First Impressions – Cuticle Detective Inaba
Thoroughly investigating the secret behind soft, luxurious hair
Let’s be honest: you’re all here because of the goat. That is the only reason any of you decided to watch this show, because you had no clue what make of this hair-obsession nonsense. What other assets could this show possibly possess aside from a goat soulfully singing karaoke? Cuticle Detective Inaba simultaneously has a lot and a little to give. You’ll see why in a moment.
The only reason I got on this bandwagon was the seiyuu cast and supernatural element. Of course, it seemed like some lulz will be had as the villain is a goat. A GOAT! Oh god, I don’t even– Anyways, it’s been some time that I tagged with Cools, so let’s see what she has to say about the episode while I’ll concentrate on seiyuu cast (obviously), and thoughts.
Overcooled // The most prominent aspect about Cuticle Detective Inaba isn’t the fact that main character is a half werewolf hair-fetishist or that the villain is an Italian goat who steals money so he can eat it. It’s the speed at which all this happens. I don’t think I’ve seen a show run at such as frantic pace in my entire life. The joke pacing is furious and relentless, sometimes barely even giving you time to mentally process the previous joke before it springs into something entirely different. There were a few gags that actually made me laugh such as Yuuta sealing in Ogino with tape and the positive testimonial about Gabriella from a murder victim, but you are bound to get a hit with this many gags in an episode. Maybe most shows will have 20 gags and I’ll laugh at 1, whereas Inaba would have 100 and I’d laugh at 5. I may be laughing more, but there sure as hell are a lot of misses. Furthermore, because the jokes are so short, your reaction is generally shorter too. You won’t be rolling over with laughter for the entire episode unless every single 5 second jokes hits the mark.
I don’t know if this rapidfire comedy is a good thing or a bad thing. I hate jokes that linger for too long, waiting for you to get the punchline. I also tend to enjoy comedy that has a bit of a random, bizarre nature to it. However, this treads into the ADHD territory. All of the jokes are one-time things and there is no satisfying build-up and conclusion. They go for instant gratification each time. Compare this to Jintai which spent several episodes on time travel and showing a mute assistant just so it could make the pun “time paradogs.” Cuticle Detective Inaba is more focused on quantity, and I worry this will grow tiring after several episodes. I think it might actually backfire later on and become boring.
There is the slight promise (I mean VERY SLIGHT) of a more serious plot behind all the chaos. Inaba wants to see his brother again, and this remains his number one weak spot aside from hair in general. Any attempt to get us to sympathize with him is constantly thwarted by a gag or Inaba regressing into a goofy, childlike mode. The switching between the serious style and chibi style was very jarring at times, and I get the feeling this would do much better as a manga. It may have the benefits of a stellar seiyuu cast (which I will leave to Kyokai-sama to fawn over) but the jumpy cuts from joke to joke might fare better in a more static medium. I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and see if it gets a little more organized as time goes on. If anything, it was silly and made me chuckle a few times. That’s worth at least something.
Kyokai // Just a few minutes ago, I finished the Hobo Kyousuke post, where I was fangirling over Yusa Koji and our main protagonist’s seiyuu Junichi Suwabe. Usually, you hear him in suave roles like Atobe from TeniPuri, Takashi from HoTD, Jinguuji from UtaPri to even anti-heroes as in GARcher from Fate/stay night and Greed from FMA. You can almost imagine Fukuyama Jun voicing Hiroshi but no, Junichi does it and so brilliantly! From moe to full ookami mode, he managed the variations quite well. Not to mention his owner, Morikawa Toshiyuki is a legend on his own. Ookawa Tooru (Ozaki from Shiki), Hikasa Youko (K-On! fandom knows her too well) and Nobuhiko Okamoto (Rin from Ao no Exorcist), were heard too but what stood out to me the most was Miyu Irino’s straight man narration. He did it brilliantly before in Nichibros as Tadakuni and goddamn, Kei seems to be an actual copy of the character. I’ll be looking forward to hearing Tomokazu Sugita and Mitsuki Saiga in the upcoming episodes so as you can see, a star-studded cast like Polar Bears to keep you entertained. Alright, seiyuu fagging done.
I swear, I had flashbacks of Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san, while watching this episode, with the only exception of jokes being PG rated rather than crossing of limits in Azazel. I was literally in between of laughing and thinking, what the hell am I watching and this was totally not something I was expecting. I mean, usually Detective themed anime are all about mysterious cases and characters but this is more of a comedy hour squeezed into half with unlimited joke works by a motley crew of characters. One after the other, they are delivered like a speeding train, punctuated by Kei being Shinpachi (from Gintama), of this series, trying to talk sense into others but for naught.
Though, not all jokes hit home and sometimes good jokes are sped over by others that are not that good. Still, overall the enjoyment factor was there because of the resilience and unexpected pacing. When the episode ends, you at least know that Hiroshi had a sad past and his only partner in crime, his own brother left him when he was finally making some progress in coping. The cast of characters has fetishes and quirks and even when this is not the first time we are seeing a doting father or a cross-dresser; not to mention an Amazonian who likes to torture people, it still might have some novelty in the mixture. I’ll say if comedy is your thing and you just want to laugh rather than think about deep plots, you can give this a try. The fantabulous seiyuu cast will keep you busy between smiles and laughs.
They do french kisses a little differently over in Italy
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san,
Good call, dis!
They do french kisses a little differently over in Italy
I nearly died…..
