Psychic Detective Yakumo Anime Review

Hey all -

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching A LOT of anime, hehehehahahaha…?

Ahem, so once again, I have another review of an anime I am very fond of called “Psychic Detective Yakumo”!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

First Impressions:

I was looking up some good unique mystery anime and came across PDY under a list of recommendations. I read that the male protagonist had a red eye that was able to see the dead. Interestingly enough, my first impression was spot on when I made the assumption that the show was about the guy having a dark past and solves cases with the police while using his power.

Plot:

Psychic Detective Yakumo is about a young girl named Haruka who seeks out a boy named Yakumo, in hope to save a friend from spirit possession. While agreeing to help her, the mysterious man reveals his hidden red eye that gives him the ability to persuade damned spirits to move on. As things progress, Haruka starts seeking him out more often until the two find themselves falling in love with each other.

Thoughts and Review:

While there are hints of romance, this is a shounen anime done right. The opening is dark and completely accurate to Yakumo’s feelings toward his ability to see the dead. You can see him crying out for help but pushing others away - which is a pretty accurate description to the anime itself. When watching Yakumo experience all these hardships in his childhood, it’s only understandable that he’s the way he is. Upon his meeting with Haruka, all he does is insult and belittle her, hoping to keep her away from harm/himself.

It may sound corny, but it’s pretty sweet how Yakumo starts to open up to Haruka, when he apologizes for the tiniest things and risks his life to save hers. While this may not be as visible in the anime, the manga has quite a bit of instances where Yakumo holds her voluntarily. It’s funny because, when it comes to shounen anime, it’s usually the girl making the moves on her love interest - but somehow this was all done tastefully (we don’t get any of that “ohharukachaniloveyouletsstaytogetherforever” crap).

As for the action and storyline itself, I would say that this is excellently well-done! Each episode has these different murder cases that need solving, combined with a supernatural element. Just like any other mystery, the culprit is always the one you least expect, but with this, the criminals vary: Is it the doctor, the civilian that had one second of screentime, the bar owner, a ghost, etc.? The artstyle is vaguely similar to that of Requiem for the Phantom’s. The “mature” and “broken” characters have the more serious eyes, while the more “laidback” and “childish” ones have the stereotypical anime eyes. Everything that happens in the anime is explained in a timely manner that doesn’t leave you unsatisfied. This review is getting pretty dang long, so I think I’ll stop here and let you experience this amazingness for yourself!

Rating:

FIVE STARS for a suspenseful plot, intriguing characters, and awesome music (opening and ending songs are absolutely perfect).

See ya!

- BrightSakura