  (For an anime that shows a similar dynamic between Reiko and Kageyama but without a character identical to Kyouichirou, check out 'Professor Chuuzenji's Lectures on Monsters.' In that anime, which I deem a superior show to this, a similar dynamic can be found between Kanna and Chuuzenji-sensei.)

  ---

  § Conclusion

  'The Dinner Table Detective' is a somewhat acceptable detective show. Your enjoyment of it really hinges on whether you can tolerate or even enjoy the (lame) humour brought about by Kyouichirou.

  NOTA BENE: A grade of 4 out of 10 [40 out of 100 in anilist] means I got some enjoyment out of this anime, but the issues are glaring, or simply I rank it higher than my 3's but below my 5's.

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