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I only watched a bit of Azazel-san, but I can see the resemblance now that Kyo pointed it out.
Also, some captions I just can’t resist trying…=w=
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
First things first: What the hell did I just watch? This show did well for slapstick comedy with its satire and quick, unpredictable jokes but looking back at the past ones in the end feels forgettable and juvenile. Finding out that blonde kid was a cross-dressing guy was a sucker punch I didn’t see coming. He’s too convincing (Instant flashbacks of Phi Brain’s Ana) and apparently a deserter when the going gets tough. It’s hard to find good, normal friends for male leads these days. The main source of laughs is from how incompetent the “bad guys” are. They seem to do better as clowns than villains but the assassin girl is a total “S” and an impulsive one (You can hear Yoko Hikasa’s voice a mile away). I seriously wouldn’t want to be caught by her.
I’m on the fence about continuing this. The random comedy is kind of okay but it’s not on the same level or as entertaining as, say, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka. There’s a slight chance of continuance because of the epic cast. I’m a fan of Junichi Suwabe, Yoko Hikasa and Nobuhiko Okamoto voice acting work.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It really was chaotic and rather childish. Yuuta being a cross-dresser was so inconsequential. “Oh, by the way, he’s a dude!” and then that’s never mentioned ever again. He just simply…is himself. What a guy! He’s totally convincing though. It’s easier for me to just think of him as a girl.
I’m on the fence too. I’ll keep watching, but I thought about blogging it. Ahhh….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Cross-dressers are getting too convincing for comfort. I have a strong feeling it won’t keep up its current pace so I’ll decide whether or not to continue after two more episodes. The chaos and childishness is a bit excessive.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 79 comments
XD I didn’t know that the VA of Kei was Shinpachi’s~ where did your glasses go Shin-chan? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
favorite character is totally Yuuta >w<
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
The VA of Kei (Miyu Irino) is not Shinpachi’s. I just used his reference because of the straight man commentary.
Yuuta is definitely a very convincing trap. Well, usually, most of them are. xD
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
I actually had no idea what I was getting into when I watched this anime. It is so…odd. Of course something Japan would make. XD
With the goat in this episode, I’m guessing there probably will be other weird animal things with weird powers popping up in future episodes.
I’m still going to watch it for now despite how odd it is…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
More werewolves like Inaba, perhaps? With this anime, anything goes, really. Nothing would surprise me at this rate.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 95 comments
Shinpachi is everywhere. After all he is glasses wearing a human. Gintama is back.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
HELL YEAH! The first comeback episode was pretty good. From my resources, this is going to be a serious arc.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I watched 10 minutes and quit, buried under an avalanche of hyperactivity and unfunny gags. It just didn’t appeal to me at all.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I can see your point. It does seem to have no substance at all but some of the jokes are funny even if a bit crude, childish and weird.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I think it was at about a 5% hit rate for ‘funny’ gags when I quit. I didn’t think it was going to be a good ROI. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
That’s not even close to a passing mark lol
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That’s nowhere close. It’s practically a failing grade.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It doesn’t even show, as Kana Minami would say “The frailty of the human condition.” It is just bad. So I’ll stick with other shows.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
I found the episode to be funny but not that much. Something about the delivery of the jokes seems off. Not to mention they’re being delivered left and right without much pause.
Irino Miyu is a great tsukkomi with Tadakuni in Nichibros but here it seems flat. There’s some sort of forced delivery that I can’t explain.
And I’m not used to Suwabe Junichi playing a comedy role but it’s probably because he’s always doing rugged roles like Archer in F/SN or Aomine in Kuroko no Basket. It’s a change of pace though, but it also seems like it’s a forced delivery.
Ookawa Tooru seems to be enjoying himself so much with his role as Don. There’s also Hikasa Yoko in the fray.
The art when they go full-chibi seems familiar and it’s cute.
I’m sticking to it as I need some crazy shows to watch this season. Really hope it just sticks to comedy as I get Yondemasu Azazel-san vibes here. I’m staying as well for the awesome seiyuu cast…
Seiyuu fag as well here :3POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It was hard to believe that mentally crippled goat is voiced by the same seiyuu who played Toshio Ozaki. After that role, I pegged Ookawa Tooru to be more into brooding, serious kind of characters.
Junichi Suwabe can played rugged roles but he also knows his way around bastard characters if you look back at Deadman Wonderland’s Tamaki and in Magi as Morgiana’s former slave owner.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The delivery is basically “screaming.” It works sometimes, but at a constant rate it doesn’t serve as a contrast to normal speaking anymore. The entire show is yelling. At least, that’s what I thought was iffy with the delivery.
I think they should have gone full chibi the entire time to avoid the awkward changes. I’m not a big fan of Junichi Suwabe, so him playing a more comedic role doesn’t bug my ears. Hearing Ookawa Tooru as the goat and Hikasa Yoko as Gabriella is great though~
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
This show is one of those things I can’t categorize easily. It’s just weird. Can’t say it’s great, can’t say it’s horrible.
I suppose some of the jokes were funny, like Ogi getting sealed in and bursting out with the fridge on his head. But other things just zoomed past me or fell flat. A lot of things, really. I can’t say I was laughing that much. Senyuu did better with keeping quick jokes and a fast pace, even though it’s one of those 5 minute episode shows.
I suppose I will keep trying until it goes too far with… whatever the heck it goes too far with.
And I do agree that full chibi time might be better, as to give the full idea that this is just comedy, and not serious.