|
|
||||||||||
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
 Ggultra2764
|
[series:2456#1552] |
|
(Assessment of first three episodes, two years ago) The premise for this series seemed rather absurd when I first seen it. A group of NEETs forming their own detective agency led by a wise-talking loli (too many titles seem to like tacking on these types of characters into their show for who knows whatever reason) who proclaims herself to be one. The fact I've heard of cases where hikikomoris are shy and reclusive yet this group of people are sociable enough to interact with people during their cases did enough to raise some red flags for me. The two mystery arcs I had seen thus far had varying levels of quality. The handling of the compensated dating case in the first episode was solid enough where the series did believably explore the hardships concerning this aspect of Japanese society, especially when the case ends in tragedy. The yakuza case winded up being rather lackluster where the thugs are rather incompetent and the resolution to the whole thing seems too conveniently resolved. The series also doesn't seem to be sure whether it wants to be a comedy getting its laughs off the quirks of the NEETs Narumi deals with or a serious mystery series that looks into the touchy elements of Japanese society. You can't expect to mix together both elements with the touchy issues explored thus far. Guess I'm dropping another Summer 2011 series without a final review. (Entire series review, now) Considering I personally own this within my collection, I chose to resume watch of this since I had dropped it nearly two years earlier. While I still find the premise to be somewhat absurd, I do admit that it has its high points. Heaven's Memo Pad features the mentioned NEET detective agency tackling different cases involving some touchy areas of Japanese society like compensated dating, the yakuza and a drug trafficking ring. For the most part, the storylines for the cases are handled quite seriously with Alice, her assistants and other contacts investigating them and exploring the ramifications concerning those caught up in the questionable activity. Some of the cases, in particular, involve some of the major characters on a personal level as they explore the backgrounds of said characters, like Yondaime and Ayaka. Male lead Narumi serves as "straight man" to the eccentricities of the NEET detectives and quite often finds himself assisting in their cases, being quite capable of helping them land leads for cases in surprising and believable ways. The series does have its issues though. Alice and her assistants are quite limited in depth and development for their characters, the former especially an issue as much of the progression with cases in this series stem from Alice's expertise and knowledge with computers and human behavior. Heaven's Memo Pad also seems to make big efforts in trying to glorify being a NEET through Alice and her cohorts and dabbling into moe pandering with Alice's character, both being detractors because of their clear gearing towards the otaku crowd. A couple cases also slip in their quality as they're mostly used as reprieve from a case arc by incorporating more comedy than usual, though these efforts came across as quite flat for me. Visually, Heaven's Memo Pad is solid in the designs of characters and scenery sporting vivid colors and a good amount of detail with the various city landscapes, insides of buildings and even the inside of Alice's apartment with its various computers and stuffed animals. Animation is implemented where needed in dramatic and tense moments during cases which can look decent in motion, though the series usually resorts to still shots in mundane scenes. Overall, Heaven's Memo Pad is solid in telling engaging and tense stories with many of the cases that Alice and her detective agency tackle, exploring some of the show's prominent characters and delving into some touchy social issues. The show has its shortcomings in a couple episodes, the lack of depth on Alice and her assistants and trying to appeal too hard to the otaku fanbase with its glorification of being a NEET and exploiting Alice as moe bait at points. Still if you can look past the issues, this is still a solid series worth looking into. Last updated Wednesday, May 08 2013. Created Sunday, July 31 2011. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
|
[series:2456#628] | ||||||
|
(One episode watched): As I began to feel the vibe of KnMc I said to myself 'Please don't tell me that this is about an unlikely group of do-gooders', sort of like Sket Dance. But that indeed seems to be pretty much what this show is all about. The problem I have with that approach is that it generally rings hollow. While the lives of NEETs (people who are Not Employed, undergoing Education, or in Training for work) might actually be interesting and fun, portraying them as urban heroes is a stretch. People with the skills, courage and self-confidence of the cast here would more likely be making money hand over fist than being NEETs. They would be better described as self-employed than as NEETs, and thus are hard to identify with. The cast apparently not getting much character development or being very likeable doesn't help. There is not a hint of shyness, anxiety, insecurity or any other emotion which would likely be present in a NEET. I wonder, is this show being pitched to NEETs with the idea of flattering them into watching it? For awhile it seemed that there would be two plots underway at once, namely the protagonists life at school during the day and as a NEET detective in his spare time afterwards, and the former seemed kind of fun. But before long it became clear that there is in fact only one plot, the one that didn't impress me. This show seems to be taking itself too seriously (NEETs trying to break up a kidnapping ring?), or maybe it just isn't very funny when it tries to be. The person who is employing the detectives seemed overdone and absurd and put the last nail in the coffin of this show. I cannot get into this, and am satisfied with one episode. Last updated Friday, July 08 2011. Created Thursday, July 07 2011. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
|---|---|
| Official Japanese Website | http://www.kamimemo.com/ |
